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—Lilli Green, Windwise~Cape Cod (7/5/11)

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Wherever you live in the world, we need you to write a letter to the State of Massachusetts.

We now have an opportunity to communicate concerns about adverse health risks from wind turbines to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) and the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). There is a short timeline; all comments must be received by Friday, July 22, 2011.

Send an email with any information you think is important to: WindTurbineDocket.MassDEP@MassMail.State.MA.US, or by regular mail to: MassDEP Wind Turbine Docket, 1 Winter Street 4th Floor Mailroom, Boston, MA 02108.

Please address your letters to:  Kenneth Kimmell, Commissioner of MA Department of Environmental Protection and John Auerbach, Commissioner of MA Department of Public Health

Please write even one or two sentences expressing a concern:

• It is so important to hear from as many people as possible.
• Letters and information from experts would be much appreciated.
• Anyone who has unfortunately already been adversely impacted:  It would be so helpful if you write a letter about your experiences.

Please inform every person you know who you think will take action:

• Please ask the people you know to write letters.
• Please ask to let anyone else they know, that action is needed by Friday, July 22^nd.

Mass DEP, “in collaboration with [Mass DPH] is in the process of convening an expert scientific panel on potential health impacts associated with exposure to wind turbines. The product of this Expert Panel will be a written report which includes the results of the panel’s review of available scientific peer review literature, as well as other reports and articles on the nature and extent of potential human health impacts, and will specifically include:

• The identification and characterization of specific attributes of concern (e.g., noise, vibration and light flicker) and documented or potential human health impacts;
• The magnitude and frequency of potential human health risks associated with the design, construction and operation of existing wind turbines;
• Documented best practices that could reduce documented or potential human health risks.”

I repeat, time is of the essence!  Please email or mail your comments and all attached documents before the July 22, 2011 deadline.

Thank you very much for taking the time to help all citizens of Massachusetts which, with your comments and information, will hopefully have a wide reach across the globe.

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Background information:

For over a year, a group of people have been urging the Massachusetts DPH to step up to the plate and protect the health of the citizens of the State of Massachusetts from adverse health impacts from wind turbines. We submitted a 6” binder full of materials substantiating the need to take action.

DPH and DEP have asked to hear from you. If you just express your concerns, there will be a reduced chance that the report will be a whitewash of the realities of the situation. Wind turbines make people sick!

A larger group of people from throughout the State of Massachusetts will submit materials, including peer-reviewed scientific studies, journal articles, reports, presentations, study findings, court evidence, thesis papers, personal stories from those in Massachusetts living too close to wind turbines, and personal stories from around the globe, newspaper articles, videos, and pending legislation from around the world.

We will urge the Commissioners and the DEP and DPH to:

1. Indeed select an expert scientific panel on health impacts associated with exposure to wind turbines that is completely impartial, where no member of the panel has been paid by the wind energy industry, pro-wind advocacy organization, wind developer, or any related industry.

2. Hold the meetings of the panel as public meetings and hold public hearings so the public is able to speak to the panel and to appropriately express concerns in a timely manner but without a three minute time limit.

3. Provide to the panel all the materials submitted and not a selected sub-set that has been sanitized so that the panel does not see the full scope of the adverse health impacts from around the globe.

4. Provide opportunities for the panel to talk with people who have been adversely impacted from a health standpoint.

5. Submit the evidence from people around the globe who are concerned about the adverse health impacts to people who are in close proximity to wind turbines because they live, work, are in nursing homes or hospitals, attend school and are incarcerated within 6.3 miles of wind turbines.

6. Submit the ample scientific information from around the globe that concludes there are adverse health impacts for people living and working too close to wind turbines.

7. Urge the panel to err on the side of caution and to recommend invoking the precautionary principle, and institute at least a one-year moratorium on the construction of wind turbines in the State of Massachusetts (as has been done in Connecticut), until further research is completed in order to conclusively determine what is a safe setback of turbines from people and to protect the health and safety of the citizens of Massachusetts.

The World Health Organization defines the precautionary principle as follows:

In all cases noise should be reduced to the lowest level achievable in a particular situation. When there is a reasonable possibility that the public health will be endangered, even though scientific proof may be lacking, action should be take to protect the public health, without awaiting the full scientific proof” World Health Organization, Guidelines for Community Noise (1999).