Wind farms annoying but not harmful: Report
The sound of wind turbines can be annoying but it’s not harmful to human health, concludes a new industry-sponsored study conducted by a seven-member panel of experts.
The review, funded by the Canadian and American Wind Energy Associations, extensively examined peer-reviewed published research on the issue before arriving at its conclusion.
“It is important to note that although annoyance may be a frustrating experience for people, it is not considered an adverse health effect or disease of any kind,” said the report, Wind Turbine Sound and Health Effects, released on Tuesday.
The seven experts also agreed that there was nothing unique about the sound from wind turbines, and that there has been substantial research on the topic, none of which indicates any adverse health effects in humans, including low frequency and infrasound from the turbines.
The two industry associations acknowledged that some critics would be skeptical of the results of a report, funded by industry, but said they “minimized bias and conflicts of interest to the greatest possible extent” by selecting a diverse panel of independent experts in acoustics, audiology, medicine and public health.
“The sounds that are generated from wind turbine operations are not particularly different than a lot of other environmental sounds that may be generated,” said Dr. Robert McCunney, an author of the study and a research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, “whether it’s road noise, or airplane noise or construction activities and so forth.”
He explained that the only distinctive aspect of the noise of wind turbines is the “swooshing” sound of a rotating turbine. But he said this was not unique in terms of its volume or decibel level.
“The sounds generated by wind turbine operations do not remotely approach the sounds (or) the noise that’s associated with damage to hearing,” said McCunney. “That’s beyond dispute.”
He said the existing peer-reviewed literature generally examined exposure to sounds from homes or residential areas that are about one kilometre away or further from wind turbines.
By Mike De Souza, Canwest News Service
15 December 2009
Tags: Wind power, Wind energy
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