HEALTH RISKS
The World Health Organization (WHO) in a 2018 statement declared wind turbine noise as a global health hazard, noting that it’s “more than annoyance and the chronic noise contributes to cardiovascular disease; lack of sleep, hearing loss, tinnitus and stress; and increased changes in blood pressure and heart health.”
Master Resource
Surprising ill health effects from wind turbines
- Health complaints are consistent throughout the world wherever large industrial wind turbines have been installed. A generally acknowledged major concern about wind turbine disturbance centers around the low-frequency noise projected from this heavy industrial machinery. There is already ample scientific evidence that low-frequency noise is a cause of sleep disturbance in humans. The evidence also suggests that long-term exposure normally leads to serious health problems.
- Reinforcing this body of knowledge is the research that has been conducted on animals. Long term studies by European biologists indicate that habitat disturbance and abandonment takes place around wind turbine developments. Further research on animals indicates that basic survival functions such as hunting, self-protection, and reproduction are interrupted by low-frequency noise exposure. The only effective mitigation is to adequately separate wind turbine developments from sensitive wildlife habitats and human dwellings.
- It should be no great surprise to policy makers that failure to do so exposes the rural population to a serious health threat. The only mystery is why public health authorities, our county commissioners, state and federal policy makers and the wind industry have not yet accepted their responsibility to exercise due diligence in protecting human health.
Low-intensity noise leads to serious health problems
- On May 22, 2009, the Minnesota Department of Health released a report evaluating the health impacts from wind turbine noise and low-frequency vibrations. The conclusions noted that wind turbines generate a broad spectrum of low-intensity noise. The low frequency may affect some people in their homes, especially at night. “The most common complaint in various studies of wind turbine effects on people is the impact on quality of life. Sleeplessness and headache are the most common health complaints.
- Wind turbine sound frequencies have been shown to be more annoying than other sources of sound, such as highways, rail yards, or even airports. These sound frequencies can cause headaches, migraines, anger, anxiety, depression, and high blood pressure. A frequent effect of wind turbine noise is sleep disturbances, and this, over time, can lead to a host of other negative health effects.
- The current international study situation confirms a high level of evidence of serious health disorders due to noise exposure in the audible and Infrasound and Low-frequency Noise (ILFN) range when living and working in the vicinity of wind turbines as well as environmentally harmful microplastic abrasion of the rotor blades.
- Brown County, Wisconsin, declared Industrial Wind Turbines (IWT) a “Human Health Hazard”
WHO listed the following seven most commonly reported critical health outcomes of exposure to noise, wind turbine or otherwise: 1. Cardiovascular disease; 2. Annoyance; 3. Cognitive impairment; 4. Hearing impairment and tinnitus; 5. Adverse birth outcomes; 6. Quality of life, well-being and mental health; and 7. Metabolic outcomes. Regarding nighttime exposure only, WHO listed “effects on sleep.” Furthermore, the WHO report stated, “Wind turbines are not a recent phenomenon, but their quantity, size and type have increased significantly over recent years. As they are often built in the middle of otherwise quiet and natural areas, they can adversely affect the integrity of a site.”
WindWatch.Org
These health effects can occur or worsen after IWTs start or continue operating
Neurological
- Tinnitus
- Dizziness
- Difficulties with balance
- Ear ache
- Nausea
- Headache
Psychological
- Mood Disorder, i.e. depression and anxiety
- Frustration
- Feelings of distress
- Anger
Cardiovascular
- Hypertension
- Palpitations
- Enlarged Heart
Regulatory Disorders
- Difficulty in diabetes control
- The onset of thyroid disorders or difficulty controlling hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism
Cognitive
- Difficulty in concentrating
- Problems/difficulties with recall
Systemic
- Fatigue
- Sleepiness
Don't be fooled
Corporations that profit from the wind energy industry claim, with some measure of justification, that there is limited evidence pointing to the adverse health effects of infrasound noise from industrial wind turbines. However, what they fail to mention is that a plethora of evidence exists on the pathogenic effects of infrasound from other sources, and that wind turbines produce infrasound in the same frequency range as these other sources. The key to researching the dangers of wind turbines then is to research what is already known about the health effects of infrasound (low frequency noise) to exposed subjects in fields such as aviation, and to study the symptoms and sources of Vibroacoustic Diseases in general.