{"id":14961,"date":"2011-03-30T15:52:42","date_gmt":"2011-03-30T19:52:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.windturbinesyndrome.com\/static\/static\/?p=14961"},"modified":"2012-02-11T04:22:33","modified_gmt":"2012-02-11T09:22:33","slug":"doctor-pleads-before-the-australian-federal-senate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.windturbinesyndrome.com\/static\/2011\/doctor-pleads-before-the-australian-federal-senate\/","title":{"rendered":"Doctor pleads before the Australian Federal Senate"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00b7<\/span>
\nEditor’s note<\/em>: \u00a0The following is the text of <\/span>Dr. Sarah Laurie’s<\/a> oral testimony before the Australian Federal Senate, March 29, 2011.<\/span>
\n\u00b7 <\/span><\/p>\n

Madam Chair and Fellow Senators:<\/h4>\n

I would like to thank you for giving me the opportunity to present to you in person.<\/p>\n

I began this quest for knowledge when I was made aware of the proposed wind\u00a0development near my home, almost a year ago, and was asked by my neighbour\u00a0to comment on a study, by Dr Amanda Harry, a Cornish rural GP. It was only\u00a0after reading this study that I really became concerned, and decided to look into\u00a0the matter further, and find out what “patient” research had been done.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Sarah Laurie, MD
\nMedical Director, The Waubra Foundation<\/a><\/h6>\n

Prior to\u00a0this I had been reassured by the official pronouncements from government health\u00a0bodies that \u201cthere was no evidence of health problems.”<\/p>\n

Like Dr David Iser, the Australian GP from Toora in Victoria, who investigated this\u00a0a number of years ago, I did not want to find a problem. Locally, it has made\u00a0things awkward for me with longstanding friends, former patients, and farming\u00a0neighbours who have been through some very difficult years.<\/p>\n

It has also made\u00a0things very awkward with longstanding friends who are Greens, or who are\u00a0passionate environmental advocates.<\/p>\n

Dr Iser and I have both compared notes\u00a0on our reluctance to accept that a technology in which we had invested so much\u00a0hope for the future of the planet, could possibly be making people sick.<\/p>\n

But it is. And we urgently need to find out why, in order to site turbines\u00a0safely, so they will not seriously harm human health.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

As I have listed in my submission, there are numerous doctors now, both in\u00a0Australia and overseas, who have either conducted small studies on their patient\u00a0populations, or conducted larger studies on patients who had developed the\u00a0same health problems, since the wind developments had started operating near\u00a0to their homes. We are all very concerned that these serious and mounting\u00a0health problems are being ignored by our respective governments and health\u00a0research institutions, previously held in high esteem.<\/p>\n

I realized very early on that any research I did would be immediately seen by\u00a0others to be tainted and, besides, some of that work had been done and had been\u00a0ignored. Hence my acceptance of the position of Medical Director of the Waubra\u00a0Foundation, and the objectives of the Foundation, particularly to collect field\u00a0observations and use those to then ascertain what research is needed, and to\u00a0then ensure that the best independent researchers in the particular scientific\u00a0fields were encouraged to investigate the problems.<\/p>\n

I have been privileged to get to know and now work closely with researchers\u00a0around the globe who are trying to help identify and describe the problems, and\u00a0to work out the scientific mechanisms for the damage being done to health.\u00a0These include medical practitioners from a variety of disciplines, acousticians,\u00a0physiologists, physicists, psychologists, and others. We are all united in our\u00a0determination to find scientific answers to these questions.<\/p>\n

We all have limited time and resources, and we need to ensure that any research\u00a0which is done can be trusted by all parties, who are now very distrustful of each\u00a0other. There is a lot at stake, for all parties. I am advised by Dr Bob Thorne, one\u00a0of the independent acoustics researchers who has submitted a research proposal\u00a0to the Foundation, that some very useful information and data could be gathered\u00a0within 6 months.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

If our original requests for funding had been granted 6 months\u00a0ago, when asked, we could have had some results by now. There is\u00a0no more time to lose.<\/p>\n

There is absolutely no doubt that these turbines, particularly at some\u00a0developments, are making nearby residents very sick, and that their\u00a0symptoms worsen over time. This is resulting in people abandoning their\u00a0homes and farms, if they can afford to. A recent example of this aired on South\u00a0Australian ABC Stateline last Friday night. I was told by a local from Waterloo in\u00a0South Australia yesterday that there are now five households who have left or are\u00a0leaving Waterloo, primarily because they cannot sleep. That wind development\u00a0seems to be particularly damaging to the local residents’ health. We need to find\u00a0out why some developments seem to be worse than others.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

We need to find out what the mechanism for their symptoms is. We have our\u00a0strong hypotheses that one of the mechanisms is low frequency sound and\u00a0infrasound, but these need to be formally tested, with concurrent measurement of\u00a0infrasound, and other indices such as sleep and blood pressure, in the homes of\u00a0the affected residents, while the turbines are turning. We then need to compare\u00a0this to what happens when the turbines are not turning, which will require the\u00a0cooperation of the industry. Alternatively, we can measure what happens to\u00a0these residents when they are away from their homes, if such industry\u00a0cooperation is not forthcoming.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Interestingly I have been made aware of a number of other sources of industrial\u00a0low frequency noise which have reproduced exactly the same symptoms as\u00a0many residents adjacent to wind turbines are reporting, including the elevated\u00a0blood pressure, the severe sleep disturbance from waking up in a panicked state,\u00a0and what appears to be the Tako Tsubo heart attack episodes. One of these is\u00a0listed in submission number 389 from the Parkville Residents Association. There\u00a0is an urgent need for more basic primary physiological research, particularly with\u00a0respect to blood pressure.<\/p>\n

The connection between chronic severe sleep deprivation, which is commonly\u00a0reported in adjacent residents, and a multitude of illnesses, is well established in\u00a0the medical literature. Most recently the meta analysis by Professor Cappuccio,\u00a0from Warwick University, which I included as an attachment to my submission,\u00a0clearly establishes that chronic sleep deprivation from whatever cause is directly\u00a0implicated in significantly increased illness from heart attacks and strokes<\/a>. This\u00a0is in addition to the increased risk of accidents, suppressed immunity, mental\u00a0health disorders, high blood pressure and diabetes. There is an urgent need for\u00a0the sleep studies, across multiple sites, and on a number of occasions, as not\u00a0every night is a problem, and this cannot be predicted in advance.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Similarly, the effect on blood pressure appears to be widespread and alarming. It\u00a0needs to be properly measured, with the gold standard method of doing so, i.e. a\u00a024 hour Holter Monitor. We have the subjects ready and waiting, we need the\u00a0funding, and we need the best independent blood pressure researchers we can\u00a0find to go and do the work.<\/p>\n

These Tako Tsubo heart attacks I have mentioned, where people adjacent to\u00a0turbine developments are having “heart attacks” but are then shown to have\u00a0normal coronary arteries, also need to be properly documented and analysed.<\/p>\n

The mechanism for Tako Tsubo heart attacks has already been identified as a\u00a0surge in stress hormones, particularly adrenaline. This surge in adrenaline is\u00a0also suspected with the episodes of acute hypertensive crises being described by\u00a0residents adjacent to wind turbines, both in Australia and in Canada. It is also\u00a0suspected because it has been shown in animal studies, and it fits with the\u00a0clinical descriptions of people waking up in a panicked state, anxious and\u00a0frightened. We suspect that the body\u02bcs fight\/flight mechanisms are being\u00a0abnormally stimulated, and this is provoking the body to release substantial\u00a0amounts of adrenaline, even while people are asleep. This needs to be properly\u00a0investigated.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I should add that these episodes of sleep disturbance and nocturnal waking in a\u00a0panicked state are being experienced by people living up to 10km away from\u00a0existing wind developments in South Australia and New South Wales.<\/p>\n

Mental health disorders are widespread, at times life threatening, with acute\u00a0suicidal ideation, and need urgent description and analysis, but most importantly\u00a0they need prevention, by siting turbines appropriately. This burden of illness\u00a0will inevitably place more demands on already stretched rural mental health\u00a0services.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The effect on children is unknown in terms of \u201cpeer reviewed evidence,\u201d because,\u00a0yet again, the proper studies have not yet been done. But the observations from\u00a0parents and teachers are alarming, and need urgent and proper further\u00a0investigation, free from politics and spin. Our children\u02bcs long-term health and\u00a0development is at stake, because of the particular risk to them from the chronic\u00a0cumulative exposure, while their bodies and brains are developing.<\/p>\n

These are just a few of the studies which in my view must be done, urgently,\u00a0in order to protect rural residents’ health. We have a unique opportunity in\u00a0Australia—the warning bells are loudly ringing, right now. We can learn from\u00a0what has happened overseas, and we can learn from what has already\u00a0happened in Australia. If we do not investigate these issues urgently and\u00a0thoroughly, and instead proceed with the status quo, we are inevitably going to be\u00a0making large numbers of rural residents very sick, and drive them out of their\u00a0homes, and off their farms.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In closing, I want to quote from an interview which a prominent Australian scientist in the climate change debate, Tim Flannery, did with Phillip Adams on\u00a0ABC Radio National\u02bcs Late Night Live. These comments are as relevant now as\u00a0they were when he did the interview in 2005. It was recently replayed on 4th\u00a0March, 2011.<\/p>\n

PA<\/span>: Before you leave the Lodge and move on to the White House . . . any other\u00a0policy?<\/p>\n

TF<\/span>: I would make sure every piece of legislation I was putting in was put through\u00a0a humanist sieve . . . microscope . . . to reflect . . . that every individual is a valuable\u00a0person to be respected, regardless of who they are are, where they are, or where\u00a0they are from.<\/p>\n

First and foremost you’ve got to have that right, otherwise you\u00a0won’t have a healthy society that will allow you to maintain democracy and all\u00a0those other things you need to do. . . .<\/p>\n

Make sure that all of your policy and all of\u00a0your pronouncements are really focussed around that fundamental recognition\u00a0that there is a group of Human Rights that we all possess, and that there is a\u00a0level of respect we need to accord every individual regardless of where they’re\u00a0from and regardless of whether we are fearful of them or whatever else, and we\u00a0have to make sure that those things—they’re the underpinning of our society and\u00a0are reflected in everything you do. . . .<\/p>\n

I think if you lose that . . . if you start breaking\u00a0down that fundamental respect, then you’ve lost something that really is your\u00a0future.<\/p>\n

That is exactly what I can see happening around me, across rural communities\u00a0where turbines have been installed, and people are getting sick, through no fault\u00a0or choice of their own.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

My perspective, one year on from my previous ignorant position, is that current\u00a0wind industry practices and government reports, decisions, and actions (at all\u00a0levels of government in Australia) have directly resulted in fundamental abuses\u00a0of Human Rights occurring, because the health concerns of rural residents\u00a0have been ignored—until this Senate Committee.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This underpins much of the rural backlash globally against wind turbines.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, I believe the wind industry has an important role to play in the\u00a0sustainable energy mix for the future, if and only if it is safely sited.\u00a0By ignoring and denying the current problems, I believe it is doing itself a serious\u00a0disservice, and it risks damaging the brand irreparably.<\/p>\n

Individual decision makers in each of the institutions previously mentioned are\u00a0directly responsible for this situation, and now need to share in the solution—to\u00a0clean up the carnage they have been responsible for, and help some of the\u00a0shattered lives and rural communities rebuild.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In closing, I ask the Committee to convey the urgent need for immediate\u00a0funding for independent research to the Australian Federal Parliament, and to\u00a0recommend an immediate halt in any further approvals and construction of wind\u00a0turbines closer than 10km to housing, until the results of such\u00a0independent studies are available.<\/p>\n

When the results of such independent studies are available, there needs to be an\u00a0appropriate consultative and fair solution developed to solve the problems which\u00a0have been caused by the currently constructed but unsafely sited turbine\u00a0developments which are making people sick.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Australia could lead the world in the safe implementation of this technology, rather than blindly follow the mistakes that have already been made, both here and elsewhere.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00b7 Editor’s note: \u00a0The following is the text of Dr. Sarah Laurie’s oral testimony before the Australian Federal Senate, March 29, 2011. \u00b7 Madam Chair and Fellow Senators: I would like to thank you for giving me the opportunity to present to you in person. I began this quest for knowledge when I was made aware of the proposed wind\u00a0development near my home, almost a year ago, and was asked by my neighbour\u00a0to comment on a study, by Dr Amanda Harry, a Cornish rural GP. It was only\u00a0after reading this study that I really became concerned, and decided to look into\u00a0the matter further, and find out what “patient” research had been done. Sarah Laurie, MD Medical Director, The Waubra Foundation Prior to\u00a0this I had been reassured by the official pronouncements from government health\u00a0bodies that \u201cthere was no evidence of health problems.” Like Dr David Iser, the Australian GP from Toora in Victoria, who investigated this\u00a0a number of years ago, I did not want to find a problem. Locally, it has made\u00a0things awkward for me with longstanding friends, former patients, and farming\u00a0neighbours who have been through some very difficult years. It has also made\u00a0things very awkward with longstanding friends who are Greens, or who are\u00a0passionate environmental advocates. Dr Iser and I have both compared notes\u00a0on our reluctance to accept that a technology in which we had invested so much\u00a0hope for the future of the planet, could possibly be making people sick. But it is. And we urgently need to find out why, in order to site turbines\u00a0safely, so they will not seriously harm human health. As I have listed in my submission, there are numerous doctors now, both in\u00a0Australia and overseas, who have either conducted small studies on their patient\u00a0populations, or conducted larger studies on patients who had developed the\u00a0same healthRead More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[163],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.windturbinesyndrome.com\/static\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14961"}],"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=14961"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.windturbinesyndrome.com\/static\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14961\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.windturbinesyndrome.com\/static\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14961"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.windturbinesyndrome.com\/static\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14961"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.windturbinesyndrome.com\/static\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}