God Bless The NHS!
Hopefully we’ll see thorough scientific investigation of the kind of misery suffered by many people including
Ron Williams of Bothel and David Brierley of Furness area.
NHS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT THAT MORE RESEARCH INTO EFFECTS OF TURBINE NOISE IS NEEDED IS VERY GOOD NEWS INDEED!
Feed: Health News from NHS Choices
Posted on: 28 January 2010 17:14
Author: NHS Choices
Subject: Wind turbine sound ‘needs research’
http://www.nhs.uk/news/2010/01January/Pages/Wind-turbine-sound-and-health.aspx
“The noise caused by wind farms can make some people ill”, reported The Daily Telegraph. It said experts have dismissed the idea of a “wind turbine syndrome” as a special cause of headaches, nausea and panic attacks, but have acknowledged that the irritation caused by the noise can affect certain individuals.The story is based on an industry commissioned review of the current research on the possible health effects of wind turbine noise. It found that the sound (including subaudible sound) is not unique, and does not pose a risk to human health. Although the sound may cause ‘annoyance’ for some people, this in itself is not an adverse health effect.
This research is unlikely to resolve the controversy over the potential health effects from wind turbines. This is mainly because the research on which the review was based is not sufficient to prove or disprove that there are health effects. The review itself also had some methodological shortcomings, and the reviewing group did not include an epidemiologist, usually a given for assessing potential environmental health hazards.
Further research on this issue is needed. Ideally this would involve comparing people exposed to wind turbine noise with well-matched control subjects who have not had that exposure. These studies should also carefully evaluate the psychological harms of noise exposure.
Where did the story come from?
The news report is centred around a review by a panel of independent experts looking into the issue of Wind Turbine Syndrome. Their review, called “Wind Turbine Sound and Health Effects”, was presented at a meeting of the Institute of Acoustics Wind Turbine Noise in Cardiff on Wednesday January 27. The presentation was made by one of the experts on the panel, Dr Geoff Leventhall, a UK-based noise and vibration consultant.
Dr Leventhall carried out the review with Dr David Colby, an associate professor at the University of Western Ontario, and other independent experts in medicine, public health, audiology and acoustics. The panel aimed to “provide an authoritative reference document for legislators, regulators, and anyone who wants to make sense of the conflicting information about wind turbine sound”. The review was commissioned by the American Wind Energy Association and the Canadian Wind Energy Association.
What kind of research was this?
This was a non-systematic literature review of the available literature on the perceived health effects of wind turbines.
What did the research involve?
The panel of experts began their literature review by searching the scientific database PubMed for studies under the heading “Wind Turbines and Health Effects” and “vibroacoustic disease”. They provide an extensive reference list of peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed sources.
The researchers reviewed the studies that looked at infrasound (a low frequency sound wave that cannot usually be heard) sounds that can be heard, and the vibration produced by wind turbines. The researchers were looking for answers to the following questions:
How do wind turbine operations affect human hearing?
How do wind turbines produce sound, and how is it measured and tested?
What type of exposure to wind turbines is more likely to be perceived by humans (low-frequency sound, infrasound or vibration)?
What are the potential adverse effects and health implications of sound exposure?
The researchers say that infrasound is defined as acoustic oscillations with frequencies below audible sound levels (about 16 Hz). Low-frequency sound, they say, is typically considered as sound that can be heard in the 10 Hz to 200 Hz range, but it is not closely defined.They also considered how to define ‘annoyance’, which is a subjective response to many types of sounds, which varies among people. They acknowledge that constant low frequency sounds can be a frustrating experience for people, but say it is not considered an adverse health effect or disease. They say that annoyance from airports, road traffic, etc. cannot be predicted easily with a sound level meter.
The researchers give an overview of the evidence on the effects of noise exposure in general. They also give detailed descriptions of the research they found on the effects of wind turbine noise. They say these case series, though important for raising suspicion of harm, cannot show causation. For this, repeated case-control studies or cohort studies are needed.
What were the basic results?
The researchers describe the effect of various sounds on ‘annoyance’. They say that as sound gets louder, more people who hear it will become distressed until nearly everybody is affected. But this will occur to varying degrees. They say it is not clear why some people continue to be adversely affected by sound when it reverts to a low level. This occurs at all frequencies, although there seems to be more subjective variability at the lower frequencies.
The ‘nocebo’ effect is discussed, which is the opposite of the ‘placebo’ effect. This is where an adverse outcome, a worsening of mental or physical health is based on fear or belief in adverse effects.
The researchers also describe the studies they identified that looked at ‘wind turbine syndrome’, where symptoms are said to include sleep disturbance, headache, ringing in the ears, ear pressure, dizziness, nausea, visual blurring, fast heart beats, irritability, poor concentration, memory, panic attacks, internal pulsation, and quivering. They say that the syndrome has no physiological or pathological mechanism behind it, but is an example of the well-known stress effects of exposure to noise, as displayed by a small proportion of the population.
How did the researchers interpret the results?
The panel reached agreement on three key points:
There is no evidence that the sounds emitted by wind turbines have any direct adverse physiological effects.
The ground-borne vibrations from wind turbines are too weak to be detected by, or to affect, humans.
The sounds emitted by wind turbines are not unique. There is no reason to believe, based on the levels and frequencies of the sounds and the panel’s experience with sound exposures in occupational settings, that the sounds from wind turbines could plausibly have direct adverse health consequences.
They conclude that the collective symptoms in some people exposed to wind turbines are more likely to be associated with annoyance at the low sound levels from wind turbines, rather than directly caused by them.Conclusion
This is a non-systematic review of literature. There are several points to be made about this research:
There is no clear description of the methods the researchers used to search for available research, nor how they rated the quality of the research they found. Therefore, it is not possible to say that all relevant research was identified, or comment on the reliability of the research that was included.
This review panel was commissioned by an industry group, and included a variety of academic perspectives, but not an epidemiologist. Someone with this specific skill set should be included when environmental health hazards are assessed.
The link between psychological distress and physical symptoms has not been explored by this report. The acknowledgment that some people exposed to wind turbine noise suffer annoyance suggests that monitoring and maximum permitted levels need to be considered carefully in areas where turbines are planned.
Overall, this review will probably not resolve this controversy as there was a lack of high-level evidence on which to base any solid conclusions. What is now needed are studies that compare people exposed to turbine noise with well-matched control subjects who have not had that exposure. These studies should also carefully evaluate the psychological harms of noise exposure.Links To The Headlines
Wind farms can cause noise problems finds study. The Daily Telegraph, January 28 2010
Conference over claims wind farms are health risk. BBC News, January 28 2010
Links To Science
Colby WD, Dobie R, Leventhall G, et al. Wind Turbine Sound and Health Effects. An Expert Panel Review. December 2009
++++++++++++++++NHS NEWS FEED ENDS HERE+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
TESTIMONY OF TORMENT NOW FOLLOWS:
To quote Ron Williams:
‘My wife Jill and I live at The Swallows, Bothel , Cumbria.
I was Senior Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering at West Cumbria College for
26 years prior to my retirement in 1990. In 2007, Wind Prospect erected
eight wind turbines at Wharrels Hill, SSWof my home, thenearest turbine
being just 833 metres away. I have a number of issues with regard to this
development which include -noise problems, effects of sunlight, visual impact,
effect on property value, and wellbeing difficulties associated with the need to
administer sleeping/painkiller tablets.’
and David Brierley of Furness area.
To quote David:
‘I am 63 years of age, a retired Police Officer. I have lived in the Furness Area
for 35 years. 10 Years ago following a Public Inquiry we had a wind farm
inflicted upon us. There was noise from day one, all around the site. The
developers denied that there was a problem. Following two meetings in
adjacent villages, attended by some 80-100 persons we formed a residents’
opposition group. 18 of us who had the time, determination, (and money!)
formed the main group. We had very little joy for some 4 years despite the
local authority Environmental Health Officers (EHO’s) recording 26 noise
nuisances, 14 borderline noise nuisances and at least one breach of a
planning condition in a 22 month period. The local authority took no action.
Well that’s not strictly true, their action in all cases was “informed developer“.
Then they took no further action. We had also determined that the site had
been built in the wrong place and consequently there were issues regarding
planning which the local authority was “reluctant” to deal with (It was so far
out from where it had been given permission that it was actually outside the
red line area submitted, in other words, they failed to build the wind farm for
which they were given permission for and built another one that they didn’t
have any permission for). We were forced to take our own action and after
some 5 years of continual noise nuisance and no action we took the local
authority, the developers, and the owners of the site to court under the
Environmental Protection Act. WE LOST -despite producing the councils EHO’s
reports, senior officers admitting the planning issues, 6 residents as named on
the summons and 14 others who gave evidence of noise nuisance!’
‘This cost the group an arm and a leg, we couldn’t afford to appeal this
travesty of Justice. The residents’ group broke up. Some moved away. Some
were so disillusioned that despite the noise they don’t now complain because
of the process.
-Make a complaint
-Fill in noise diaries for 2 months
-Agree to developers having more time to do their own monitoring
-Listen to the excuses from the local authority
-Ring a 24 hrs noise complaint line that sometimes isn’t answered
-Have EHO’s attend sometimes without any metering equipment.’
‘This has gone on for some 10 years -so now I would like to tell you what
happened to us -and to ensure that you don’t allow it to happen to you and
your neighbours.’
‘Fight right from the start. Our situation might not arise with your situation. I
can’t guarantee that it will, BUT whilst the wind industry and local authorities
CANT GUARANTEE 100% THAT IT WON’T -I will continue to do the rounds.’
