Bad Science Goes Bananas!

Ben Goldsmith aka "Bad Science" appears to have completely lost the plot with the recent Panorama programme dedicated to Wi-fi. He made some scurrilous accusations about Powerwatch's Alasdair Philips without backing up his claims with anything more than his own "bad science". Maybe he should stick to medical issues - he is at least trained in them!

He claimed that:-

1. Powerwatch is not independent and campaigns to stop WiFi and promote the products of Alasdair Philips' linked EMFields products.
2. Alasdair Philips is not a suitable person to advise or take measurements.
3. The instruments used (especially the COM monitor) were unsuitable.
4. What we measured and how it was measured was bad science.
5. The content of the programme was badly biased against WiFi.
6. Where is the scientific evidence of possible harm?
7. Where is the scientific evidence for Electrical Sensitivity?

Read Alasdair's reply that dismisses all of Ben Goldacre's claims here.

We got a reply back from Ben Goldacre, as follows:-

[1.] Powerwatch is not independent and campaigns to stop WiFi and promote the products of Alasdair Philips' linked EMFields products.
true, would you have been impressed if they used an engineer from t-mobile?
[2.] Alasdair Philips is not a suitable person to advise or take measurements.
true, he's a great person to commentate, i like him, he's a sensible lobbyist (with one very worrying recent slip which i suspect he is addressing) but not to take measurements, clearly not.
[3.] The instruments used (especially the COM monitor) were unsuitable.
they absolutely were, he designed it, he designed what "red" was. even kenyon accepts this.
[4.] What we measured and how it was measured was bad science.
yup. right up next to the computer while it was downloading a large file is not a real world measure of day to day exposure, as i said.
[5.] The content of the programme was badly biased against WiFi.
of course it was. i don't believe anyone would doubt that for one moment
[6.] Where is the scientific evidence of possible harm?
i am very happy with the idea that concerns have been raised and that further research should be done, as i have made very clear
[7.] Where is the scientific evidence for Electrical Sensitivity?
the symptoms are very real and very distressing, they deserve research effort and practical support as they receive in sweden, but there is little evidence to show that these symptoms are caused by EM. most unforgivably of all , the program completely misrepresented the evidence that does exist. this is completely unacceptable. i don't think your case needs to rest on misleading people about the evidence, i think you can make a perfectly good case without doing that.
Ben Goldacre

We say:-

[1] , [2] You could argue the case either way for these points. When does an 'Independent' stop being an Independent and become otherwise, once they realise the dangers of such devices as Mobile Telephoen Masts and Wi-fi? There are 1 or 2 retired experts who do not have a related income, so maybe they should have been used, but their experience isn't as great. I would say ALL experts are polarised either For or Against, so an accusation of bias was always occur.
[3] The COM meter as I recall was only being used to illustrate signal strengths in Norwich from the city-wide Wi-Fi, it wasn't part of the "Scientific" part of the programme. The "red" is illustrative and corresponds well to the scale that Alasdair mentions. The COM meter as a whole scales well with the levels set by the Scientists in Salzburg a few years ago for safe(r) mobile phone usage indoors and out. It is a consumer device and doesn't fully measure 3G signals, but is professionally calibrated, and correctly illustrates signal strength.
From personal experience a COM meter is OK to measure with, but is not ideal as it does not recognise 3G fully. I would have liked to see the COM meter used with the Acousticom [sound] meter or, ideally, a more complex professional unit. Even so, the COM meter gives correct or lower readings for illustration purposes.
[4] The measurements taken were not stated as constant, but are realistic for the levels found when files are being downloaded from the internet or the school's server - which would certainly be some or a lot of the time - the transcript excerpt below illustrates what was ACTUALLY said:-
"PHILIPS: Absolutely, yes that was definitely higher than I expected. It's only there.. not there continuously but it's obviously there quite a lot of the lesson if you're downloading files from the internet.

KENYON: So we took the first measurement here in what's called the beam of greatest intensity from the mast. The advice from Sir William Stewart to the government was that this beam shouldn't fall on any part of a school's grounds, unless the school and the parents agreed. But the levels of radiation inside the classroom were far higher, three times the strength of the nearby mast - not continuously but during downloads. These are controversial findings that must be repeated and verified."

[5] The content of the programme was, rather, bringing to the public's attention information that is not forth-coming regarding the emissions from Wi-fi and its connections to Mobile Telephone Masts. The program was straight talking using facts, rather than just using ridicule. In doing so, it has helped in a small way to redress the balance of other programmes which heavily promote wireless like the BBC News, Click and other tie-ins to Product launches such as the recent launch of "The Cloud" in the City of London.

[6] The volume of Scientific evidence of possible harm is already large and is growing all the time - it just isn't artificially pigeon-holed as "wi-fi" / "this" or "that" - it's the same sorts and strengths of microwave emissions at the same frequencies which produce low-level elctromagnetic fields. Wi-fi ticks many of the same boxes for many of the Scientific research programs already carried out. You do not need to start entirely from scratch with each and every device as and when it comes out if it uses similar technology - Wi-fi's characteristics are the same as many other wireless technologies including Mobile Telephone Masts.

Why should we be subjected to a huge experiment in the mean time? A post-code lottery of wireless hot-spots and Mobile Phone Masts shouldn't be turning residents into lab rats.

[7] The whole of human history is littered with precedence of changing lifestyles causing new diseases to become more common.

In the Agricultural revolution a diet of wheat led to diseases such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome and other problems from eating foods for which our bodies had not evolved.

In the Industrial Revolution new pollutants led to the rise in diseases such as Rheumatoid Arthritis and other problems linked to industrial pollutions.

In the "Modern Age" of electricity from the 1920's onwards diseases such as Leukaemia and other similar cancers have become more widespread.

Now mobile/wireless/microwave communications are bringing their sets of problems for our bodies to cope with - more rare cancers are becoming increasingly common - the types predicted many years ago by Dr. Cherry before these technologies were widely deployed. Electrosensitive (EHS) people are an extreme reaction to this latest "leap into the unknown" that we are all taking with Wi-fi and similar technologies.

I am in contact with several EHS people who were not even aware that Wi-fi etc. had been installed by neighbours or employers until their lives were turned upside down by pains and suffering. Many sufferers can "sniff-out" wireless access points without COM meters. Their symptoms wear off when they are not in proximity to wireless devices or transmitters. This is not psychosomatic - this is very real. It is down to an environmental pollutant and that common pollutant in the case of EHS is EM.

Many so-called "double-blind" tests carried out to date on EHS sufferers have NOT taken the source of EM down to zero for the supposed "OFF" test. Would you hold a pilot light near to the skin of a burns victim? No, of course not. The cynic in me would say that such tests were designed to fail to cast "FUD" (fear, uncertainty, doubt) on EHS sufferers. By discrediting EHS sufferers - the extreme of microwave damage - you can keep the cash rolling in for the wireless industry.

I counter by asking you Ben -

6. Where is the scientific evidence of safety for Wi-fi etc.?
7. Where is the scientific evidence to explain away Electrical Sensitivity?

Ben - If you want to find out about EHS for real I can introduce you to real sufferers - real people are much less easy to explain away than statistics.