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Energy &=20 Environment=20

| More=20

Are Wind Farms a Health Risk?

A study of families living near wind farms found nature's energy = might not be=20 so healthy.

Jessi= ca B.=20 Mulholland | March 1, 2010

Comments

Commented March 9, 2010

Just curious, does anyone know if people in Europe = claim=20 similar illnesses? Wind farms are much more...

Jump=20 to Comments

Wind energy is blowing hot right now. Nationwide, = wind farms=20 are bringing in renewable energy and jobs, such as in Montana, as = detailed in=20 "Propelling=20 Growth." Overall, wind turbines in the United States generated 52 = billion=20 kilowatt hours in 2008, which is enough to serve 4.6 million households, = according to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). And demand is growing: = The=20 number of wind turbines in the U.S. nearly doubled between 2006 and = 2008,=20 according to the DOE.

But it isn't all good, according to Dr. Nina Pierpont, who has = studied=20 families living near wind turbines. Pierpont found that there are enough = negative effects to warrant calling them "Wind Turbine Syndrome," = because the=20 symptoms form a consistent pattern from person to person, she says. "A = syndrome=20 really means the description of signs and symptoms that occur together = and are=20 not yet tied together as a clear disease."

One resident of Mars Hill, Maine, which has hosted a wind farm since = 2007,=20 wrote to Pierpont about her experience: "The noise created by the = turbines can=20 be unbearable at times," says Wendy Todd. "It causes disruption to sleep = patterns, stress and anxiety to most who live downwind of the project. = For some=20 it causes headaches, pressure or ringing in the ears, inability to = concentrate,=20 feelings of unease, and dizziness. ... I am not talking about a simple = nuisance,=20 this is about life-altering changes to the environment that can = literally make=20 people sick and change the way you live in your home and use your land. = A large=20 number of the families affected have considered leaving their = homes."

In his testimony to the Michigan Public Service Commission in = December 2009,=20 Dr. Malcolm A. Swinbanks said low-frequency noise can induce feelings = likened to=20 seasickness. "Like seasickness, the sensitivity of different individuals = varies=20 enormously," he says, "some being immediately sensitive, while others = can barely=20 detect anything." Swinbanks says he stood beside two people in a place = where=20 low-frequency noise was present; one person couldn't really hear = anything, while=20 the other felt ill and wanted to leave.

Pierpont's research also finds similar inconsistencies. Further, some = of her=20 subjects note that their symptoms come and go according to the wind's = direction=20 and strength, blade spinning speed, which way the turbines are facing = and=20 particular sounds coming from the turbines. Ultimately, Pierpont says,=20 low-frequency noise or vibration tricks the body's balance system into = thinking=20 it's moving-like seasickness, as Swinbanks suggested.

Wind turbine companies have dismissed the problem, saying people are = simply=20 making the symptoms up because they just don't like the turbines. = According to a=20 February 2009 article in Ontario, Canada's The Windsor Star, = Brian Howe,=20 a consulting engineer in acoustics for HGC Engineering, said Ontario's=20 guidelines for turbine noise are adequate and consistent with Health = Canada=20 studies, and that most people near wind turbines aren't complaining = about the=20 noise.

But Tracy Whitworth, a teacher in Clear Creek, Ontario, has multiple=20 complaints: Her home sits among 18 turbines, all within a 1.8-mile = radius and=20 the closest about one-quarter mile from her back door. "What most don't=20 understand is that it is the low frequency waves you cannot hear that = are so=20 debilitating to one's health," she says. "I have developed tinnitus in = my ears.=20 I hear and feel the pulsating of the turbines and buzzing in my ears. I = also=20 feel the pulsating in my throat and chest. I have nausea, dizziness, = significant=20 hearing loss, itchy eyes ... heart palpitations, achy joints, short-term = memory=20 loss, severe sleep deprivation on a regular basis."

The solution to the problem, say medical experts, isn't to stop = harnessing=20 wind's energy, but to place the turbines a certain distance away from = where=20 people live. In flat terrain, the turbines should be placed at least = 1.25 miles=20 away from where people are located, according to Pierpont, and at least = 2 miles=20 away in mountainous terrain, where the turbines are usually on = ridges.

This distance from wind farms that residents should maintain, = Pierpont says,=20 is probably the most important thing for people to know. "When the wind = farms=20 are coming to their communities, they need to know what kinds of = distances to=20 ask for," she says. "I think government should be involved in having = proper=20 setbacks in place, because that's always a governmental issue whether = local or=20 state, and in funding further=20 research."

Comments

J.S. = | Commented March 9, 2010 = Just curious, does anyone know if people in Europe claim similar = illnesses?=20 Wind farms are much more common and have been around longer in countries = like=20 Germany and Spain. Have scientists found similar occurences there? Anonymous = | Commented March 9, 2010 = Yes pretty much the world over has problem when they are sited too = close to=20 homes. About 1mile/2 km seem to remove most of the problems. The UK has = many=20 websites and a number of people have been forced from their houses. = Denmark has=20 moved to offshore due to the problem from wind turbines near = houses...same=20 Netherlands, Australia just published a standard of 2 KM setbacks for = the=20 government of New south Wales. The japanese have had a number of studies = where=20 people have complained. It is real. If you want more info just email me. = Many of=20 the people who complain have never been politically active and they are = at the=20 wits end. Watch the heart felt videos. I have been talking with some = people in=20 Vinalhaven maine who wanted the turbines built and the noise studies = said=20 everything would be find...and they are traumatized just weeks later. = use Less = | Commented March 17, 2010 = There would be many more noise complaints if wind developers weren't = paying=20 people to sign non disclosure, non disparagment clauses - gag orders. = Jim Cummings = | Commented March 17, 2010 = Noise issues around wind farms are a very difficult problem. By most = surveys=20 and accounts, it seems a minority, though in places with lots of = neighbors, a=20 substantial minority, is quite profoundly affected. Many wind farms are = far=20 enough away to avoid noise issues. As the first commenter noted, gag = orders do=20 make it difficult at times to assess the extent of the problem. The = health=20 problems are even harder to asses (how much direct effects of noise and=20 vibration, and how much is caused by stress and sleep deprivation? does = this=20 distinction really matter?), though the situation is also quite similar = in=20 different wind farms. I (at the Acoustic Ecology Institute) just = completed a=20 fairly in-depth look at it the issues, including challenges of setting a = reasonable noise limit (the issue in Vinalhaven, and many other places, = is=20 largely that local ordinances ALLOW noise levels that are substantially = above=20 quiet background ambient conditions). AEI is a non-advocacy, resource = and=20 information center. For more, see http://aeinews.org/archives/695 forthebirds = | Commented March 22, 2010 = Complaints about noise and aesthetics are pushing wind projects into = more=20 remote areas. That comes with its own set of problems: transmission = lines and=20 roads that fragment and destroy wildlife habitat, and that turn truly = quiet=20 environments into industrial areas. If low-frequency noise is harmful to = humans,=20 then...hullo??? It's probably harmful to some animals too. Placing = turbines "a=20 certain distance away from where people live" is NOT the solution. A = better=20 solution: conservation and energy efficiency to reduce our electricity = demands=20 so that we don't need to keep building more and more power lines and = turbines.=20 Karl = | Commented March 24, 2010 = What other effects do we not yet know about? Will the alteration of = surface=20 level winds change rain patterns downwind, flooding or dessicating = existing=20 woodlands? Will snowfall immediately downwind increase because of the = loss of=20 energy from the prevailing wind, creating drifting where it hasn't = occurred=20 before, changing runoff patterns, creating new snow drifts on roads, = etc.? Low=20 frequency sound is just the tip of the iceberg. What are all the = tradeoffs we=20 will need to make to harness the wind? Anonymous = | Commented March 26, 2010 = I live in Claybanks Township, Montague Michigan, where BP Alternative = Energy=20 is planning a 100MW wind farm, expected to be the largest yet in the = state of=20 Michigan. My local township officials have agreed to an ordinance = allowing=20 turbines to be just 800 feet from homes, or twice the height of the = turbine,=20 whichever is greater. I cannot imagine a 500-foot high turbine just 1000 = feet=20 from my front door. They will also allow a decibel level of 55 decibels = at the=20 property line. Finally, reference to "wind turbine syndrome" makes it = seem that=20 certain people are at risk; those with a history of migraine. I have a = history=20 of migraine and motion sickness, as well as acute labrynthitis. I also = suffer=20 from insomnia frequently as it is. If they put 500 foot tall turbines = just 800=20 feet from my house, not only will my property decline in value, but I = will=20 probably get this syndrome. Should I sell the house if the wind farm = proposal is=20 finalized? I am very very concerned. Also, have they done any studies on = risk to=20 the developing fetus of pregnant women or pregnant horses on properties = too=20 close to turbines? John D = | Commented March 30, 2010 = 450 goats died in a field in Taiwan last year following the = installation of=20 eight 125m high giant industrial turbines (presumably with 90m diameter = rotors)=20 in the next field. They would not lie down to sleep with the turbines=20 operational. 2 possibilities might include ILFN (Infrasound and Low = Frequency=20 Noise) and/or `dirty electricity' (EMF) 60Hz waveform surges polluted = with high=20 frequency transients. One family in Lisbon, Portugal have been confirmed = as=20 having contracted VAD (Vibro Acoustic Disease) according to Lisbon = University=20 (Acousticians, Dr's, pathologists and scientist) researchers under = Professor=20 Mariana Alves Pireira who has also established that higher levels of the = same=20 ILFN exists at a farm 350 metres from four 100m high turbines in Lisbon. = VAD is=20 the physiological degeneration of living cells from Infrasound usually = below the=20 hearing threshold. Infrasound travels above and below ground (and all = solid=20 objects) for tens of kilometers, seeks out and reverbarates in cavities = like=20 closed rooms and double glazing etc. Medical researchers have been = saying that=20 health problems are likely from living too close to giant industrial = turbines.=20 However Governments of all countries seem only to be taking health = advise from=20 acousticians who Medical professionals like Dr's Nina Pierpont (US) and = Amanda=20 Harry (UK) say they are not qualified to do. M. Anderson = | Commented 7 Days Ago = Not here in Canada, they're not. They are forcing these 40 storey = spinning=20 industrial machines right next to residential areas and have changed the = laws=20 here in Ontario that local government and citizens have NO SAY in the = matter.=20 This is being shoved down our throats and at least six families have had = to=20 vacate their homes. The government sits there with their hands over = their eyes,=20 ears and mouth. It is truly shocking what is happening here and very, = very sad.=20

Add Your Comment

You are=20 solely responsible for the content of your comments. GOVERNING reserves = the=20 right to remove comments that are considered profane, vulgar, obscene, = factually=20 inaccurate, off-topic, or considered a personal attack.

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