by Mark Duchamp
A survey was conducted on wind farm noise as part of a Master’s dissertation by Zhenhua Wang, a graduate student in Geography, Environment and Population at the University of Adelaide, Australia. The results show that 70% of respondents living up to 5km away report being negatively affected by wind turbine noise, with more than 50% of them “very or moderately negatively affected”. This is considerably higher than what was found in previous studies conducted in Europe.
The survey was made in the vicinity of the Waterloo wind farm, South Australia, which is composed of 37 Vestas V90 3 MW turbines stretching over 18 km (1). These mega turbines are reported to be emitting more low frequency noise (LFN) than smaller models, and this causes more people to be affected, and over greater distances, by the usual symptoms of the Wind Turbine Syndrome (WTS): insomnia, headaches, nausea, stress, poor ability to concentrate, irritability, etc, leading to poorer health and a reduced immunity to illness.
The Danish government recognised recently that LFN is an aggravating component in the noise that affects wind farm neighbours. This prompted their issuing regulations that limit low-frequency noise levels inside homes to 20 dB(A). Unfortunately, as denounced by Professor Henrik Moller, they manipulated the calculation parameters so as to allow LFN inside homes to actually reach 30 dB(A) in 30% of cases. “Hardly anyone would accept 30 dB(A) in their homes at night”, wrote the Professor last month (2).
A summary of the Australian survey has been published (3), but the full Masters dissertation has not been made available to the public. In the interest of public health, the European Platform against Windfarms (EPAW) and the North-American Platform against Windpower (NA-PAW), have asked the University of Adelaide to release this important document.
A neighbour of the Waterloo wind farm, Mr Andreas Marciniak, wrote to a local newspaper last week: “Do you think it’s funny that at my age I had to move to Adelaide into my Mother’s shed and my brother had to move to Hamilton into a caravan with no water or electricity?” (4) Both Mr Marciniak and his brother have been advised by their treating doctors, including a cardiologist, to leave their homes and not return when the wind turbines are turning.
How many people will be forced to abandon their homes before governments pay attention, wonder the thousands of windfarm victims represented by EPAW and NAPAW. “It’ll take time to gather enough money for a big lawsuit”, says Sherri Lange, of NAPAW, “but time is on our side: victim numbers are increasing steadily.”
Contacts:
Mark Duchamp +34 693 643 736 (Spain) Skype: mark.duchamp
Executive Director, EPAW
Sherri Lange +1 416 567 5115 (Canada)
CEO, NA-PAW
References:
(1) – http://ecogeneration.com.au/news/waterloo_wind_farm_officially_opened/054715/
(2) – http://www.epaw.org/press/EPAW_NA-PAW_media_release_10Feb2012.pdf
(3) – http://www.wind-watch.org/documents/evaluation-of-wind-farm-noise-policies-in-south-australia/
(4) – Letter sent to the Editor of the Burra Broadcaster by Mr. Andreas Marciniak, windfarm victim.
Related articles
- Windfarm noise – Renowned acoustician denounces double standards in noise regulations (wattsupwiththat.com)
Health effects and wind turbines: A review of the literature
http://www.ehjournal.net/content/10/1/78
So, do off-shore windfarms affect fish, lobsters, and sea mammals?
I have no love for the Cuisinarts of the Air, but frankly the symptoms of Wind Turbine Syndrome (insomnia, headaches, nausea, stress, poor ability to concentrate, irritability, etc, leading to poorer health and a reduced immunity to illness) sound an awful lot to me like the same symptoms brought on by General Anxiety Disorder, such as precipitated by listening to the mass media:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001915/
“Given the correct frequency and volume, LFN can cause involuntary sphincter relaxation.”
THe mythbusters did an episode on this. The myth of the the “brown note” was busted.
One thing we won’t get out of Hollywood is a loving account of a bird-loving activist who goes on a windmill-destruction binge, gets caught as a national hero, then is declared not guilty at a sensational trial.
I am not so sure about all of this. How much is real and how much is conjured up. I can think of dozens of reasons one would have: “insomnia, headaches, nausea, stress, poor ability to concentrate, irritability, etc,” among them listening to warmest true believers. I know that LFN is real and can cause physical damage to structures under the right conditions. One is left to wounder if the LFN effects being discussed here are truly real or are they more like cell phone usage causing brain cancer? Where are the measurements?
All countries which have installed windmills are importing energy, because its yield is too low and maintenance too high (several thousand of spare parts per 100 megawatts vs. A SINGLE moving part in hydroelectrics). How do we explain then its expansion all over the world and the fact that only politicians are its “fans”?
There is a very common illness which afflicts only politicians, it is called by specialists:
Wind Turbine Compulsive Buying Syndrome which, apparently is caused, by a new virus strain named “bribery-phagocytic” “BP”
It always amuses me how fast the pro-wind bloggers rally round to defend their beloved machines. Tom Davidson and DAV decry Wind Turbine Syndrome but, apart from Dr Pierpont’s carefully documented series there are hundreds of reports from all over the world describing the same set of symptoms. Most recently, Ambrose and Rand, two acousticians, went to investigate noise levels at a wind farm and, to their surprise, experienced exactly the same symptoms. Lots of people are suffering because these noisy machines are being sited far too close to human habitation.
This study is a student dissertation, high quality science it is not, but it confirms, should it need confirming, that a high proportion of those living within 2km of wind turbines are adversely affected. Sleep disruption is the most common complaint and highest on the wish list of those affected was that the turbines should be turned off at night
“Wind Turbine Syndrome affects more people than previously thought”
The previous test was done in a safe padded environment, but in reality, greens go bonkers from the low frequency noise in their head and run around flapping their arms in crowded places amongst decent people. :p
Dennis Nikols, P. Geo. says:
March 6, 2012 at 8:42 am
I am not so sure about all of this. How much is real and how much is conjured up. I can think of dozens of reasons one would have: “insomnia, headaches, nausea, stress, poor ability to concentrate, irritability, etc,” among them listening to warmest true believers. I know that LFN is real and can cause physical damage to structures under the right conditions. One is left to wounder if the LFN effects being discussed here are truly real or are they more like cell phone usage causing brain cancer? Where are the measurements?
There are careful studies that have shown that these LFN’s effect humans in this way. The article discusses them. There are many more out there, you just have to find them. These are studies that are done double blind with a control group of course. It is a side effect of the LFN’s.
Not everyone has these side effects, but when subjected to the LFN’s a higher percentage of the population suffers the “insomnia, headaches, nausea, stress, et al” then normally. This goes to anyone else who doubts this is the case. I am not one for becoming over-alarmist, but the facts attest to this and one should always look at the facts and come to a conclusion.
Is any of these symptoms life-threatening? Probably not. But they do hurt people and decrease productivity which needs to be taken into consideration. Too much of this will force people to move. Why should people be forced to move when putting up wind turbines should like every other power source be regulated so that the public well-fare is not hurt?
That is the point here. That is the reason the EPA does have a safe guideline for LFN’s that has to be followed.
The discussion here is whether that is enough and whether its enforced enough. The science is sound on this issue, and although being sceptical is good, why not bring some numbers back that doubt this to us?
When the article explained how they came to these conclusions through experiments on humans, one would assume the best bet would be to come back with hard facts showing us that harm does not come from humans from these effects.
Sure its possible it does not, but possible is not science. Science is true experiments with double blind experiments and a control group. If you are going to doubt the science behind something, you need to find fault with the science used and their application. Was the experiment set-up correctly?
That is where you start, not just throwing doubt and obfuscation into a debate without reason.
It would be interesting to assess the impact of multiple wind turbines. The VLF sound from a set of them could have very interesting peaks and troughs and beat frequencies. It will definitely not be a simple pattern. This means that attempts to deaden the sound may be thwarted by higher peaks and different frequencies.
I am also concerned about what effect this may have upon cattle who have no ability to move off the farm.
They can’t complain but it must affect them. I believe all cattle/animal farming should be prohibited within 5km of a windfarm.
Wind problems have a different meaning in Australia – wind being the descriptive used to classify the problem Americans call “gas” – ie bowel emissions of the gaseous kind – not sure of the spectral range of frequencies accompanying same.
At least wind farms don’t emit obnoxious odours – except when the burst into flames as witnessed in the UK not too long ago.
In Tasmania, we have a windfarm which was granted approval with an Environmental Impact Statement that advised that less than one eagle a year would be killed by turbines.
They’ve ADMITTED to killing 17 in the first three years.
No, Greenies won’t come to the rescue of these endangered birds. Nor will government close these farms when they breach their consent conditions.
Of course, if a mining company killed half that number the Greens would be pretending to be outraged.
There is a theory that the rise in the incidence of autism in the last couple of decades is associated with the overloading of babies’ brains by the white noise that we live with. If correct, it means that wind farms could result in a bitter harvest of autistic children.
What do our kind political masters, always so interested by animal welfare, think about the effects of Low Frequency Noise on marine animals, like fishes (over exploited, as everybody knows…), dolphins, whales, all kinds of seals, orcs, and maybe even (mind you!) endangered species like polar bears? After all, there are some wind turbines producing LFN in the North Sea now, and these past weeks, at least two big whales were seen dying on the beaches of Belgium and France. Was that the first visible effect of LFN on these highly “green” mammals?
Fortunately when this societal madness passes the application of small amounts of C4 or thermite will remove most of the visual and sound pollution quickly.
If sonic warfare is the goal, the Japanese seem to be using a different approach
http://www.news.com.au/technology/sci-tech/speech-jamming-gun-silences-people-mid-sentence/story-fn5fsgyc-1226287904238
@Chuckles says:
March 6, 2012 at 2:18 pm
That´s sensational. It will solve ALL PROBLEMS!!!!. Can you imagine its applications?
Perhaps there is already an APP, because it is only a matter of software.
I saw 5 wind turbines of various types on my travels today and they were all totally silent. Coincidently none of them was turning. I fail to understand how the electric train I was on was able to move at 100+MPH;>)
“David Archibald says:
March 6, 2012 at 1:14 pm
There is a theory that the rise in the incidence of autism in the last couple of decades is associated with the overloading of babies’ brains by the white noise that we live with.”
I heard a theory last week that it was caused by flame retardant chemicals.
Next week it’ll probably the removal of lead from petrol;>)
Or maybe the white noise is a metaphor for the Kafkaesque nature of the modern world ie ‘Marked by surreal distortion and a sense of impending danger.’. Now what does that remind me of?
I live downwind from the Tehachapi wind farms. Specifically, about 4 km from the nearest turbines, which are also the newest. I’m not sure which model they are, but I had lunch today and there were guys in Vestas jackets nearby working on new installations. I understand the human ear is not sensitive at 30 Hz, but I rarely hear any turbine noise. If the wind conditions are just right (maybe once a week) I can barely hear the older turbines’ gearboxes if I am outside my house. Frequently, I get really…….really…… tired of the wind noise though. Right now the wind is blowing around the cheap office trailer I work in.
I must say I’ll remain a healthy skeptic on the disturbing frequency argument against windfarms-http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/study-plays-down-turbine-noise-fear/story-e6frea83-1226291251374
Admittedly my anecdotal skepticism arises from the fact I’ve never heard of anyone getting paid to have them on their property suffering any such ill effects, but I’m certainly open to any examples you can produce to prove me wrong on that score.
Besides I don’t need the vapours of schoolgirls or the ambulance chasers to convince me of the bleeding obvious-
http://www.spectator.co.uk/essays/all/7684233/the-winds-of-change.thtml
Furthermore I’m not buying the argument that when my ancestors leapt upon one of Anthony’s ancector’s inventiveness not to mention that of the Ford family,etc in order to largely ditch the windmill, water wheel and horse, that they had rocks in their heads, but you lot can please yourselves about your ancestors.
Dan in California says:
March 6, 2012 at 3:06 pm
“I understand the human ear is not sensitive at 30 Hz, but I rarely hear any turbine noise.”
The general range is from 20Hz, but we’re all individuals, and even if most people have “frequency holes”, or what you call it over there, the direct noise is usually never the issues with low frequencies.
Low frequencies are more felt directly then heard, but your neighbours complain of your new subwoofer anyway, which is because low frequencies travel and propagates through everything and when it does things starts to move, through vibrations, and thereby creating noise or just nausea. There’re some excellento american made subwoofers called SVSubs that suits the purpose of experimenting with below 20Hz, and then get some movies with very low frequencies recorded or go with the so called “healing” sounds and what not for franken frequencies.
Simple experiment: Re-point your, perfectly, I hope, positioned, speakers from your listening position and notice how much sound you loose, and, worst case scenario, your neighbours gain. :p