Response to ESE Advertorial

ESE – The Device for a Modern Answer to Lightning Protection?

An advertorial ESE: The device for a modern answer to lightning protection placed in The Sunday Star on October 4, 2009 by an anonymous proponent of the early streamer emission (ESE) lightning protection system prompted the attached response by Z. A. Hartono and I. Robiah.

Their response states that some of the content of the advertorial was found to be misleading and seemed to be targeted at the general public who are largely uninformed about lightning protection matters. It is a well known fact that people are terrified of lightning, especially when it strikes very close to them.

The article calls the advertorial an attempt to defend and promote the ESE air terminals (i.e. lightning rods) which have already been scientifically discredited and regarded as dangerous to public safety more than a decade ago. They believe that the government should stop the sales of ESE air terminals by vendors and their proponents, who knowingly expose people to lightning by promoting, recommending and/or selling their safety challenged air terminals. This danger was highlighted again in a warning issued by the International Conference on Lightning Protection (ICLP) in 2005.

Their article addresses some of the misleading statements and claims made in the advertorial and also highlights some of the recent and past failures of the ESE air terminals that have not been reported before.

Complete article: ESE - THE DEVICE FOR A MODERN ANSWER TO LIGHTNING PROTECTION?
Authors: Z. A. Hartono and I. Robiah
E-mail: zahartono@gmail.com ; hartono@pc.jaring.my