“If you live in North Stormont near wind turbines, check your mailbox this week.” Wind Concerns Ontario
IT is Your Right
Category Archives: Noise
Wind Turbines Can Harm HumANs
Carmen Krogh gave a recent presentation on new research exploring why people living within 10 km of an industrial wind turbine facility contemplate/vacate their homes.
Hosted by WECC (Wildlife Energy Community Coalition) on April 29, 2021 via a virtual portal. A recording of the meeting is to be posted on their website.
(Slide 18 is revised to clarify the 5 Elements and their relationship to the analysed data and slide 26 provides a reference for slide 25.)
Echauffour wind ORDERED to SHUT Down
Echauffour wind operated by Voltalia has been ordered to shut down its 5 industrial wind turbines based on findings found in an acoustics report produced by Venatech. The report highlighted persistent non-conformity. The wind project began operations in 2019 and is located in Normandy, France.
Christine Royer, the sub-prefect of Argentan acting as Mortagne-au-Perche made the decision which specified that the restart of the installation will be conditioned only with the realization of the installation meeting its obligation to operate within standards. Such a decision maybe a first in France.
The project has been the subject of complaints from adjacent residents since it began operations.
Echauffour. Le parc éolien est mis à l’arrêt par décision préfectorale; January 22, 2021
“To go mad or mad”
Annick Bouttier, a resident of Echauffour, testifies to her health problems:
“For a little over a year, I have been subject to many health problems like many other Echauffouriens, in particular vertigo (hospitalization in February 2020, because vertigo more and more violent), tinnitus 24 hours a day, even pains in the ears (I no longer know the silence), my nights are summed up to about 3 hours (fatigue and exhaustion are there, impossible to recover), headaches … well, I am very healthy. gone to a glass of health!
Since March 2020, confinement requires, and teleworking, the problems have intensified, in June 2020 a videonystagmographic examination (VNG) did not detect anything abnormal, and there we start talking to me about my environment, my place of life to come up with a possible “wind syndrome”, some people are supposedly more sensitive than others. To go mad or mad. And still what am I complaining about, I’m not in Val Soubry! “V.C.
Wind turbines. “Echauffour is the archetype of the environmental scandal”, August 10, 2020
Madison County Wind Ordinance
The Madison County Board of Supervisors in Iowa approved a new county wind ordinance on December 22, 2020. Specifics of the ordinance are provided below. The full ordinance can be downloaded from the document links on this page.
Noise
- Noise shall not exceed 40 dBA Lmax (fast) as the desired maximal (day or night) noise limit to protect from adverse effects of audible (closer-originating) noise.
- Noise shall not exceed 60 dBC Lmax (fast) as the desired maximal (day or night) noise limit to protect from adverse effects of infrasound, low-frequency noise (ILFN) that contributes to sleep disturbance, among other effects and can travel much farther than audible sound. Wind turbine noise, at any time of the day or night, cannot exceed the above specified limits at any point along a non-participating Property Line (not the nearest residence) to be in compliance. Both limit regulations are essential to more fully protect exposed residents.
Shadow Flicker
- A report prepared by a qualified third-party using the most current modeling software available establishing that no Occupied Residence will experience more than thirty (30) hours per year, or more than thirty (30) minutes per day, of Shadow Flicker at the nearest external wall based on a “real world” or “adjusted case” assessment modeling. The report must show the locations and estimated amount of shadow flicker to be experienced at all Occupied Residences as a result of the individual Turbines in the Project.
- No amount of Shadow Flicker may fall on or in a Non-Participating Landowner’s property. Shadow Flicker received on a Non-Participating Landowner’s Property requires that the offending turbine(s) be installed with the Optional Shadow Flicker System resulting in Zero Shadow Flicker on a Non-Participating Landowner’s Property. The Optional Shadow Flicker System will stop the C-WECS blades rotating during times when shadow flicker crosses a Non-Participating Landowner’s property.
Height and Number Limitations
- The Total Height of any C-WEC, IWT, Turbine in Madison County shall not exceed 500 feet.
- No Project shall have more than 51 total Turbines. Projects shall not be split in order to avoid this restriction.
- At no time shall the total number of permitted and installed C-WECS in Madison County exceed 51 turbines.
Generating Capacity Limits
- A limit of 2.3 MW of generating capacity per unit, C-WECS, IWT.
Setback Distances
- Adjacent Property Lines:
– 1.5 mile from a Non-Participating Landowner’s Property Line.
– 2100 feet from a Participating Landowner’s Property Line.
- Occupied Residence
– 1.5 mile from a Non-Participating Landowner’s Property Line.
– 2100 feet from a Participating Landowner’s Occupied Residence Property Line.
- Occupied, Non-residential Building: 1.25 mile from Property Line.
- Confinement Feeding Operation Building: 1500 feet from property line
- Public Road Right-of-Way: 0.5 miles from nearest edge
- Open Ditch: 1500 feet from nearest edge
- Public Conservation Areas, sites on the National Historical Registry, Covered Bridges: 1.5 miles from Property Line.
- Private-Owned Documented Conservation Areas: 1.5 miles from Property Line.
- Cemetery: 1 mile from Property Line
- City Limits: 1.5 miles from the Corporate Limits
Source: https://cap.gmdsolutions.co…
Originally posted on Wind Action December 22, 2020
Stolen Dreams
April 20, 2020|News Release; University of Gothenburg
Wind turbine noise affects dream sleep and perceived sleep restoration
Wind turbine noise (WTN) influences people’s perception of the restorative effects of sleep, and also has a small but significant effect on dream sleep, otherwise known as REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, a study at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, shows. A night of WTN resulted in delayed and shortened REM sleep.
Knowledge of how sleep is affected by WTN has been limited to date. Research involving physiological study of its impact using polysomnography, the top-ranking method of sleep recording, is lacking.
Studies carried out in the Sound Environment Laboratory at the Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine in Gothenburg are adding new knowledge in the field. Polysomnography involves using electrodes attached to the head and chest to record brain activity, eye movement, heart rate, etc. during sleep.
Of the 50 participants in the new study, 24 had been living within one kilometer of one or more wind turbines for at least one year. The other 26, the reference group, did not live near wind turbines.
Kerstin Persson Waye, Professor of Environmental Medicine at Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, is the corresponding author in the study, published in the journal Sleep.
“We wanted to find out whether people exposed to noise from wind turbines over time become more sensitive or more habituated to WTN, so that their sleep may be affected differently than someone who doesn’t live near any turbines,” she says.
The participants spent three nights in the Sound Environment Laboratory, one for acclimatization and then, in a random order, one quiet night and one with four separate periods of WTN. The sounds that were used were modeled based on outdoor measurements from several wind turbines, and was filtered to correspond with the sound insulation of a typical Swedish wooden house. Exposure was further modeled, to correspond to sleeping with a closed window and window ajar respectively.
The sounds were chosen to represent relatively unfavorable conditions, with a slightly higher average outdoor noise level than is currently permitted in Sweden. This level corresponded, however, with a low indoor noise level — below the levels at which sleep had previously been found to be affected by, for example, traffic noise.
During the night with WTN, according to the physiological measures, the participants spent an average of 11.1 minutes less in REM sleep, which they entered 16.8 minutes later, than during the quiet night. The proportion of time they spent in REM sleep was 18.8% for the night with WTN, compared with 20.6% for the quiet night — a small but statistically significant difference that, moreover, was independent from habituation to WTN.
There were no statistically significant differences in other sleep parameters, such as number of awakenings, total sleep time, time in deeper (non-REM) sleep stages or fragmentation of deep sleep, and heart rate. However, rhythmic sound variations appeared to disturb sleep, especially with closed windows.
Besides the physiologically based measurements, participants filled out a questionnaire on their sleep quality and how tired or rested they felt. Both groups reported that they slept worse during nights with WTN.
The study gave no indication of the habituation effect or increased sensitivity in the participants exposed to wind turbines in their home environment. However, the group that lived close to wind turbines reported worse sleep overall, even during the quiet night.
“Sleep disturbance, a negative health effect according to the World Health Organization (WHO), can in itself contribute to chronic diseases. However, we can’t draw conclusions from this study on long-term health impact. Further studies should, if possible, investigate sleep in people’s home environments and include longer exposure time,” Kerstin Persson Waye concludes.
###
Title: A laboratory study on the effects of wind turbine noise on sleep: results of the polysomnographic WiTNES study; https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsaa046
Source: EurekAlert!
Wind Power & a Political Blind Date
Will wind turbine debate blow ill will on TVO’s “Political Blind Date”?
Published on: February 19, 2020|By: Frances Learment
A Port Elgin couple who allege the Unifor wind turbine in Port Elgin caused a long list of debilitating health issues will be part of the conversation Feb. 25 on TVO’s “Political Blind Date.”
The edition features Bill Walker, PC MPP (Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound) – who has called for a moratorium on new wind power development – and Associate Minister for Energy, and Peter Tabuns, NDP MPP (Toronto-Danforth) and the debate will include hydro rates, energy policies, and community windmills…..
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/tvochannel
Infrasound & Low Frequency Noise: Physics, Cells, Health & History
Live streaming of upcoming lecture at University of Waterloo
Starts Thursday September 12, 2019 at 1:00 PM
Invited Talk: Mariana Alves-Pereira
Title of the Lecture: “Infrasound & Low Frequency Noise: Physics, Cells, Health and History”
If you wish to attend in person at University of Waterloo see the following for more details:
Lecture “Infrasound & Low Frequency Noise: Physics, Cells, Health and History”
Speaker Bio:
Mariana Alves-Pereira holds a B.Sc. in Physics (State University of New York at Stony Brook), a M.Sc. in Biomedical Engineering (Drexel University) and a Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences (New University of Lisbon). She joined the multidisciplinary research team investigating the biological response to infrasound and low frequency noise in 1988, and has been the team’s Assistant Coordinator since 1999. Recipient of three scientific awards, and author and co-author of over 50 scientific publications (including peer-reviewed and conference presentations), Dr. Alves-Pereira is currently Associate Professor at Lusófona University teaching Biophysics and Biomaterials in health science programs (nursing and radiology), as well as Physics and Hygiene in workplace safety & health programs.
Dr. Mariana Alves-Pereira can be reached at: m.alvespereira@gmail.com
Wind Turbines Can Cause Sickness
Wind Turbines Can Cause Sickness, Say Public Health Officials
WHO-HD CHANNEL 13 NEWS|August 12, 2019
WINTERSET, Iowa — The Madison County Board of Public Health is going on record to say that there are legitimate negative health effects caused by wind turbines.
Board Chair Dr. Kevin de Regnier said the board identified two concerns after a review of scientific literature and months of hearings and meetings with residents and MidAmerican Energy.
The two health concerns identified are:
- “Flicker” caused by the sun reflecting off turbine blades creates a strobe effect that can cause headaches and nausea.
- “Infrasound” is a soundwave just below what the ear can actually detect. It is created by the turbines disturbing wind flow. It, too, can cause headaches and nausea.
“Resolved that the Madison County Board of Health determines that there is the potential for negative health affects associated with commercial wind turbines and that current setbacks are inadequate to protect the public health,” said Madison County Public Health in a statement to Channel 13.
The board recommends that any future wind turbine projects be 1.5 miles from any residence…..
Talk about Infra & Low Frequency Noise
A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO HEAR PROFESSOR ALVES-PEREIRA TALK ABOUT INFRA AND LOW FREQUENCY NOISE
Save the Date for an Invited Talk
Host: Richard Mann http://www.cs.uwaterloo.ca/~mannr
Speaker: Mariana Alves-Pereira
Title:
Infrasound & Low Frequency Noise: Physics, Cells, Health and History
Date: Thursday September 12, 2019
Time: 1 pm Location: University of Waterloo Room: DC 1302 (Davis Center)
Speaker Bio:
Mariana Alves-Pereira holds a B.Sc. in Physics (State University of New York at Stony Brook), a M.Sc. in Biomedical Engineering (Drexel University) and a Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences (New University of Lisbon). She joined the multidisciplinary research team investigating the biological response to infrasound and low frequency noise in 1988, and has been the team’s Assistant Coordinator since 1999. Recipient of three scientific awards, and author and co-author of over 50 scientific publications (including peer-reviewed and conference presentations), Dr. Alves-Pereira is currently Associate Professor at Lusófona University teaching Biophysics and Biomaterials in health science programs (nursing and radiology), as well as Physics and Hygiene in workplace safety & health programs.
Dr. Mariana Alves-Pereira can be reached at: m.alvespereira@gmail.com
Wind “Farmer”
Mothers Against Wind Turbines Inc. 