The Daily Times<\/a> 8\/18\/10<\/p>\nSince its blades first started spinning June 11, the University of Delaware\u2019s wind turbine has become a city landmark and is already providing some clean power to campus facilities.<\/p>\n
However, for some residents, the structure\u2019s majesty is overshadowed by its noise.<\/p>\n
Janice Pinto, who lives on Rodney Avenue, compares the sound to \u201ca jet engine that won\u2019t land.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNeighbors are awakened \u2026 I\u2019m concerned,\u201d she said. \u201cI think environmental government controls need to protect citizenry from noise pollution.\u201d<\/p>\n
At an Aug. 19 question-and-answer session, university officials tried to ease community concerns.<\/p>\n
Nancy Targett, dean and professor of Marine Biosciences at the College of Earth, Ocean and Environment, said she is seeking feedback from residents that experience noise pollution so the university can address these issues.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to be good neighbors,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s why we did extensive studies prior to construction. Now we need data from (residents) so we can attempt to fix any problems.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dave Strong, senior project manager from the New York-based Sustainable Energy Developments Inc., said an acoustic study based on \u201cworst case conditions\u201d was conducted last year and found that the UD wind turbine is 15 to 20 decibels below Delaware\u2019s regulatory limit.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe worst conditions would be the turbine at its loudest, with residents always down wind of the structure,\u201d he said. \u201cWe also assume the sound bends down toward the houses, which happens very rarely.\u201d<\/p>\n
Strong added that this does not mean residents don\u2019t hear the turbine, rather acoustic levels are well below standards.<\/p>\n
Concerns surrounding Wind Turbine Syndrome \u2014 a condition not recognized by the Centers for Disease Control with symptoms such as sleep disorders, heart disease, panic attacks and headaches \u2014 were also addressed.<\/p>\n
Resident Gerald Lechliter said the university did not make residents aware of WTS before constructing the turbine.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe should have been told,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Dr. Nina Pierpont, a pediatrician based out of New York, conducted a study of ten families that lived near wind turbines and claimed that eight moved away due to health issues caused by the structures.<\/p>\n
Her book, \u201cWind Turbine Syndrome: A Report on a Natural Experiment,\u201d was published last year.<\/p>\n
Jeremy Firestone, associate professor of Marine Policy and Legal Studies at UD, said Pierpont\u2019s findings are not based on scientific fact.<\/p>\n
\u201cHer samples were self-selected, the study was not published in a peer review journal and the book was self-published,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Firestone also pointed out that two reports, both released this year by government agencies in Canada and Australia, concluded there is no evidence to support the notion of WTS.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u2014Sarah Lake, The Daily Times 8\/18\/10 Since its blades first started spinning June 11, the University of Delaware\u2019s wind turbine has become a city landmark and is already providing some clean power to campus facilities. However, for some residents, the structure\u2019s majesty is overshadowed by its noise. Janice Pinto, who lives on Rodney Avenue, compares the sound to \u201ca jet engine that won\u2019t land.\u201d \u201cNeighbors are awakened \u2026 I\u2019m concerned,\u201d she said. \u201cI think environmental government controls need to protect citizenry from noise pollution.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[167,16],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.windturbinesyndrome.com\/static\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9519"}],"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=9519"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.windturbinesyndrome.com\/static\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9519\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.windturbinesyndrome.com\/static\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9519"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.windturbinesyndrome.com\/static\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9519"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.windturbinesyndrome.com\/static\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}