Health Objections
Below is a list of objection paragraphs relating to potential Health hazards. They are not in any particular order. Either cut and paste the relevant objections into your letter, or use them as seeds for your own ideas.
* Research by Dr. Amanda Harry showed that all but one of the fourteen people living near Bears Down wind farm in Cornwall, had experienced increased incidents of headaches, migraines, nausea, dizziness, palpitations, tinnitus, sleep disorders, stress anxiety and depression. The NAS is commissioning further research to study the reported health effects relating to claims of LFN and infrasound from on-shore wind turbines. (Noise Abatement Society).
*There are numerous issues for residents living close by, such as the strobe effect, noise & vibration as well as the loss of visual amenity. This turbine is close to our property and could have a major impact on our health.
* The turbine site is only a few hundred meters from our property and I am concerned because of the health risks caused by flicker, noise and vibration. These are not fully understood and are still the subject of investigation.
* Light flicker will affect my property and I can only screen by a tall hedge or similar which would block the natural light and force me to live in permanent shade. I think this is unacceptable.
* As a cyclist I regularly use the narrow roads near to the proposed site and I am concerned that the moving blades and flicker may distract those using the highway and lead to an increase in accidents.
* I have a relative/friend who suffers from epilepsy and frequently visits me at my property. I am concerned that the flicker from the turbine is potentially harmful. Has a Health Impact Assessment been carried out for this proposed application?
* Noise from turbines can have serious detrimental effects on health. Has the applicant provided specific noise data which can be assessed by an acoustic specialist not employed by the turbine developer?
* There are reports of negative health effects of wind turbines and concerns raised by professional publications including the British Medical Journal. It is apparent that current authorised noise levels are under scrutiny and more research is needed before a proposal is approved or a council could be failing its residents on grounds of Duty of Care. Indeed, there are cases currently going to court where councils are being sued for failing in their duty to protect local residents from the health impacts of wind turbines.
* The proposed site for the turbine is very close to a number of dwellings. It will seriously affect their visual amenity and have possible negative health effects due to noise, flicker and acoustic vibration. Central Government policy is being developed with the Distances to Resident’s Properties Bill which is proposing a minimum distance of 1500m for 50m-100m turbines. Some properties in Too Good Lane are less than one third of this distance from the proposed site. Scotland has introduced a minimum distance of 2000m.
* Screening against Flicker effects. This would have to be close to properties therefore would also block out light, making residents live in shade.
• Shadow and flicker - effects many properties with no credible long term means of mitigation and the health impact can be huge on those effected.
• Screening – residents close to a wind turbine are told that screening will be provided to hide the large foreign columnar structure and assist in reducing flicker – it would have to be so close to properties in many instances that it would block the natural light into the property itself – meaning residents may need to turn their lights on!
* We will be in the zone which will be exposed to the flicker effect from this turbine and the health & safety of this concerns me. I do not believe a buffer zone could be established that would adequately stop the impact of a 300 foot wind turbines blades.
* The strobe effect from wind turbines, when the sun is behind the rotating blades, can cause dizziness, headaches and trigger seizures (epilepsy). These light disturbances are experienced inside the home as well as outside. Shadow, flicker and reflected light from blades cause problems and therefore a Health Impact Assessment will be needed on each proposed wind turbine application.
* The Department of Energy and Climate Change commissioned a report “Update of UK Shadow Flicker Evidence Base” in the executive summary it states that a wind turbine should be a minimum:- “10 rotor diameter distance from the nearest property.”
• Noise pollution can have a serious health impact on residents within 2k of a turbine and there is now recognised evidence coming to light to suggest that this may actually extend as far as 10k
* The Noise Impact of wind turbines can have a serious detrimental effect on the health of residents who live close by. The data supplied by the applicant is often misleading in that it is generic and the background noise level is referenced from somewhere else in the country which is completely irrelevant to the individual application. In rural locations background noise will be particularly low at night; therefore the increased noise with the installation of a wind turbine will be significant.
* The World Health Organisation in 2010 set the European target for outdoor night noise levels at 40 decibels to protect the public. Environmental noise damages human health, particularly at night. Recommendations from the Wind Turbine Noise Working Group established by the DTI and British Standard 4142 are that turbine noise levels should be kept to within 5db (A) of the average evening or night time noise levels.
* Any site specific noise data that is has been provided by the applicant will need to be independently analysed by an acoustic specialist so raw data will be required. If the data is inaccurate and the noise levels are higher than suggested on paper, the impact to residents will be significant. The opportunity to rectify this situation after the installation of the Wind Turbine(s) seems remote.
* Wind Turbines are measured by the audible range of noise, but not the lower frequencies. The DTI commissioned a report that concluded that a phenomenon known as Aerodynamic Modulation was occurring in ways not anticipated by UK regulations ETSU-R-97. It was found that when a wind turbine generates even at low speeds considerable infrasound can be detected as far out as 10km
* The health Impacts of this proposed turbine need to be considered and residents and councils need to demand a Health Impact Assessment from these companies. Anyone who lives in close proximity to the proposed site, the audible noise, low frequency and vibration may have a detrimental effect to their health.
* Wind energy developers measure the audible range of noise, but not the lower frequencies (LFN) – which are sometimes below audible limits. In 2004, the DTI commissioned the Hayes McKenzie Partnership to report on claims that LFN and infrasound were causing health effects. Their report noted that a phenomenon known as Aerodynamic Modulation was occurring in ways not anticipated by UK regulations relating to wind farms ETSU-R-97 (ETSU).
* It is clear to see that far more research and understanding of the negative effects of Wind Turbines on residents is required and not yet available. Without this data it cannot be possible for the Council to make an informed decision and therefore should reject any application on the grounds of a Duty of Care to its resident.
* The related health impacts on local residents from wind turbines have been considered by the British Medical Association in their professional journal. The prestigious British Medical Journal (BMJ) published an editorial this year addressing the health impacts of wind farms, implicitly criticizing the authorised noise levels in the UK as too high, and calling for further research. It goes on to say that:-
Wind Turbine noise seems to affect health adversely and an independent review of the evidence is needed.
Shortly after wind turbines began to be erected close to housing, complaints emerged of adverse effects on health. Sleep disturbance was the main complaint. The evidence for adequate sleep as a prerequisite for human health is overwhelming. A large body of evidence now exists to suggest that wind turbines disturb sleep and impair health even at long distances.
* The BMJ strongly supports the arguments made by wind farm objectors for years, that the health impacts of wind farms on local communities are real, and a matter for concern, and that the effects may extend beyond even the 2km range that has been adopted by some local authorities in planning guidance. It also argues that the noise limits in current UK legislation, and especially the government’s ETSU-R-97, may be set too high.
It calls, for an independent review of the evidence so that the public can be reassured, and so that planners and legislators have data they can rely on.
I am delighted that a publication as authoritative as the British Medical Journal has published this editorial expressing the findings and concerns of many eminent doctors. The government relies on acousticians, but they are not clinicians and are not comparing like with like. More importantly, they are not qualified to comment on medical findings.
The BMJ stated:-
“Wind Turbine noise may amount to what the common law regards as a nuisance, and entitles a person to take proceedings in the courts.”
*If the court is satisfied that the noise complained of constitutes a nuisance, a court can order the person responsible to stop or remove the nuisance and order compensation to be paid.
Statute law also deals with nuisances. The health act 1958 (Vic) (“Health Act”):-
Expressly provides that a nuisance includes “any noise which is or is liable to be dangerous to health or noxious, annoying or injurious to personal comfort.”
Wrightington Residents Against Turbines (The WRAT Pack)