Woman describe the hell of living near wind turbines

Living with the Noise and Shadow Flicker of a Wind Turbine – November 15th, 2018

https://www.radiokerry.ie/living-noise-shadow-flicker-wind-turbine-november-15th-2018/?fbclid=IwAR32i9NqpAsYom4pHC0E_o-FvZpFVU8WD3eYF3CJCnr027AFKv_xl7PyE_c

The New Guidelines from WHO. Yes, wind turbine noise can make people ill.

Basel, Switzerland, 10 October 2018

The just released WHO Environmental Noise Guidelines for the European Region provide strong evidence that noise is one of the top environmental hazards to both physical and mental health and well-being in the European Region

Officially launched to countries and stakeholders in Basel, Switzerland on 10 October 2018, the document identifies levels at which noise has significant health impacts and recommends actions to reduce exposure. For the first time, a comprehensive and rigorous methodological framework was applied to develop the recommendations.

“Noise pollution in our towns and cities is increasing, blighting the lives of many European citizens. More than a nuisance, excessive noise is a health risk - contributing to cardiovascular diseases, for example. We need to act on the many sources of noise pollution – from motorized vehicles to loud nightclubs and concerts – to protect our health,” says Dr Zsuzsanna Jakab, WHO Regional Director for Europe. “The new WHO guidelines define exposure levels to noise that should not be exceeded to minimize adverse health effects and we urge European policy-makers to make good use of this guidance for the benefit of all Europeans.”

What is new

Compared to previous WHO guidelines on noise, this version contains five significant developments:

• stronger evidence of the cardiovascular and metabolic effects of environmental noise;
• inclusion of new noise sources, namely wind turbine noise and leisure noise, in addition to noise from transportation (aircraft, rail and road traffic);
• use of a standardized approach to assess the evidence;
• a systematic review of evidence, defining the relationship between noise exposure and risk of adverse health outcomes;
• use of long-term average noise exposure indicators to better predict adverse health outcomes.

Driving policy action to protect communities from health effects of noise

Targeted at decision-makers and technical experts, the new guidelines aim to support legislation and policy-making at local, national and international level. “Through their potential to influence urban, transport and energy policies, the Environmental Noise Guidelines contribute to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and support our vision of creating resilient communities and supportive environments in the Region,” continues Dr Jakab.

Although the guidelines focus on the European Region and provide guidance consistent with the European Union’s Environmental Noise Directive, they also have global relevance. The large body of evidence underpinning the recommendations was derived not only from noise effect studies in Europe but also from research in other parts of the world, mainly America, Asia and Australia.

Furthermore, the guidelines highlight data and research gaps to be addressed in future studies.

An independent peer-reviewed development process

The development process of the current guidelines was conducted by two independent groups of experts from the environmental noise community who adhered to a new, rigorous, evidence-based methodology. Eight peer-reviewed systematic reviews of the pertinent literature underpin the guidelines, incorporating significant research since the publication of the WHO Night Noise Guidelines for Europe in 2009. The systematic reviews were based on several health outcomes – cardiovascular and metabolic effects, annoyance, effects on sleep, cognitive impairment, hearing impairment and tinnitus, adverse birth outcomes, and quality of life, mental health and well-being – and the effectiveness of interventions in reducing noise exposure and negative health impacts.

“These guidelines have been developed based on the growing body of evidence in the field of environmental noise research,” concludes Professor Stephen Stansfeld, Chair of the Guidelines Development Group. “They aim to support public health policy that will protect communities from the adverse effects of noise, as well as stimulate further research into the health effects of different types of noise.”

http://www.euro.who.int/en/media-centre/sections/press-releases/2018/press-information-note-on-the-launch-of-the-who-environmental-noise-guidelines-for-the-european-region

Infrasound and low-frequency noise – does it affect human health?

The wind farm tested from homes in this report is Grouselodge wind farm

Biomedical engineer Dr Mariana Alves-Pereira recently studied the impact of ILFN from wind turbines in Ireland, concluding that noise regulations need updating to reflect noise levels that endanger human health more
http://www.engineersjournal.ie/2018/01/23/ilfn-infrasound-low-frequency-noise-turbine-health/

What's it like to live beside wind turbines? “A living hell” say Banagher residents

Thursday, 22 March 2018

Recently, I visited the home of Garbally resident, Olive Cunningham, whose home is just over 500m from one of the 169 metre high turbines in the wind farm, owned by Belgian company Storm and managed by Element Power. While there, I also spoke to several other residents about how the noise pollution from the turbines, some of the highest in Ireland, has made their lives intolerable, since the Meenwaun wind farm became operational earlier this year.

LOCAL residents have described how they feel sometimes it's like living on an "airport runway" since the Meenwaun wind farm, near Banagher, became operational.

Before we went into her home, Olive took me to the polytunnel at the side of the house where she told me herself and her husband don't go to any more since the wind turbines became operational. "I have lost all enjoyment of going out here since the turbines went up," she said, because of the noise. I could faintly hear a constant humming in the background, which I pointed out to Olive and she quickly said "that was nothing compared to what the noise had been like in previous weeks", describing it as "living hell".

Later, she told me the couple spend a significant amount of time, particularly, in the summer, out in the tunnel. "But, because of the noise, it's impossible to work and I don't know if we will use it this year or not," she added.

We then went into what was their bedroom but Olive told me they were forced to move to a different room a couple of weeks previously because they were "unable to sleep because of the noise from the turbines". Opening the window, Olive went silent for a moment and there was the humming again. "Yes, you can't hear it in the room when the window is closed at the moment but when it was louder, it was unbearable," she stressed, becoming visibly upset while chatting about the fact they had to move their bedroom, due to the "intolerable noise".

Heading into Olive's sitting room, I met two more residents (who didn't wish to have their names published) and was shown a substantial file of maps and documents pertaining to correspondence between Olive, her neighbours and the companies involved in the construction of the Meenwaun wind farm.

The conversation began about the construction stage of the wind farm where Olive pointed out there was "nothing but dust and dirt from that for the whole summer, every day" along with the noise from the diggers and lorries heading in and out of the site. "There was no consideration for the people living here," one resident told me.

With four turbines now operational. I wanted to find what things had been like for the residents since the wind farm became operational earlier this year. "When you are standing outside, it's like having an aeroplane in the background and when you are inside, it's like a tractor coming up the road that never goes by," the second resident explained to me. "It's a constant noise. Sometimes, it changes to a pulsating noise," they added.

When the noise was "very bad", Olive agreed it was like an aeroplane, which was "stuck outside your house without moving". While, Olive felt she wasn't explaining herself "very well", I could certainly understand what she was saying. "We might as well be living on the runway in Shannon airport," she added.

"Our house is our home. Our three bedrooms are down the other end of the house and they're practically useless. We can't sleep in them. Well, you probably can tonight because they [the turbines] are so low and you don't hear them as much at the moment. But in our back bedroom at night, you can also see the red light from them." So, the couple now sleep in a room that was her children's playroom when they were younger, according to Olive. "Our whole house, even if we won the lotto in the morning, it's no good to us," she added.

Another point, Olive was extremely anxious to highlight was that "none of the land owners, who facilitated the building of the wind turbines live in the area. It's so unfair. I can't take away the right of their privacy to their houses but not only have they taken away my privacy but they have taken away the enjoyment of my garden," she stressed.

Olive also recently approached an auctioneer to put the house up for sale but they refused to do so because of its proximity to the wind farm would deter buyers. "I am very frustrated by the whole situation," she continued.

One of the other residents then added they couldn't believe the windfarm was "even given planning permission" when they saw the plans at first. "Looking at where we are living and that there were houses there as well," they continued.

Going forward, this group of residents all admitted they were "worn out" from it all and they all said their sleeping patterns were now altered because of the noise of the turbines at night-time. "It has turned everything upside down," one lady said.

While I was there, my attention was drawn to the noise monitors, one of which was in Olive's garden. It's understood this is part of a noise monitoring programme, which commenced last month as part of the wind farm's operational compliance and there were others located through out the area. One of the residents feared the other monitors were in fact were too "far away" and therefore, "no use to show the true extent of the noise that we have suffered".

Olive then firstly showed me a log book, outlining precisely when the turbines close to her home were on and off over the last number of weeks and also a book containing signatures of everyone who called to her house in relation to the wind farm. Then, she pulled out an article about a fire at a wind turbine site elsewhere in the country and voiced seriously concerns about what would happen if one of the turbines near her home caught fire.

Olive recalled a story of one night in January where she contacted the company begging them to "pause the turbine" because she couldn't take any more noise. "I got so frustrated. I got so angry that night, I refused to let it go. My nephew and my daughter thought I was going to get a heart attack that night." She then showed me a text message saying that a company representative could pause turbine no 5 "between 6pm and 8am in the morning. "This was dated January 13 and I hadn't slept from January 5....I had had enough at this stage."

The residents, when I was talking to them about how things were now, said the turbines were quieter than in previous weeks. However, they were quick to point out they feared they were being "lured into a false sense of security" and the noise would get as "bad as ever". "On March 8, we thought it was OK as they had quietened by then. But yesterday, I was outside the house and they were as bad as ever," the second resident said to me.

While, it was a constant humming noise while I was there, I did see video footage earlier in the month where the noise from the turbines was horrendous, upholding these residents earlier description of it being like "living near an airport".

And as I got back into my care and headed back to the office, I left these residents not knowing what the future had in store for them and anxiously waiting and extremely fearful as to whether the noise would improve or worsen even more.

Meanwhile, in response to my query, a spokesperson for the windfarm issued the following statement: "Meenwaun wind farm is now in normal operation. A sound monitoring programme, to last a minimum of four weeks, began on February 26 last, as required under Offaly County Council's planning approval for the project. This is in line with normal best practice for all Irish onshore wind projects."

"The aim of the programme is to demonstrate that the windfarm is operating within its approved planning condition noise levels. Meenwaun wind farm management are continuing to engage with local residents as well as Offaly County Council. Monitoring equipment has been located on the property of some local residents by mutual agreement."

Article In Online Paper

Terry The Turbine

A field of turbines has sprung up out at sea off Herne Bay and Reculver in Kent. I walked towards Reculver this week and saw the turbines doing very little and I wondered if they could ever pay their way. How long before they make more electricity than was needed to produce them? Maintenance, lack of wind, bird strikes, dependence on French nuclear fuel - all these made me wonder if the turbines make sense. Sometimes a song helps, hope you enjoy Terry the Turbine.

‘Rights of people are being squashed. It is impossible to take on wind farm firms’

The story of the Harris family highlights the fact that the development of wind farms is subject to few planning checks, writes Michael Clifford

SOME nights, Sean Harris is sitting watching the TV and he thinks he hears the fridge humming.

On other occasions, he has been out on the road around his home in Ballyduff in West Waterford, and the engine sounds as if it’s a car approaching him from behind.

Those are the more benign effects of the Barnafaddock Wind Farm, as he sees it. He is not alone, but neither are his problems shared with huge numbers in his rural community.

In most people’s view, the wind farm is in the mountains and its developer has compensated the community with funds for social and sporting clubs.

Full Story 

Neighbourhood Nuisance: UK Wind Farm Operator Fined £51,000 For Noisy Turbine

Driving neighbours nuts with incessant wind turbine generated low-frequency noise and infra-sound is what the wind industry does best.

Wind power outfits literally create headaches wherever they ply their subsidy-soaked trade. But, increasingly, people and communities with the temerity to stand up for their rights are doing just that. And winning.

Fined £51,000 … for having a loud wind turbine
The Huddersfield Daily Examiner
Andrew Hirst
15 January 2018

Full Story

Victims Vindicated: Wind Turbine Noise Exposure Proven ‘Pathway to Disease’

Last December, Australia’s Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) held that “noise annoyance” caused by wind turbine generated low-frequency noise and infrasound “is a plausible pathway to disease”, based on the “established association between noise annoyance and some diseases, including hypertension and cardiovascular disease, possibly mediated in part by disturbed sleep and/or psychological stress/distress.”

Read more

Taxpayers

Windfarm has made our lives a ‘living hell’

A local grandmother claims that her family’s life has been a “living hell” since the Meenwaun Windfarm near Banagher became operational early last month.

Olive Cunningham’s home in Garbally is just over 500m from one of the 169 metre high turbines in the windfarm, owned by Belgian company Storm and managed by Element Power.

Speaking to the Offaly Independent this week, Mrs Cunningham says that the noise pollution from the turbines, one of the highest in Ireland, has made life intolerable.

“Every day since January 5, being in our hourse and yard has been just a living hell. It’s like living in Dublin Airport or like living beside a helicopter.

“We can’t sleep. I can’t sleep. You can’t go out in the yard, you have to listen to this noise constantly.”

Mrs Cunningham, who says that only decent night’s sleep she has had in the last six weeks was when the turbine closest to her house was turned off, claims that the value of her home for over 40 years has fallen significantly since the windfarm was constructed.

She recently went to an auctioneer to put the house up for sale but they refused to do so because its proximity to the windfarm would deter buyers.

“Our house is worth nothing. We have nowhere to move to. I spent three and a half hours at the council meeting [where Cllr John Carroll submitted a motion calling for the local authority to take a more “proactive approach” to monitoring noise at wind farms] where they were talking about all these homeless families. Where do we present ourselves as homeless? Who is going to rehouse us? We bought an old cottage and we repaired it up.

“We are both close to retiring now. Where do we go? I have lived in this area for the last 62 years, and in this house for the last 40 years. “I can’t even go and live with my brother and sister down the road as it’s as bad at their houses as mine.

“ I don’t want to move from my house. It’s ideal for me and my family,” she said.

“…We have a polytunnel where my husband would spent an awful lot of time but it’s just unbearable now. My garden is out of bounds as I can’t bear the noise.

“The windfarm was given the green light by planners in April 2015, despite receiving almost 60 objections mainly from people living in the vicinity. Mrs Cunningham feels that although her family have lived in the area for 40 years, their rights have been ignored.

“I understood from planning laws that I can’t take your enjoyment of your house from you. I can’t put a window where I like because it may overlook yours and take your privacy. But they have taken our lives.”

Cllr John Carroll says that the rights of Mrs Cunningham’s family and other people living close to Meenwaun Windfarm have been “seriously infringed”. He also believes that the noise levels at Meenwaun “should and must be continuously monitored by independent evaluators to ensure the quality of life of the local community”.

“Locals have tolerated much disruption during construction of this wind farm but since it’s commission on January 5 life is intolerable.

“…They cannot dispose of their houses if the wished. Surely it is wrong that they are expected to pay property tax on houses where life has become unbearable and have no value for disposal?”

Element Power issued a statment to the Offaly Independent yesterday afternoon:

“Meenwaun wind farm is scheduling to commence the wind farm’s operational compliance Noise Monitoring programme on Monday next, February 26 as required under Offaly County Council’s Planning Approval for project.

“The Monitoring Programme is expected to last for 4-8 weeks with a final report submitted to Offaly County Council on completion of the programme.

“The aim of the programme is to demonstrate that the windfarm is operating within its approved planning condition noise levels.

“The windfarm personnel are in regular contact with both local residents and Offaly County Council on the operation of the wind farm and monitoring programme 

Original article

REPORT LINKS WIND TURBINES TO HUMAN HEALTH PROBLEMS

A recent report by GateHouse Media examines the health-related problems reported by residents and landowners from Oregon to Massachusetts and concludes they are caused by wind turbines.

The rapid expansion of wind power facilities in the United States, driven in large part by federal government subsidies and state renewable-energy mandates, has been accompanied by a spreading rash of health complaints from people living near the giant, spinning turbines.

A recent report by GateHouse Media examines reports of health-related problems by residents and landowners from Oregon to Massachusetts and concludes they are caused by the turbines.

The report, “In the Shadow of Wind Farms,” is an in-depth investigation of the wind industry’s effect on predominantly rural communities where turbines have been erected. During the course of the six-month investigation, the authors interviewed more than 70 families living near three-dozen proposed or current wind installations. They also spoke with 10 state and local lawmakers, examined hundreds of pages of public-service-commission records about wind-energy projects, reviewed court filings in seven wind-related lawsuits, and inspected lease agreements for at least eight wind facilities on private land.

The authors also combed public documents and media reports to identify 400 families living near industrial wind installations who have publicly complained about shadow flicker, noise, health problems, and misleading statements by wind companies soliciting agreements to place turbines on private land.

Rapidly Growing, Wealthy Industry

Citing figures from the Energy Information Administration, the report notes wind power has experienced dramatic growth in the United States over the past decade, with the number of wind facilities growing from 300 with 15,000 turbines to more than 1,000 installations in 41 states comprising some 53,000 turbines.

Although the first wind facilities were located in sparsely populated areas such as California’s Mojave Desert, today thousands of turbines can be found in every region of the country, except for the Southeast, where unfavorable wind conditions and a lack of state renewable-energy mandates (save for North Carolina) have limited the growth of the industry.

In favorable locations, wind companies have offered communities various incentives to accept their projects, in addition to the tax revenues generated by these multimillion-dollar installations.

Benefits with Strings Attached

Some communities receive fixed annual payments instead of tax revenues. In one case cited in the report, Barber County, Kansas gets $500,000 a year from the Flat Ridge Wind Project, plus an additional $5,000 for every megawatt of power the project produces.

Wind-energy companies, often working with local utilities, request landowners’ permission to put turbines on their land. Landowners who sign contracts with wind companies can receive as much as $14,000 a year per turbine, according to the report.

The contracts often lead to conflicts. The GateHouse Media investigation found companies convince landowners to sign away their property rights for generations based on the promise of potential profits with minimal potential problems from wind turbines. The contracts typically do not allow property owners to terminate the agreements, even if they are seeking relief from what they say are intolerable living conditions caused by the turbines.

Complaints About Health Effects

By far the greatest source of conflict between landowners and wind companies is complaints about the health effects the spinning turbines have on those exposed to them on a daily basis.

Complaints come from landowners with turbines on their property and from their neighbors, the investigation found. The most frequently cited problems include shadow flicker, loud noises, sleep disturbance, and low-frequency vibrations that have driven dozens of families from their homes.

In rural Mason County, Michigan, for example, Cary and Karen Shineldecker say they suffered anxiety, headaches, ear pressure, tinnitus, heart palpitations, and sleep disturbances after Lake Winds Energy began operating its 476-foot-tall turbines around their home. After unsuccessfully fighting the wind farm, they sold their property at a loss just to escape the nuisance.

A chorus of similar complaints about the Shirley Wind Farm in Brown County, Wisconsin prompted the local Board of Health to declare the turbines a health hazard. Dozens of residents of Falmouth, Massachusetts complained of nausea, dizziness, migraines, and anxiety after Notus Clean Energy erected a wind turbine in their community. In Calhan, Colorado, four families told investigators they left their homes and moved away to escape the Golden West Wind Energy Center. Hundreds of people nationwide have filed similar complaints.

Although the wind industry generally denies wind turbines harm the health of those living near them, GateHouse Media found wind companies have entered into six settlements with parties complaining of ailments associated with the turbines.

Variety of Complaints

Jay Lehr, Ph.D., science director for The Heartland Institute, which publishes Environment & Climate News, says wind farms cause health problems and raise energy costs.

“It’s about time the formidable health impacts of wind turbines came to the fore,” said Lehr. “In addition to the health risks, wind power is 100 percent dependent on fossil fuels for backup when the wind doesn’t blow, increasing their costs.

“As a result of wind power’s wider use in Europe, people there pay three times as much for electricity as do Americans,” Lehr said.

Craig Rucker, executive director of the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow, says wind farms have also been linked to wildlife deaths.

“We have long known wind turbines kill hundreds of thousands of birds and bats annually,” said Rucker. “Now we have growing evidence that humans, too, are at risk from these installations, yet we continue to subsidize this nonsense.”

Bonner R. Cohen, Ph.D. (bcohen@nationalcenter.org) is a senior fellow at the National Center for Public Policy Research.

INTERNET INFO

Emily Le Coz and Lucille Sherman, “In the Shadow of Wind Farms,” Gate House Media, December 13, 2017: http://gatehousenews.com/windfarms/home/?skipintro=true

Full Report

Infrasound and low-frequency noise – its impact on human health

Biomedical engineer Dr Mariana Alves-Pereira recently studied the impact of ILFN from wind turbines in Ireland, concluding that noise regulations need urgent updating to reflect noise levels that endanger human health Read More

Infrasound

What gives ESB, the RIGHT to allow unwanted sound (INFRASOUND) on our property and in our home when we DO NOT want it? When you have a sound like INFRASOUND invading your home taking away the right to sleep and the right to live in a healthy environment, we SHOULD HAVE the right to keep it out. This is criminal to force something on someone who does not want it.