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Wind farms âmake people sick who live up to a mile awayâ
Put the wind farm directly down-wind of a modern hog farm and people will be sick for farther away than that. Onshore wind farms are a health hazard to people living near them because of the low- frequency noise that they emit, according to new medical studies. Doctors say that the turbines - some of which are taller than Big Ben - can cause headaches and depression among residents living up to a mile away. Low grumbling noises give me a headache too ... oh hi darling, what am I writing? Oh nothing nuttinâ at all. One survey found that all but one of 14 people living near the Bears Down wind farm at Padstow, Cornwall, where 16 turbines were put up two years ago, had experienced increased numbers of headaches, and 10 said that they had problems sleeping and suffered from anxiety. Dr Amanda Harry, a local GP who did the research, said: "People demonstrated a range of symptoms from headaches, migraines, nausea, dizziness, palpitations and tinnitus to sleep disturbance, stress, anxiety and depression. These symptoms had a knock-on effect in their daily lives, causing poor concentration, irritability and an inability to cope." Sounds like Terry McAuliffe after the latest poll. Dr Harry said that low-frequency noise - which was used as an instrument of torture by the Germans during the Second World War because it induced headaches and anxiety attacks - could disturb rest and sleep at even very low levels. "It travels further than audible noise, is ground-borne and is felt through vibrations," she said. "Some people are having to leave their homes to get away from the nuisance. Yet, despite their obvious suffering, little is being done to relieve the situation and they feel that their plight is ignored." Bet the air is clean, though. Similar problems have been found by Dr Bridget Osborne, a doctor in Moel Maelogan, a village in North Wales, where three turbines were erected in 2002. She has presented a paper to the Royal College of General Practitioners detailing a "marked" increase in depression among local people. "There is a public perception that wind power is âgreenâ and has no detrimental effect on the environment," said Dr Osborne. "However, these turbines make low-frequency noises that can be as damaging as high-frequency noises. When wind farm developers do surveys to assess the suitability of a site they measure the audible range of noise but never the infrasound measurement - the low-frequency noise that causes vibrations that you can feel through your feet and chest. "This frequency resonates with the human body - their effect being dependent on body shape. There are those on whom there is virtually no effect, but others for whom it is incredibly disturbing." People shaped like Michael Moore have it really bad -- wonder if thatâs his excuse? There are more than 1,000 turbines on 80 wind farms around Britain. They have rapidly increased in number during the past decade as a result of the Governmentâs aim of getting 10 per cent of Britainâs energy needs from renewable sources by 2010. To meet that target, there would have to be at least 5,000 turbines. ARE YOU READY TO RUMMMMMMBBBBLLLLLEEEEEE??? Mark Taplin, who has lived close to a wind farm near Truro in Cornwall for almost a decade, said: "It has been a miserable, horrible experience. They are 440 metres away but if I step outside and they are not generating I know immediately because I can hear the silence. They grind you down - you canât get away from them. They make you very depressed - the chomp and swoosh of the blades creates a noise that beggars belief." The Greens would complain if they were hung with a new rope. Posted by: Steve White 2004-01-31 |
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