The U.S. has seen a virtual media blackout on the radiation dangers of smart meters. In January 2014, James F. Tracy reported that the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer stated that, “radio-frequency (RF) electromagnetic fields are possibly carcinogenic to humans based on an increased risk for glioma, a malignant type of brain cancer, associated with wireless cell phone use.”
Smart meters are a vital aspect in the creation of a “smart grid” that has been made a priority by President Obama. In his article, Tracy wrote that the media blackout is likely to exist in order to keep the public unaware of both the health dangers associated with smart meters and other, hidden agendas including the meters’ potential for social control through energy rationing and surveillance.
Tracy reports on a content analysis of US newspapers between May 31, 2011, the date that the WHO declared RF a Class 2B carcinogen, and June 2014. Of the 839 articles on the topic published in that time, less than ten percent (82 articles) mention both “smart meters” and “carcinogen” or “carcinogenic” in the same report. Of these, 65 articles appeared in Canadian, Australian or UK papers.  Instead, corporate news coverage in the U.S. reassures the public that the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) has found smart meters to be within its safety standards, that they impose no danger to one’s health, and that they are “environmental friendly”. “With potential continued revenue growth,” Tracy concludes, the telecommunications industry shows little interest in “raising questions and relaying information that can safeguard public health and allow citizens to ask intelligent questions concerning the health of themselves and their loved ones.”
Source: James F. Tracy, “Health Impacts of RF Radiation: Media Blackout on Smart Meter Danger” Global Research, January 21, 2014, http://www.globalresearch.ca/health-impacts-of-rf-radiation-us-media-blackout-on-smart-meter-dangers/5365598.
Student Researcher: Casey Lewis (Sonoma State University)
Faculty Evaluator: Peter Phillips (Sonoma State University)