Support the advisory committee
Sun Journal, www.sunjournal.com 16 October 2010
I urge Rumford’s citizens to support the conscientious work done by the Wind Advisory Committee and endorsed by the selectmen 4 to 1.
In 2008, the National Health Institute stated, “Wind energy will undoubtedly create noise which, in turn, creates stress and, in turn, increases cardiovascular disease and cancer.”
The Maine Medical Association expressed its concern about noise in September 2009, and passed a nearly unanimous resolution to that effect. Dr. Rabinowitz, assistant professor in medicine in occupational health at Yale University, informed Dr. Dora Mills of the Maine CDC that wind turbines create health hazards and that they ought to be studied.
Maine’s noise standards date back to the late 1970s . The state’s own expert accoustician, Warren Brown, stated that Maine’s regulations did not protect the people at Vinalhaven from excessive noise.
Rumford’s wind ordinance incorporates the latest scientific peer-reviewed data and it echoes the recommendations of the World Health Organization, not only regarding noise but also low-frequency noise, which is perceived as a vibration.
While head of Maine Bureau of Environmental Protection, David Littel (now head of Maine Public Utilities Commission) voiced concern about low-frequency noise.
Maine regulations do not address this issue. Setbacks for noise control are addressed in this ordinance. The French Academy of Medicine stated that a setback of at least 1 mile should be the minimum distance from an industrial-size wind turbine.
Other towns have adopted similar wind ordinances. It is not anti-wind, just as seat belts are not anti-automobile.
Albert Aniel, M.D., Rumford
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2010/10/16/support-the-advisory-committee/