Noise & Health Effects of Large Wind Turbines
Victims: Go here to add your experience to the record
Several physicians from around the world -- e.g., Amanda Harry in England, Robert McMurtry in Ontario, Robyn Phipps in New Zealand -- have recorded a common set of ill health effects among people living near industrial-scale wind turbines. The symptoms began when local turbines began to turn, and they are relieved when the victims leave the area.
The symptoms include:
- sleep disturbance
- headache
- ringing or buzzing in the ears (tinnitus)
- ear pressure
- dizziness, vertigo
- nausea
- visual blurring
- racing heartbeat (tachycardia)
- irritability
- problems with concentration and memory
- panic episodes with sensations of internal pulsation or quivering which arise while awake or asleep
Dr. Nina Pierpont of New York has called it "wind turbine syndrome" and determined that its primary cause is the effect of low-frequency wind turbine noise on the organs of the inner ear. Click here for her book and other information on the subject. Dr. Pierpont's work has led her to recommend that large wind turbines not be sited closer than 2 kilometers (1-1/4 miles) from a home -- see below for link to petition for 2-km setbacks.
Shadow flicker -- where the sun behind turbine blades creates a strobing effect on the ground -- may also be intrusive and harmful. Many people are also concerned about stray voltage, or ground current, caused by the hundreds of thousands of feet of buried electric cable in a typical wind power facility.
Finally, an increase in noise is itself disruptive and can cause sleep loss and stress, especially in rural areas where there is an expectation of quiet. The World Health Organization notes that "Measurable effects of noise on sleep begin at LAeq levels of about 30 dB. ... When noise is continuous, the equivalent sound pressure level should not exceed 30 dB(A) indoors, if negative effects on sleep are to be avoided. For noise with a large proportion of low-frequency sound [dB(C)] a still lower guideline value is recommended."
Acousticians Rick James and George Kamperman have extensively studied wind turbine noise: click here to read their siting guidelines. In brief, they recommend a limit at the property line of 35 dBA or 5 dBA above the preconstruction ambient level, whichever is lower, and a limit of 50 dBC or 20 dBC above the preconstruction ambient dBA level, whichever is lower, for low-frequency noise.
For all of the items about wind turbine noise in the National Wind Watch Resource Library, click here.
Read and sign this petition (click) calling for a 2-kilometer setback of large wind turbines from homes.
(noise inside entry vestibule at midnight, turbines 1500 feet downwind)
