Judge rules wind turbines cause “irreparable harm” to human health and issues immediate injunction overnight so neighbours can sleep 

US Justice Muse has just ruled [1] that two 1.65 VESTAS Wind Turbines in Falmouth cause “irreparable physical and psychological harm” to the health of neighbours. He has ordered that the turbines are immediately turned off between 7pm and 7am every night, pending the hearing of a case for noise nuisance.

These two turbines are the same power generating capacity as wind turbines at a number of wind developments in Australia [2] where local residents have reported the same range of symptoms, most commonly repetitive sleep disturbance, known for centuries to result in serious long term damage to mental and physical health.

In a letter [3] to the Falmouth Town Health Board in September, US Psychiatrist Dr William Hallstein called for the Board to “stop the abuse” and detailed how sleep deprivation can worsen many pre existing health conditions, can cause serious harm to healthy people if prolonged, and is used as a method of torture.

The Waubra Foundation have just issued an Explicit Warning Notice,[4] to publicise the fact that the wind industry and others including governments have been aware of the direct causation of sleep disturbance and other symptoms from infrasound and low frequency noise emissions from wind turbines since the comprehensive acoustic field research 1985,[5] led by Dr Neil Kelley.

The denials of the wind industry are reminiscent of those of the tobacco, asbestos and thalidomide manufacturers. Wind Turbine manufacturers have consistently denied knowledge of adverse health effects, most recently VESTAS with their “Act on Facts” campaign,[6] launched in Australia June this year.

The subsequent Kelley laboratory research, presented at the American Wind Energy Association Conference in 1987,[7] makes it clear that the direct causal link between symptoms and infrasound and low frequency noise has been known to the wind industry for over twenty years.

“Unlike other manufacturers, who have proven their products’ safety, wind turbine manufacturers have not ever done so” according to the Waubra Foundation CEO, Sarah Laurie. “Dr Kelley has since confirmed that his research is equally applicable to modern upwind turbines, despite wind industry assurances otherwise”.[8]

“We expect other legal cases for noise nuisance from wind turbines, damages for professional negligence [9] and other litigation against those responsible for the predictable harm to health will follow this US decision”.

Contact: Sarah Laurie, CEO Waubra Foundation 0474 050 474
sarah/waubrafoundation.org.au

The Waubra Foundation.
PO Box 7112
Banyule
Victoria, 3084
Australia

Reg. No. A0054185H
ABN: 65 801 147 788

References

1. Decision by Justice Muse, 21st November, 2013 Falmouth, USA http://waubrafoundation.org.au/resources/us-judge-rules-wind-turbine-neighbours-suffer-irreparable-harm/
2. Population noise impact surveys and case series from Australian Wind Developments, 2004 – 2013 http://waubrafoundation.org.au/library/community-noise-impact-surveys/
3. Letter from US Psychiatrist, Dr William Hallstein to the Falmouth Board of Health, 13th September, 2013 http://waubrafoundation.org.au/resources/hallstein-w-falmouth-wind-turbines-sleep-deprivation-psychiatrist-weighs/
4. Waubra Foundation’s Explicit Warning Notice, 22nd November, 2013 http://waubrafoundation.org.au/2013/explicit-warning-notice/
5. Solar Energy Research Institute (SERI), NASA, and multiple US University research project funded by the US Department of Energy; Acoustic Field Survey led by Dr Neil Kelley, 1985 http://waubrafoundation.org.au/resources/kelley-et-al-1985-acoustic-noise-associated-with-mod-1-wind-turbine/
6. Article publicizing the VESTAS “Act on Facts” campaign launch http://www.renewableenergymagazine.com/article/vestas-joins-the-fight-against-antiwind-farm-20130619
7. Kelley laboratory research, 1987 http://waubrafoundation.org.au/resources/1987-problem-with-low-frequency-noise-from-wind-turbines-scientifically-identified/
8. Article by Graham Lloyd, in The Australian, July, 2013 http://waubrafoundation.org.au/resources/lloydg-newer-wind-turbines-could-be-just-as-harmful-as-prototypes/
9. Litigation in US against acoustician announced http://waubrafoundation.org.au/2012/residents-sue-noise-engineer-for-negligence/