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Doctors to Discuss Turbine Health Impacts at Wind Energy Forum
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May 6th Rutland Regional Medical Center Event First of Its Kind in the United States
Rutland, VT – For the first time ever, an upcoming community wind forum will allow two doctors to publicly discuss the issue of health impacts created by industrial wind turbines.
The Rutland Regional Medical Center will be hosting the Community Forum on Wind Energy on Thursday, May 6th, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. at the CVPS/Leahy Community Health Center. This forum will feature two physician panelists; Michael Nissenbaum, MD, of Northern Maine Medical Center and Robert McCunney, MD, of Massachusetts General Hospital. The meeting will be moderated by Rutland Regional Medical Center’s President/CEO, Thomas Huebner.
The focus of the meeting will be to inform attendees about wind energy and health related considerations. With numerous industrial-size wind energy farms being proposed throughout Vermont, this forum will focus on the various health concerns being raised by those living in proximity of these proposed wind facilities, as well as health impacts complaints being experienced by residents near existing wind facilities.
Press reports from the US and around the world have documented health impacts ranging from sleep deprivation to hypertension, nausea, and depression suffered by people who live in proximity to industrial wind turbines.
“Do wind turbines adversely affect health?” asks Dr. McCunney. “At the forum, I will discuss a recent comprehensive review of the published scientific literature on wind turbines and potential health implications.”
Dr. McCunney has participated in numerous panels discussing the impacts of wind turbine sound on human health. He is board certified by the American Board of Preventive Medicine as a specialist in occupational and environmental medicine. Dr. McCunney is a staff physician at Massachusetts General Hospital, where he evaluates and treats occupational and environmental illnesses; he is also a research scientist at MIT, where he co-teaches a course in epidemiology. He is the editor of a major text book entitled, A Practical Approach to Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
Dr. Nissenbaum is Board Certified in Diagnostic Imaging, which includes extensive training in medical physics – the interaction of human tissues with various forms of energy. He is a published author, and former faculty (junior) at Harvard Medical School. For the last two years, Dr. Nissenbaum has focused on the physics and potential for adverse health effects of the energy emissions related to industrial wind turbines, with special reference to existing turbine installations in Maine.
“Evidence is rapidly building that the quality of the noise, coupled with the fact that it never goes away, creates an overall pattern of disturbance and local adverse health effects unlike anything else in the rural environment,” notes Dr. Nissenbaum. “This seminar will include what we do know for sure, and given what we do know, discussion of how close is too close for industrial wind turbines.”
There is no fee for the forum, and registration is not required. For more information, please call 802-772-2400 or visit www.rrmc.org.
[The next day, May 7th, 10:30 a.m., Dr. Nissenbaum will participate in an Energize Vermont press conference at the Statehouse. Click here for information.]
Contact: Tara McGovern, (802) 778-0660, Email: tara@energizevermont.org
Energize Vermont • www.energizevermont.org • info@energizevermont.org
Energize Vermont was created to educate and advocate for establishing renewable energy solutions that are in harmony with the irreplaceable character of Vermont, and that contribute to the well-being of all her people. This mission is achieved by researching, collecting, and analyzing information from all sources; and disseminating it to the public, community leaders, legislators, media, and regulators for the purpose of ensuring informed decisions for long term stewardship of our communities.
