Wind turbine syndrome

Wind turbine syndrome or wind farm syndrome is a psychosomatic disorder primarily caused by anxiety generated by heightened awareness of turbines^[1] - the "nocebo effect"^[2] - prompted by proponents of the false idea that wind turbines have adverse health effects. While proponents claim that a number of effects including death, cancer and congenital abnormality have been caused by wind farms, the distribution of recorded events correlates with media coverage of wind farm syndrome itself, and not with the presence or absence of wind farms.^[3] It is not recognised by any international disease classification system and does not appear in any title or abstract in the US National Library of Medicine's PubMed database.^[4] The Center for Media and Democracy's SourceWatch website has identified at least one fossil fuel industry funded astroturfing group^[5] as involved in promoting the idea of wind turbine syndrome. An investigation led to the foundation being stripped of its status as a health promotion charity.^[6]

Noise effects

There is some evidence of localised low-level adverse psychological effects due to low frequency noise from wind turbines, and this is poorly understood,^[7] but a 2009 expert panel review concluded that wind turbines do not directly make people ill.^[8][9] The study did allow that some people could experience stress or irritation caused by the swishing sounds wind turbines produce. "A small minority of those exposed report annoyance and stress associated with noise perception..." [however] "Annoyance is not a disease." The study group pointed out that similar irritations are produced by local and highway vehicles, as well as from industrial operations and aircraft.^[8] The 2009 study panel members included Robert Dobie, a doctor and clinical professor at the University of Texas, Geoff Leventhall, a noise vibration and acoustics expert in the United Kingdom, Bo Sondergaard, with Danish Electronics Light and Acoustics, Michael Seilo, a professor of audiology at Western Washington University, and Robert McCunney, a biological engineering scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. McCunney contested statements that infrasounds from wind turbines could create vibrations causing ill health: "It doesn't really have much credence, at least based on the literature out there".^[8]

In a 2009 report about "Rural Wind Farms", a Standing Committee of the Parliament of New South Wales, Australia, recommended a minimum setback of two kilometres between wind turbines and neighbouring houses (which can be waived by the affected neighbour) as a precautionary approach.^[10] In July 2010, Australia's National Health and Medical Research Council reported that "there is no published scientific evidence to support adverse effects of wind turbines on health".^[11]

Safety reviews

A 2011 literature review stated that wind turbines can be associated with some health effects, such as sleep disturbance, and argued that the health effects reported by those living near wind turbines were probably caused not by the turbines themselves but rather by "physical manifestation from an annoyed state."^[12]

Eighteen research reviews about wind turbines and health, published since 2003, all concluded that there was very little evidence that wind turbines were harmful in any direct way.^[13][14]

A meta study published in 2014 concluded:^[15]

• Infrasound is emitted by wind turbines. The levels of infrasound at customary distances to homes are typically well below audibility thresholds.
• Components of wind turbine sound, including infrasound and low-frequency sound, have not been shown to present unique health risks to people living near wind turbines.
• Among the cross-sectional studies of better quality, no clear or consistent association is seen between wind turbine noise and any reported disease or other indicator of harm to human health.
• Annoyance associated with living near wind turbines is a complex phenomenon related to personal factors. Noise from turbines plays a minor role in comparison with other factors in leading people to report annoyance in the context of wind turbines

In Ontario, Canada, the Ministry of the Environment created noise guidelines to limit wind turbine noise levels 30 metres away from a dwelling or campsite to 40 dB(A).^[16] These regulations also set a minimum distance of 550 metres (1,800 ft) for a group of up to five relatively quiet [102 dB(A)] turbines within a 3-kilometre (1.9 mi) radius, rising to 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) for a group of 11 to 25 noisier (106-107 dB(A)) turbines. Larger facilities and noisier turbines would require a noise study.^[8][17]

Modern wind turbines produce significantly less noise than older designs. Turbine designers work to minimise noise, as noise reflects lost energy and output. Noise levels at nearby residences may be managed through the siting of turbines, the approvals process for wind farms, and operational management of the wind farm.^[18]

References