July 23, 2012
Canada

Deadline for wind turbine study extended

www.trurodaily.com 23 July 2012

OTTAWA – The deadline for submissions to a Health Canada study designed to explore the relationship between wind turbine noise and health effects reported by people living near wind power developments has been extended.

Submissions now will be accepted until Sept. 7 (from Aug. 8), to help accommodate interested Canadians who otherwise may be preoccupied during the summer holidays.

The research study is being conducted in collaboration with Statistics Canada to explore the relationship between wind turbine noise and health effects reported by, and objectively measured in, people living near wind power developments.

“This study is in response to questions from residents living near wind farms about possible health effects of low frequency noise generated by wind turbines,” said Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq said, in a recent announcement.

The study is designed to paint a more complete picture of the potential health impacts of wind turbine noise, she said.

The minister said Health Canada is aware of health-related complaints from individuals living in close proximity to wind turbine establishments and the study will include support from external experts, specializing in areas including noise, health assessment, clinical medicine and epidemiology.

The proposed research design and methodology is posted on Health Canada’s web site for a temporary public comment period. Feedback obtained will be reviewed by the design committee, compiled and published to the website, along with the design committee’s responses.

The study will be focused on an initially targeted sample size of 2,000 dwellings selected from eight to 12 wind turbine installation facilities in Canada. In addition to taking physical measurements from participants, such as blood pressure, investigators will conduct face-to-face interviews and take noise measurements inside and outside of some homes to validate sound modelling.

The results are expected to be published in 2014.


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/07/23/deadline-for-wind-turbine-study-extended/