The Current Design for National Grid's "Smart" Grid to be installed in Charlemont and Heath in the first half of June . . .
What does this map mean and what calls to action does it suggest?
Cellular Smart Meters vs. 900 MHZ Unlicensed Smart Meters
If your home is marked by an orange dot, you are slated for a 900 MHZ unlicensed spectrum meter that is connected to a "mesh network" of whip antennas sending radiation towards your home to meet the radiation coming from the smart meter and then sending it from antenna to antenna. carrying your energy consumption data with it.
In other words, even if you pay $26 a month to opt out of a smart meter that is surrounded by other orange dots, National Grid will still be installing antennas around your home, essentially trespassing on your property with the blooms of their radiation. Whip antennas are omnidirectional, meaning they are emitting 360 degrees and towards the ground. Other choices are possible, for example, point to point "fixed wireless" antennas. But this is not how the this version of the "smart" grid has been designed by an engineering firm hired by National Grid and based thousands of miles from Charlemont.
Cellular meters, on the other hand, are emitting pulsed microwave radiation to the local cell tower, most likely the Verizon tower on top of Berkshire East. National Grid currently has to pay less than $1 a year to Verizon for the data collected from one home's smart meter.
The current smart grid design is based on a long term cost projection: how much would it cost National Grid to pay Verizon to collect your data at around 80 cents a year vs how much it would cost them to install and maintain whip antennas and repeaters (another type of antenna) in your neighborhood. In other words, the more densely populated parts of Charlemont are getting the mesh network.
If Verizon or AT&T wanted to install dozens of antennas around town close to homes (say 5G "small cells") there would be a massive outcry and a series of public hearings. National Grid and Eversource are assuming that they can install these antennas close to homes because they think it's legal and their job is to implement the Department of Public Utilities orders or face fines. Unfortunately, the version of the DPU that issued the order to install the smart grid in 2014 used taxpayer money to hire a tobacco scientist named Peter Valberg to testify that wireless exposure from the smart grid was "safe." Here are the emails between Valberg and the DPU obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. It is true that utilities are allowed to provide electricity to consumers as per a MA statute. But that statute was never updated to say they could also install microwave antennas (see legal brief submitted to the Charlemont Select Board last spring) and irradiate ratepayers while delivering electricity.
But National Grid Says the Levels are Safe and Much Lower Than Other Devices
While holding your smart phone to your head during a call for ten minutes would be cumulatively more exposure than you would receive from the mesh network while inside your house during those ten minutes, you have the option to put your phone in airplane mode, for example, while you are sleeping. The smart grid is 24X7 and involuntary. One of the most important factors, scientists are learning, is duration of exposure. Different frequencies at different power levels have different health effects. Explore the science here. Smart meters have been injuring people around the globe for more than a decade. Utility PR people have to say it's safe or look for another job.
What Can Be Done Now?
Three Actions You Can Take
NUMBER ONE: Ask the Charlemont Selectboard and Board of Health to demand a pause in the smart grid rollout in order for a redesign to take place. For example, there is plenty of coverage from the Berkshire East cell tower to have cellular meters along Rt. 2 and Route 8A. Then people who would like to opt out can do so without having antennas installed on light poles next to their homes. Email: selectboard@townofcharlemont.org and boh@townofcharlemont.org. You are welcome to cc: admin@hilltownhealth.org and also express your concerns to Senator Mark: paul.mark@masenate.gov
Why the Board of Health?
The Board of Health is obligated to protect public health and actually has what is called "plenary power" to fulfill that mission. This means that it has the power to open an investigation into the health effects of wireless radiation sources placed on people's homes - including people without the financial means to opt out and without the financial means to move when they realize they are being surrounded by a mesh network of whip antennas, repeaters and cellular backhaul sites.
NUMBER TWO: Opt Out of your "smart meter"
This will reduce your exposure at home but currently costs $26 / month. There are many people (including Senator Mark and other legislators and citizens across the Commonwealth) believe you should not have to pay to not have a technology which has been shown to be harmful installed on your house in order to have electricity. The no-fee opt out bill's journey has been long but currently continues to need citizen support. You can learn more and help the fight by scrolling down to H. 3551 on the site of Massachusetts for Safe Technology here.
National Grid's Opt-Out form is here.
NUMBER THREE: Vote in favor of Article 22 at Town Meeting
This does not relate directly to smart meters but does relate to not having antennas hung by AT&T, Verizon, etc. next to your home.
More Context for the Smart Meter Rollout in Charlemont and Heath
National Grid has not provided a reason why it suddenly has sped up deployment of smart meters from 2027 to June 11, 2026 (Heath is expected even before that). However it is clear that for a multibillion dollar corporation, the slightly higher cost of using cellular meters over a 20 year period (a total of $20 per meter over 20 years) vs the cost of installing and maintaining a mesh network is negligible. Their revenue was $29.27 billion for the 12 months ending Mar 31, 2025, with 222.1% growth year over year.
They will tell you that they are obligated to pursue the lowest cost installation by the DPU. Certainly being sued by injured residents will be much more expensive (Senator Mark has proposed legislation that will allow residents injured by smart meter installations to sue). No other type of wireless installations has created as many people suffering from Electromagnetic Radiation Syndrome (EMR-S) as smart meters. Speaking of EMR-S, if you live in Charlemont and would like to watch an award winning documentary about the subject filmed mostly in Charlemont called "Canary in a Gold Mine" you can do so here with the password: butterfly
Did you miss the Take Back Your Power screening in Greenfield? TBYP is an award winning documentary about smart meters that can also be watched online.
And Thank You to Everyone who Attended the Local Leader Forum with Dr. Chamberlin, Friday Nov. 14 at 2 pm, Greenfield Public Library Conference Room
Eversource Begins Rollout of Smart Meters in Western MA, National Grid to Follow
Opt out is possible for a monthly fee. The Opt Out Bill making it possible to not receive a meter that will emit radiation both to your appliances (into the house) and to antennas on the street no matter your capacity to pay remains stalled in the MA Legislature. Vermont utilities continue to thrive despite the VT legislature prohibiting charging an opt out fee.
Thank you to everyone who attended "Smart Meters: Health, Safety and Opting Out" a talk by National Safe Tech Expert Kent Chamberlin at Greenfield Middle School. You can now watch the talk by clicking the links below.
About the Talk
This is a free event.
Get Hilltown Health News!
New Cell Tower Proposed in Colrain by Tarpon Towers and Verizon on Call Road
Quote from Recorder Feature on the Tower:
"Wozniak said the hearing would likely be a lengthy one as the Planning Board will have much to discuss regarding safety and access concerns. She said the proposed driveway to the site is only 14 feet wide and rather steep, going up 80 feet in height over a span of just 170 feet. This could be a challenge, not only for construction vehicles, but also for first responders that may need to access the site in the event of an emergency
“If you think about a fire truck going up a road with a high grade, I don’t think it’s doable,” Wozniak said.
Concerned about the tower and its impact on local residents and the adjacent Audubon sanctuary? Contact us: admin@hilltownhealth.org
National Grid to Double the Number of Poles, Increase Height to 45' and add wireless antennas for "Smart Grid" on Country Roads in Charlemont and Heath
Charlemont Board of Health recommends the Selectboard ask National Grid to accomodate resident with Electromagnetic Radiation Syndrome by installing fiber instead of antennas
At the Heath Pole Hearing, National Grid Representative Robert Ide described this "upgrade" as the "beginning of the smart grid." What does this mean? National Grid will be rolling out smart meters to replace our current electric meters with antennas designed to emit into the home to connect with "smart appliances" as well as to a wireless transmitter on each utility pole. This "mesh network" sends data wirelessly back and forth between your home and National Grid in real time. Hundreds of people across the US and internationally have been permanently disabled after their home or apartment building was outfitted with smart meters. And that is not the end of it . . . Verizon and other carriers have been following up the installation of larger three phase poles with the installation of 5G small cell antennas. Although Charlemont passed an important upgrade to their telecom by-law last year, there is currently NO SETBACK in place for 5G antennas, ie, they can be next to your window just like National Grid's wireless network will be for many residents.
Despite the residents whose health and property values will be negatively impacted by the tower hired an attorney who gave the ZBA clear grounds for denying the tower, the ZBA ultimately sided with AT&T despite numerous hearings and the majority of residents opposing the tower.
This Tower will be constructed on Newton Street, near Tractor Supply in Greenfield - close to Newton Elementary School, residential neighborhoods and right next to several homes which include young children and adults with pre-existing health conditions.
The applicant is Viridi Wireless
Their application packet is available here
Previous Event with Dr. Chamberlin . . .
Dr. Kent Chamberlin Webinar
Dr. Chamberlin, former Chair of the Dept. of Electrical Engineering at U. of New Hampshire, served on the NH 5G Commission. The webinar, held on 5/18/22 addressed the Conway application as well as broader issues.
Watch the recording:
The Lighter Side . . .
A short video that looks at the lighter side of the FCC's refusal to comply with a court order to review 11,000 pages of scientific evidence about biological harm from wireless exposure
Now is the Time!
New cell towers are going up in Buckland, Conway, Heath and Greenfield - - now is the time to update town by-laws! If you live in a small town in Western MA, it is very likely your Telecom By-Law has not changed (much) for 20 years, leaving residents vulnerable to inapprorpriately sited wireless infrastructure. "More service" seems great until the tower goes up next door or the 5G antenna is hung outside your bedroom window causing health and property value impacts.
Now is the time to approach local Planning Boards to get ready for the spring, 2026 town meetings!
Charlemont, MA Strengthens Their Telecom By-Law and Passes a Smart Meter Moratorium
After three years of work by the Planning Board, Hilltown Health and Franklin Regional Council of Governments, a major update was passed at the Charlemont, MA Town Meeting. Some of the highlights include:
- Defining 5G and requiring a hearing for "small cell" applications
- Strengthening insurance requirements and shifting the burden away from the town and to the carrier in the event of lawsuits following injury to residents
- Requiring that carrier applications include real "dropped call data" rather than computer generated (and easily fudged) "propagation maps" when a Big Tech carrier wants to show a gap in service
Perhaps even more concerning than the roll out of small cell antennas in close proximity to homes, schools and businesses, the MA Department of Public Utilities has ordered the rollout of "smart meters" by National Grid (2026) and Eversource (2025). Charlemont residents passed a one year smart meter moratorium in spring, 2024 to provide time for the town and concerned residents to explore the possibility of running a "smart grid" through the existing municipally owned fiber network, greatly reducing energy consumption, reducing fire and hacking risks and eliminating microwave radiation being emitted into the home to harvest and re-sell personal data from "smart" appliances. Unfortunately, this moratorium has been deemed "non-binding" by the Attorney General, ie, it is merely an expression of citizen sentiment. Fortunately, there is a no fee opt out bill still alive in the House and Senate. Please contact your state reps in support and/or get in touch with us about the citizen petition version of these bills which would allow citizens to vote by putting the question on the ballot.
Live in the Hilltowns and want to connect with neighbors who are savvy to EMF health impacts?
Conway Site
The red circle in the image is 500 meters/1640 feet from the tower which is the distance determined by the New Hampshire 5G Commission needed to be reasonably safe for most people. Within the red circle, there are homes under the tree cover as well as vulnerable wildlife populations. Some of these residents do not want to be injured by the tower but know that from a legal point of view it is unwise to speak of the health effects in the public hearing. Lawyers hired by abutters in recent Vertex tower applications in the Hilltowns advise objecting to towers based on the telecom bylaws of the town. If the Conway Planning Board rejected the tower based on the harm it will cause to people and wildlife, this would open the town to a lawsuit by Vertex because the 1996 Telecom Act, largely written by telecom lobbyists, says local governments can not object based on "environmental effects." Of course, there are many societies now and in the past which have legalized harm to innocent people in the name of "the greater good" or simply for the profit of a few. Fortunately, there are still many other valid grounds for rejecting the tower.
Conway Wireless Communication Facilities By Law
Conway Wireless Communication Facilities By Law with comments
Ashfield
The previous cell tower application in Ashfield was proposed for 2nd field on left. AT&T has withdrawn the application following a lawsuit by abutters after the Planning Board approved the tower with conditions.
Newsflash: Town of Heath Rejects 180 Foot AT&T Cell Tower and is now being sued by AT&T. Meanwhile, AT&T withdraws application for Cell Tower in Ashfield following lawsuit by residents
Hilltown Health is collaborating with town officials in Western Massachusetts to update their by-laws to maintain homerule regarding 5G small cells being rolled out in cities around the U.S.
Why is this important?
Towns with “outdated” telecommunications by-laws (meaning they just address cell towers but not “small cells”, DAS, etc.) will be in trouble if they get a "small cell" application from Verizon, AT&T etc. because they won’t be able to update their statutes fast enough to beat the “shot clock” the FCC has put into place for how quickly towns need to respond to carrier applications. Then any subsequent applications will get the same green light because other carriers can plead "discrimination" if they are handled differently.
In fact, citizens and town leaders around the country are mobilizing to stop and slow down the roll out of 5G because:
- There has been no testing for health effects
- Initial studies show the potential for serious environmental and biological harm
- Global warming will be accelerated by the electricity demands of storing and re-selling everyone's personal data generated from the "internet of things" along with the power required to generate microwave radiation from all our connected objects (doritos bags, basketballs, clothing, vacuums, ice scrapers, etc.)
- Having a cell antenna in your front yard, besides endangering your family's health, will reduce your property value.
Download a color fact sheet with clickable links
Download a printable b/w fact sheet
Randolph, MA 5G Sample Ordinance
Email from Weston (a town that waited too long to update their by-laws)
Legal Alert Urging Towns to Begin Coalition-Building re: 5G
Be Careful What You Wish For: 5G and the Hilltowns, humorous essay
Success!
The town of Shelburne, MA updated their telecom by-laws on May 1st, 2018 and then again in June, 2021 so that citizens have something to stand on when the first applications come in to install a 5G "small cell" network.
Download Shelburne's 2021 update
Not familiar with the issues?
Get some historical context with award winning journalists' article in The Nation: "How Big Wireless Made us Think That Cell Phones Are Safe: A Special Investigation"
Good introductory video (Dr. Erica Mallery Blythe, 15 minutes)
Environmental Health Trust
Multiple articles about 5G, Cell Towers, Effects on the Environment, etc.
Wired for Health During COVID-19!
In response to the increased screentime for many during COVID-19, Hilltown Health is launching a new program that "connects" people with ethernet cable and adapters on a donation basis for their devices and providing advice for anyone who needs help switching from wi-fi to a safer, more secure, and faster ethernet connection.
Contact us if:
- You want help switching
- You would like to donate ethernet cable or adapters
- You would like to receive ethernet cable and adapters
The Good News . . .
"Hilltown Health alerted me & my neighbors when a microwave tower was being fast tracked for installation right outside my front door. Hilltown Health worked with us to engage the local community so our voices would be part of the discussion. This ultimately led to a more appropriate location for the tower that did not infringe on our property rights or endanger our health."
- Laury Wills, Legate Hill Rd., Charlemont
"I have been sleeping so much more deeply since turning off my wi-fi at night and having much more vivid dreams. Thank you!"
- Susan Pelis, 2nd grade teacher, Sheffield Elementary School, Montague
"I was surprised to discover that a NH wireless provider wanted to install a microwave tower next to my home which would have led to property value loss and health/environmental impacts. Hilltown Health provided timely information, helped grow our group of supporters, and referred my neighbors and I to Attorney Michael Pill who has a wealth of experience protecting people from wireless harm. In the end, the application for the tower was withdrawn. Western MA is lucky to have a group like this advocating for safe technology, public health and the environment! I look forward to them helping Heath update our by-laws so that our town has more say around 5G deployment." - Amy Krane, Heath MA
From Our Blog
Letter to Charlemont Selectboard re: Mass Broadband Institute “Emergency” Router
Click here to sign on to this letter which will be presented Monday, May 8 at 6:30 pm to the Charlemont Selectboard. Thank you for considering it! May 7, 2023 Dear Charlemont Selectboard, We understand that you have likely never heard of this issue but it turns out that at the beginning of the pandemic,…
HAPS: Human and Pollinator Sanctuary Resolution
Hilltown Health has created a non-binding resolution which garnered enough signatures in the town of Shelburne, MA to be placed on the Town Warrant. Although the resolution did not pass this year, it provoked a broad public discussion during Town Meeting. The resolution seeks to discover if citizens prefer not to be irradiated from space…
Hilltown Health receives first grant!
Hilltown Health is grateful to the New England Grassroots Environment Fund for awarding a $250 grant to help HH create an event that helps raise awareness about the 5G rollout and what communities can do to help themselves. Learn more about the Grassroots Fund at grassrootsfund.org
An Intercepted Love Note: Big Pharma to Big Wireless
Dear Big Wireless, Ah, to be young again. Young like you. Did you know that 1 human year = 6.66 Billion Dollar Industry years? I wanted to say thank you. You’ve probably heard what’s been happening to me. Our reps are not as welcome in doctor’s offices and hospitals. Thirty five state attorney generals are…
Hilltown Health Participates in Pittsfield Cell Tower Educational Panel
Watch the video and check out the resources here: https://www.lee.ma.us/tri-town-health-department/news/safe-cell-tower-siting-zoom-educational-forum-october-19th
Heath & Ashfield Microwave News
My Turn in the Recorder, published Dec. 29, 2020 Link to Ashfield’s Cell Tower Hearing on March 3rd, 2021
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