Letter to the Editor
Dear Editor:
I write in reply to the October 27 Letter to the Editor entitled ‘Concern About New Water Meters’.
The authors have clearly misunderstood the technology employed in the meters about to be installed in Meaford homes. While it is true that the meters will transmit 24/7/365 – they do not transmit continuously 100% of the time. They transmit frequent, short bursts – 7 milliseconds every 14 seconds, adding up to less than 60 seconds over a 24 hour period. That works out to about 0.00007% of the time! To put the duration of the short data bursts into perspective, note that the blink of an eye is typically between 100 and 150 milliseconds. So we are talking about very, very short transmissions emitting very little power – far below the regulatory limit!
So little power is needed to run these meters, they can rely upon a small internal battery to keep them going for 10 to 15 years, or even more. People receive exponentially more exposure from common man-made devices and environmental sources than from wireless water meters.
Based on the latest scientific evidence, Health Canada has determined that exposure below the levels in Safety Code 6 does not pose a health risk to the public. And, international bodies like the World Health Organization (WHO) agree with this conclusion.
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs193/en/
Tom Whitney, Burlington, ON
