By Kim Goldberg

May 13, 2014

Steve Weller, Vice President of Stop Smart Meters Australia, and author of the report: “Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity (EHS): A Personal Case Study”.

Australian Steve Weller was 32 years old when he first determined in 2001 that he was sensitive to wireless radiation. He had used computers his entire adult life. He also worked in the IT (Information Technology) industry, and describes himself as an early adopter of technology.

“I was looking forward to the freedom [wireless technology] would afford me,” Steve recalls. “No more wires cluttering the desk, free to do my work on my laptop at the kitchen table while I had breakfast.”

Being technically savvy, Steve decided to buy the most powerful Wi-Fi router that was available at the time. His subsequent discovery that he was being sickened by the hardware of his life and work was not easy news to absorb. But he could not ignore the alarming effects this technology was having on his body.

“On first using my wireless router, I began to feel pressure in my head, pressure in my chest, and tingling sensations in my hands and face within a few minutes of use,” Steve says. “I also noted (and so did my wife) that my temperament changed from my normally relaxed manner to being more agitated and short tempered when using my Wi-Fi enabled router.”

With more prolonged use, Steve’s symptoms expanded to include a burning sensation in his intestines, chest pressure, irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia) followed by thumping heartbeats “like my heart was trying to jump out of my chest,” Steve recalls.

“I soon realised that a consistent pattern was developing when using my wireless router… It was at this point that I made a conscious decision to not use a wireless network to connect to the internet,” he says.

Today, 13 years later, Steve still uses computers, he still works in IT, and he is still electrosensitive. But he has, through much research and reading (and relocation), learned how to reduce his exposure and thereby keep the worst of his symptoms at bay—at least until wireless smart meters were introduced to his neighbourhood in 2011.

Although Steve managed to keep a smart meter off his own home in Melbourne, he was severely affected by his neighbours’ two smart meters that were installed three meters away from his bedroom.

“I found I was waking at specific times every night,” Steve recounts. “It felt like someone had taken a long, sharp needle and quickly pushed it into my head.” Steve found he could no longer use the front areas of his house that received the biggest dose from his neighbours’ smart meters. He has recently moved from Melbourne to Queensland, a city that has not been fitted up with smart meters.

Since moving from Melbourne to Queensland, where there are no wireless smart meters yet, Steve Weller now has a safe haven in his backyard… for the time being.

Steve, who holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry and Microbiology from Monash University in Australia, is now the Vice President of Stop Smart Meters Australia.

And in an effort to educate politicians, scientists, and the general public on the under-recognized health crisis of electrosensitivity, Steve has documented his own case, along with much scientific research, in an 18-page brief titled “Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity (EHS): A Personal Case Study”.

Read and download Steve Weller’s complete case study here: Steve Weller Case Study. 

What needs to happen next…

From the final pages of Steve Weller’s well-researched and thoroughly annotated brief on EHS:

“First and foremost, governments need to recognise that EHS is real and can be a serious health impairment, like Sweden does. Furthermore, medical professionals need to be educated on what EHS is, how to diagnose it and how to treat it. Education programs need to be established at Universities that cover this topic. The public also needs to be educated and informed of the risks of using wireless devices clearly and without prejudice or unwanted influence from those who market these devices. The media often portrays those who are suffering in a poor light, leading to hurtful comments and ridicule from uninformed members of the public. This needs to change. Scientists often weigh in on the argument, suggesting that EHS is a psychosomatic illness based on what I believe to be faulty scientific studies that use only the provocation test as the basis for their claims. Further research maybe required, but those who are suffering should not be held hostage by wrangling scientists and politicians as they argue the validity of EHS and testing techniques. The symptomology and causative factors of EHS are known and have been known for years.”

September 21, 2014 Update: Steve is now exploring the possibility of creating a safe haven somewhere in Australia for people with EHS. He has written a summary outlining some of the many logistical considerations for bringing a community of electrosensitive people together for this purpose. It is a document that may be useful to other people elsewhere who are trying to establish EHS refuges. 

Read and download Steve’s Safe Haven Brief here: Safe Haven Brief by Steve Weller.