July 23, 2017
Indiana, Opinions

AWEA: Wind farms ‘do harm humans’

By PATSY CONYERS - New Castle | Connersville News Examiner | Jul 21, 2017 | www.newsexaminer.com

Peter L. Kelley, president of public affairs for the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) recently responded to a “Letter to the Editor” written by John Pickerill, a well-known U.S. Navy Commander and Montgomery County, Ind., resident.

This letter is in response to Kelley misguiding the people of our county and state.

Kelley states: “Wind farms are perfectly safe.” Kelley also states hundreds of thousands of people live near wind farms around the world without experiencing health issues.

Kelley is leaving the reader with a half-truth. People do experience health issues from IWT’s.

He neglects the testimonials of people living under Industrial Wind Turbines (IWT’s) or the recent court judgment of Falmouth, Mass., which names the city’s two IWT’s as a nuisance (a synonym for nuisance is annoyance). The court ordered the turbines shut down permanently.

Kelley failed to mention annoyance. Annoyance over hours, days, weeks, months and years leads to stress and sleep disorders, and a plethora of health issues which can lead to a greater risk of morbidity.

AWEA, The Canadian Wind Industry, The Environmental Protections Agency, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, The National Collaborating Center for Environmental Health, Occupation and Environmental Medicine, The Administrative Conference of the United States, The World Health Organization, Noise Control Engineering Journal, The National Research Counsel and The Environmental Protection and Heritage Council acknowledge the health issue of annoyance.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has concluded observable effects of nighttime, outdoor noise levels of 40 dBA or higher will lead to diminished health. This also occurs when levels inside homes (especially bedrooms) rise above 30 dBA or contain non-steady and/or low-frequency noise.

The American Wind Energy Association and Canadian Wind Energy Association–sponsored literature review entitled “Wind Turbine Sound and Health Effects” acknowledges [that] wind turbine noise, including low frequency noise, may cause annoyance, stress and sleep disturbance and as a result, people may experience adverse physiological and psychological symptoms.

Falmouth, Mass., was ordered to permanently shut down their IWT’s after the court found the turbines to be a nuisance. There is a social responsibility to protect the public from exposure to harm, especially when scientific investigation has found a plausible risk. This is the “do no harm” principle.

Our local government officials, as well as the state of Indiana, have an obligation to improve, promote and protect the health of the people and our communities.

In conclusion, Peter L. Kelley, I’m not buying what you are selling.


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2017/07/23/awea-wind-farms-do-harm-humans/