By B.N. Frank
Here are excerpts from a recent IEEE Spectrum article, February 26, 2018: “Exploding e-Cigarettes Are a Growing Danger to Public Health.”
- In July 2017, the National Fire Data Center of the U.S. Fire Administration identified 195 separate e-cigarette incidents in the United States between January 2009 and 31 December 2016.
- 38 incidents resulted in third-degree burns, facial injuries, or the loss of a body part.
- The number of fires and explosions has risen in tandem with the rise in e-cigarette sales.
- The report also notes the lack of regulations, codes, or laws governing the safety of the batteries in e-cigarettes.
- There’s reason to believe that many cases of injury are never registered with government authorities.
- An online blog asserts that at least 243 e-cigarette explosions occurred from August 2009 to April 2017, resulting in 158 personal injuries. Other explosions harmed animals or property.
- No specific laws govern the safety of e-cigarettes. In the absence of laws or regulations on e-cigarettes, legal liability may be the best way to apply pressure to makers.
During the approximate same time period, hundreds of thousands of wireless or digital utility “Smart” Meters have been replaced due to malfunctioning that has also caused fires and explosions.
On September 5, 2012, IEEE also published an article about utility “Smart” Meter fires and explosions.
Also reported in 2012, 57 California municipal governments had officially opposed utility “Smart” Meters in their communities.
In 2015, “Hundreds of smart meters simultaneously explode” in Stockton, California.
Another organization wrote a follow-up article which investigated further into the Stockton explosions and similar situations elsewhere.
More recently in California, PG&E customers and their insurance companies have been filing lawsuits due to their utility “Smart” Meters catching fire and/or exploding.
Over the years, there have been others who have also filed lawsuits against their utility companiesafter wireless or digital “Smart” Meters were installed and caused problems.
In 2012, Consumer Reports warned customers about problems associated with utility “Smart” Meters including their short life span.
A few experts suggest that smart-meter conversion represents little more than a boondoggle that is being foisted on consumers by the politically influential companies that make the hardware and software that are required for the smart-meter conversion. And based on our investigation, it’s difficult to disagree.
According to a more recent article from Energy Central,
… the only metric on which these smart meter deployments could be considered as successful would be number of meters deployed. And this is only because they were essentially mandated.
Utility companies still insist on installing wireless and digital “Smart” Meters all over the world. They claim they are beneficial to customers and are good for the environment.
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