{"id":11434,"date":"2010-12-08T10:33:12","date_gmt":"2010-12-08T15:33:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.windturbinesyndrome.com\/static\/static\/?p=11434"},"modified":"2012-01-21T12:52:10","modified_gmt":"2012-01-21T17:52:10","slug":"wind-turbines-are-hazardous-to-human-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.windturbinesyndrome.com\/static\/2010\/wind-turbines-are-hazardous-to-human-health\/","title":{"rendered":"“Wind Turbines Are Hazardous to Human Health”"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2014Alec N. Salt, PhD<\/a>, Cochlear Fluids Research Laboratory<\/a>, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> for original report<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00b7<\/span>
\nOverview of The Problem<\/h4>\n

Wind turbines such as those currently being constructed in rural areas generate high levels of infrasound noise. This is very low frequency noise (sound waves of less than 20 cycles per second) that you cannot hear. Even though you cannot hear the sound, it is easily detected by the ear at the levels that are produced and can have effects on the body that profoundly disturb some individuals.<\/p>\n

The situation is somewhat similar to ultraviolet (UV) light and the eye. We cannot see ultraviolet light but we all understand that it can affect us profoundly, causing sunburn, photokeratitis (also known as snow blindness or welder’s flash) and cataracts. For UV light, there are simple ways that the damaging effects can be avoided using sunscreens and eye protection.<\/p>\n

For infrasound exposure in your home, there is currently no way to protect yourself<\/span>. Although double glazing and door seals will reduce the levels of the sounds you can hear, they have little influence on the infrasound level in the home. Infrasound is a slowly-changing pressure wave, that can only be blocked by completely sealing the house, making it airtight. In practice this cannot be performed due to building codes and the risk of suffocation.<\/p>\n

The effects of wind turbine infrasound build up slowly on people. For most, there are no effects while in the vicinity of wind turbines for short periods (such as the workday) and when higher levels of other sounds (i.e. sound you can hear) are present.<\/p>\n

The problem arises when people try and sleep in their homes in the presence of wind turbine noise. [Editor’s note<\/em>: \u00a0Dr. Nina Pierpont’s research demonstrates that Wind Turbine Syndrome, for many people, is not limited to their night-time sleep.]<\/span> The audible sounds are reduced by the house structure, so the room may be fairly quiet, but the sound becomes dominated by the infrasound that the person cannot hear. \u00a0The infrasound is detected by the ear and has subtle influences on the body that we are only just beginning to understand. It can cause dysequilibrium (like sea-sickness, but not induced by movement), tinnitus, a sensation of fullness in the ear and worst of all, disturb sleep, probably by stimulation of subconscious neural pathways to the brain. [Editor’s note<\/em>: \u00a0Dr. Pierpont’s research demonstrates a considerably larger constellation of symptoms.]<\/span><\/p>\n

People undergo repeated arousals from sleep (brief partial awakenings that are not remembered) and repeated awakenings when sleeping in such an environment that leave the individual stressed and unrefreshed.<\/p>\n

Sleep disturbance over a prolonged period is known to be extremely hazardous to health, causing mental changes, high blood pressure, diabetes and increased mortality. \u00a0[Editor’s note<\/em>: \u00a0Dr. Pierpont’s research suggests there is more \u00a0going on here than simply “sleep arousal”; it is a panic response, which she suggests is connected to a vestibular organ response to low-frequency noise\/infrasound.]<\/span><\/p>\n

In many cases, these health effects have been significant enough to force people to abandon their homes. In a few cases the homes have been \u201cbought out\u201d by the wind turbine companies (and the owners typically “silenced” by non-disclosure agreements, otherwise known as “gag” orders), but in others the home is abandoned and is difficult to sell to another family. Properties located in the vicinity of wind turbines are becoming increasingly difficult to sell.<\/p>\n

Recent epidemiological studies suggest that significant disturbances of sleep and mental health occur for people living in homes up to 5 kilometers away from the wind turbines. This is because infrasound is capable of traveling greater distances than the sound you normally hear (which is why elephants and whales use it to communicate).<\/p>\n

The wind turbine companies and most politicians are turning a deaf ear to this problem, and continue to promulgate false and debunked arguments that no problem exists. In this collection of pages, below, we consider in detail some of these issues in which we have scientific expertise.<\/p>\n

Specific Issues Considered<\/h4>\n

Industrial Wind Turbines Generate Infrasound<\/a><\/p>\n

The Ear Detects Infrasound at Levels That Are Not Heard<\/a><\/p>\n

Infrasounds You Cannot Hear Can <\/span>Affect You<\/a><\/p>\n

Why Wind Turbine Sound Measurements Using the dB(A) Scale (A-weighted) Are Misleading<\/a><\/p>\n

Why It Is Difficult to Demonstrate the Infrasound Generated by Wind Turbines<\/a><\/p>\n

550 Meter (or Lower) Setbacks Are Insane!<\/a><\/p>\n

Links to Presentations, Publications and Other Articles<\/h4>\n

Radio Interview about Wind Turbines and Infrasound with Dale Goldhawk, Zoomer Radio AM 740 Toronto, Nov 3, 2010<\/a><\/p>\n

Presentation at the First International Symposium, THE GLOBAL WIND INDUSTRY AND ADVERSE HEALTH EFFECTS, Picton Ontario, October 29-31, 2010<\/a><\/p>\n

Publication: Responses of the Ear to Low Frequency Sounds, Infrasound and Wind Turbines<\/a><\/p>\n

NIDCD Website: Scientist Challenges the Conventional Wisdom That “What You Can\u2019t Hear Won’t Hurt You<\/a>“<\/p>\n

Radio Health Journal: Wind Farms: Is there a Health hazard? Interview with Reed Pence, August 1, 2010<\/a><\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h4>\n

According to the American Wind Energy Association<\/a> (12\/8\/2010),<\/p>\n

\u201cThe wind industry takes health concerns seriously. Any concern that wind turbines may impact someone negatively should be explored.\u201d<\/p>\n

These statements appear difficult to reconcile with the absence of any consideration of the effects of infrasound from wind turbines on humans, and with the exclusion of infrasound components from wind turbine noise by the use of A-weighted sound measurements.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2014Alec N. Salt, PhD, Cochlear Fluids Research Laboratory, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri Click here for original report \u00b7 Overview of The Problem Wind turbines such as those currently being constructed in rural areas generate high levels of infrasound noise. This is very low frequency noise (sound waves of less than 20 cycles per second) that you cannot hear. Even though you cannot hear the sound, it is easily detected by the ear at the levels that are produced and can have effects on the body that profoundly disturb some individuals. The situation is somewhat similar to ultraviolet (UV) light and the eye. We cannot see ultraviolet light but we all understand that it can affect us profoundly, causing sunburn, photokeratitis (also known as snow blindness or welder’s flash) and cataracts. For UV light, there are simple ways that the damaging effects can be avoided using sunscreens and eye protection. For infrasound exposure in your home, there is currently no way to protect yourself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[163,16],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.windturbinesyndrome.com\/static\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11434"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.windturbinesyndrome.com\/static\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.windturbinesyndrome.com\/static\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.windturbinesyndrome.com\/static\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.windturbinesyndrome.com\/static\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11434"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.windturbinesyndrome.com\/static\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11434\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.windturbinesyndrome.com\/static\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11434"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.windturbinesyndrome.com\/static\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11434"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.windturbinesyndrome.com\/static\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11434"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}