Industrial-size wind turbines are health hazards 

On Friday, April 12, the Charlestown Citizens Alliance sponsored a presentation by Neil Andersen of Falmouth, Mass., on the effects of industrial-size wind turbines on people who live nearby. The following day, the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee sponsored a presentation by Lt. Gov. Elizabeth Roberts on the national health care program. How ironic that these presentations would be scheduled for the same weekend following Judge Kristin E. Rodgers’ decision on the Whalerock Project. The irony did not slip past many of the town residents who are increasingly becoming more educated about the ill effects of wind turbines on nearby residents and the beneficial effects of a national health care program.

The presentation by Neil Anderson enumerated physical, psychological and social maladies experienced by some residents of Falmouth due to the infrasound and low frequency waves created by the spinning blades of the wind turbines. To name a few, these maladies include headaches, sleep problems, night terrors or learning disabilities in children, ringing in the ears (tinnitus), mood problems (irritability, anxiety), concentration and memory problems, and issues with equilibrium, dizziness and nausea. Commonly referred to as wind turbine syndrome, these symptoms are real and widespread, possibly due to the interrelationship of infrasound and local topography. Many people living within 2 kilometers (1.25 miles) of these spinning giants get sick, so sick that they often abandon (as in, lock the door and leave) their homes. Nobody wants to buy their acoustically toxic homes. The “lucky ones” get quietly bought out by the wind developers, who steadfastly refuse to acknowledge that wind turbine syndrome exists. And yet, the wind developers thoughtfully include a confidentiality clause in the sales agreement, forbidding their victim from discussing the matter further. (Nina Pierpont, MD, PhD.)

Let’s face it, if industrial-size wind turbines are sited in close proximity to residences (less than 1,000 feet), people will become ill or distressed. The very young and the elderly are particularly susceptible to the infrasonic waves and noise of the industrial giants. To deal with the adverse effects of wind turbines, many Charlestown residents will need a national health care program. But why should the residents of Charlestown even be exposed to the negative effects of wind turbines in the first place?

For more information on the effects of industrial-size wind turbines, especially in proximity to residential neighborhoods, search the Internet for yourself. Then see how you would vote if you had the responsibility to assure that health and quality of life would not be adversely affected by putting up industrial wind turbines adjacent to residential neighborhoods. For more information, check the following sources:

• P. van den Berg, Journal of Sound and Vibration, “Effects of the wind profile at night on wind turbine sound,” volume 277, issues 4-5, November 2004, pp. 955-970.

• E. Pedersen and K. Persson = Waye, Occupational and Environmental Medicine, “Wind turbine noise, annoyance and self-reported health and well-being in different living environments,” volume 64, issue 7, 2007, pp. 480-486.

• C. M. E. Krogh, L. Gillis, N. Kouwen, and J. Aramini, Bulletin of Science Technology Society, “WindVOiCe, a Self-Reporting Survey: Adverse Health Effects, Industrial Wind Turbines, and the Need for Vigilant Monitoring,” volume 31, issue 4, August 2011, pp. 334-345.

• H. H. Hubbard and K. P. Shepherd, Journal of the Acoustic Society of America, “Aeroacoustics of large wind turbines, volume 89, issue 6, 1991, pp. 2495-2508.

• G. Kamperman and R. James, “Simple guidelines for siting wind turbines to prevent health risks,” Paper presented at Institute of Noise Control Engineering (INCE) NOISE-CON 2008, July 28-31, 2008.

Michael Chambers
Charlestown