Neighbor News
MIT: Wind farms do not make you sick
Major new study confirms wind farms do not harm human health
http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2385269/mit-wind-farms-do-not-make-you-sick
By James Murray 05 Dec 2014
Claims that wind farms have negative health impacts in the form of so-called wind turbine syndrome have once again been thoroughly debunked, after a new study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) concluded that living in close proximity to wind farms does not harm human health.
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The study, which was commissioned by Canadian wind energy association, CanWEA, and the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) but which was carried out independently by researchers at MIT, concluded that there was “no clear or consistent association is seen between noise from wind turbines and any reported disease or other indicator of harm to human health”.
The researchers studied a number of wind farms in the US and Europe, measuring low-frequency sound (LFN), infrasound, and tonal sound and assessing their potential contribution to stress, annoyance and sleep disturbance, as well as other health impacts.
The survey found that complaints about wind farms tended to be more common during the construction phase, and even then complaint rates were lower than for other energy projects such as oil and gas facilities.
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The study also found that infrasound from wind turbines was typically below audibility levels in nearby homes, while a detailed analysis of four large turbines and 44 smaller turbines showed that low frequency noise levels in residential areas did not exceed levels from other common noise sources such as traffic.
A separate study of a wind farm in northern Poland found that those living nearest to wind farms reported the best quality of life, while those living further than 1,500 metres away scored the worst.
“These results should lay to rest any concerns that some citizens may have with regard to living near wind turbines,” said Iván Pineda, head of policy analysis at the EWEA in a statement.
The report is the latest in a string of studies to show no evidence that wind farms contribute to physical and psychological health conditions, despite claims to the contrary from some anti-wind farm groups.
