Canada to study health impact of wind turbine noise

[Hum]

(Reuters) - Canada will conduct a study to explore if there is a relationship between wind turbine noise and health problems reported by people living near wind power developments, the government health department said on Tuesday.

"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," Leona Aglukkaq, Canada's health minister, said in a statement.

The study, in collaboration with Statistics Canada, will focus on an initial sample of 2,000 homes that are near about a dozen wind turbine 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 modeling.

Similar studies conducted in other countries have turned up little to no evidence that wind turbines pose a health risk to nearby residents.

Several studies have noted some evidence that turbine noise can disrupt sleep. Some people living near wind turbines have complained of headaches, earaches, anxiety and high blood pressure.

The results of the Canadian study are expected in 2014.

source

[DocM]

It's about time someone did a good study of this as low frequency sounds have negative effects, and in some cases have been tested as weapons. The complaints I've heard include nausea, vertigo and headaches.

[jakem1]

Like others, this study is likely to find that the noise for wind turbines only seems to cause problems for NIMBYs.

[zeta_immersion]

aren't there countries in europe that have been using wind turbines for a long time ... can't canada go there and ask them instead of throwing more money up in the air?! ...

better yet, insulate the home against the frequency range of the wind turbine ... could be cheaper ...

wooooom .... woooom .. . wooooooom ... hehhehee

[threetonesun]

It's about time someone did a good study of this as low frequency sounds have negative effects, and in some cases have been tested as weapons. The complaints I've heard include nausea, vertigo and headaches.

Maybe it's worth testing, but they'll never definitively prove anything. There's infrasonic sound all around us, and nausea, vertigo, and headaches are the go-to symptoms for basically everything.

[Hum]

Clearly we need sound-proof, faraday cage bedrooms.

[threetonesun]

Then people will complain that the lack of sound is giving them headaches. :laugh:

[DocM]

This besides the point that wind farms are inefficient, expensive, unreliable, and the only rational business case is for their manufacturers.

[threetonesun]

Well, people living near nuclear power plants complain of paranoia and an impending sense of doom, so this is what we get.

[Hum]

^ Obama has that effect on me. :laugh:

[Growled Member]

This besides the point that wind farms are inefficient, expensive, unreliable, and the only rational business case is for their manufacturers.

True. It's a waste to even have the things.

[Snake89]

This besides the point that wind farms are inefficient, expensive, unreliable, and the only rational business case is for their manufacturers.

That's not true at all. Here in Nova Scotia we get 30% of our power from wind farms.

[Ryoken]

If you have large amounts of open area, and good wind, then Wind Farms are great..

Nova Scotia can't really do Hydroelectric, nor Nuclear, so we are stuck with Coal, and Natural/Gas powerplants.. which are as inefficient as you can get really.. Not to mention even under the best cases, they produce more pollution, and are higher risk to maintain/operate than wind farms..

I donno about health issues.. I probably wouldn't want to live next to one.. But there's lots of open land here.. by all means.. I'd rather them than trains with coal and such..