Klaus Bichler's talk from SciBarCampVIE about science journalism in Austria as well as a how-to for scientists for interview situations

1. Electrophobia as a Health Risk
SciBarCamp
29 October 2011
Ernst Bonek
www.nt.tuwien.ac.at/about-us/staff/ernst-bonek/

2. 'Wi-fi refugees' shelter in West Virginia
mountains
• Dozens of Americans who claim to have been made ill by wi-fi and
mobile phones have flocked to the town of Green Bank, West Virginia
• There are five billion mobile phone subscriptions worldwide and
advances in wireless technology make it increasingly difficult to escape
the influence of mobile devices. But while most Americans seem to
embrace continuous connectivity, some believe it's making them
physically ill.
• Diane Schou is unable to hold back the tears as she describes how she
once lived in a shielded cage to protect her from the electromagnetic
radiation caused by waves from wireless communication.
• Ms Schou is one of an estimated 5% of Americans who believe they
suffer from Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity (EHS), which they say is
caused by exposure to electromagnetic fields typically created by
mobile phones, wi-fi and other electronic equipment.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-14887428
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29.10.2011
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3. What is „Health“?
The World Health Organisation WHO says :
"A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being,
and not merely the absence of disease"
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29.10.2011
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4. What is a „Phobia“?
Wikipedia:
• A phobia is …. defined as a persistent fear of an
object or situation in which the sufferer commits to
great lengths avoiding…, often being recognized as
irrational. In the event the phobia cannot be avoided
entirely the sufferer will endure the situation …. with
marked distress ….
• Exaggerated fear makes sick
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29.10.2011
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5. Electrophobia
• Fear of things or phenomena that are
electrical
Ernst Bonek
Ernst Bonek
29.10.2011
15.3.2011
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6. Electric, Magnetic, and Electromagnetic Fields
(EMF)
Wavelength
Frequency
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7. Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity (EHS)
Wikipedia:
...is a set of claims of adverse medical symptoms
purportedly caused by exposure to electromagnetic
fields. Self-described sufferers of electromagnetic
hypersensitivity report responding to non-ionizing
electromagnetic fields (or electromagnetic radiation) at
intensities well below the limits permitted by
international radiation safety standards.
Observation: To date, no person worldwide has been
found that objectively can distinguish between field
or no field at RF frequencies
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8. Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity (EHS)
Hypersensitive persons suffer from
• Head-ache
• Sleep disturbances
• Fatigue - Concentration problems
• Tinnitus
• Allergies
IEI-EMF
Idiopathic Environmental Intolerance Attributed to ElectroMagnetic Fields
Such persons are not hypochondriacs, i.e. their
symptoms are real!
Ernst Bonek
15.3.2011
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9. Perception of Radio-Frequency Fields
Meta study of all doubleblind studies
www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/88/12/09-071852/en/
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29.10.2011
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10. The Evidence from Brain Scans (MRI)
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18499479
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29.10.2011
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11. Significantly Activated Brain Areas
Inferior frontal gyrus,
Anterior insular cortex
Cingulate cortex
“anterior cingulate and insular
cortex are thought to contribute
to the so-called "pain
neuromatrix"
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29.10.2011
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12. Ernst Bonek
29.10.2011
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13. The Effect of Sham Exposure
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14. What do we learn?
• EHS patients’ symptoms are objectively unrelated to
emf
• However, they do suffer from real symptoms
• Still, they are no hypochondriacs
• It’s a nocebo effect
• They hurt themselves by clinging to false beliefs
Ernst Bonek
29.10.2011
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15. Nocebo effect
• The opposite of placebo effect
• We believe that something may hurt us – and then it
does
• A famous example of the nocebo effect: patient
information sheet. You read about unwanted side
effects of your prescribed drug – and, lo and behold,
there you feel them already
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29.10.2011
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16. Why a health risk?
• Constant fear accumulates stress until it becomes
unbearable
• If a genuine condition remains undetected, because
the person attributes her symptoms erroneously to
EMF
• Even if the person only suffers mildly from anxiety,
this is – according to WHO’s health definition – an
impairment in quality of life
• There are studies suggesting that the call for
“precautionary measures” to reduce public exposure
to EMF entail a nocebo effect:
Wiedemann & Schütz, „The Precautionary Priniciple and Risk Perception: Experimental Studies in the EMF Area“,
Environmental Health Perspectives Vol. 113 (April 2005), 402-405
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17. Electrophobia
When fear is the opponent,
science does not stand a chance.
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18. So, who profits ?
• Evidently people who are smart enough to exploit
other people‘s fears
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19. Thank you for your attention!
www.nt.tuwien.ac.at/about-us/staff/ernst-bonek/
Ernst Bonek
29.10.2011
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20. Some further reading
• www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18499479
• www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs296/en/
• www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20538519
• www.iarc.fr/en/media-centre/pr/2010/pdfs/pr200_E.pdf
• www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs193/en/
• www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs304/en/
• wien.arbeiterkammer.at/bilder/d129/Esoteriktexte.pdf
• www.apg.at/~/media/725E45B5C12A4F9DA6439BF362BB4381.ashx
• www.scienceblogs.de/kritisch-gedacht/2008/11/dr-oberfeld.php
• Speit G, Schütz P, Hoffmann H. Genotoxic effects of exposure to radiofrequency
electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) in cultured mammalian cells are not independently
reproducible. Mutation Res 626:42-47; 2007.
• Wiedemann P.M. & Schütz H., „The Precautionary Priniciple and Risk Perception:
Experimental Studies in the EMF Area“, Environmental Health Perspectives Vol. 113 (April
2005), 402-405
• www.faz.net/s/Rub7F74ED2FDF2B439794CC2D664921E7FF/
Doc~EBAAA0BCEC6544EE1AC30A2FB15439B54~ATpl~Ecommon~Scontent.html
• http://ec.europa.eu/health/opinions2/en/electromagnetic-fields/index.htm
• http://web.jrc.ec.europa.eu/emf-net/doc/efrtdocuments/EMF-NET%20Comments%20on
%20the%20BioInitiative%20Report%2030OCT2007.pdf
• www.welt.de/videos/wissen/article12722037/Wuenschelruten-persiflieren-sich-im-
Tagesprogramm.html#autoplay
Ernst Bonek
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