EK 132 Wind Energy
Professor Grace
Marta Mota
Wind Farms & Health Impact
Although more people are turning to wind turbines as a source of renewable and green energy, many concerns about the health of the people who live close to wind farms have been brought up.
Wind turbines emit noise, impacting the health of the people living near them. This is considered one of the causes for the many health impact related with wind energy that people complaint. There are two kinds of noise: mechanical noise, which comes from the nacelle, and aerodynamic noise, which comes from the movement of the blades (Ramachandran). Examples of mechanical sound sources include the gear box, the engine, and the consistent movements of other parts of the machine. There are two mechanisms responsible for the aerodynamic noise. The first one is the inflow turbulence noise which is due to the interaction of turbulence in the atmosphere with the edge of the blades; this mechanism emits a low frequency noise (around 200 Hz). The second one is the airfoil self-noise arises when an airfoil section encounters a steady, non- turbulent flow field.
The vibration of the wind turbines is also another source for the health impact related with wind energy. Infrasound, a type of vibration, at amplitudes over 100–110 dB can be heard and felt; according to some researches, all the vibrations under these amplitudes are not felt. The highest infrasound levels that have been measured near turbines and reported are below 90 dB at 5 Hz and lower at higher frequencies for locations as close as 100 m (Ellenbogen). Even though this type of sound is not heard it can still be felt through vibration.
The most frequent health impacts related with the noise, infrasound, vibration and light flicker of the wind turbines are annoyance, stress, sleep disturbance, headaches, difficulty concentrating, irritability, fatigue, dizziness or vertigo, tinnitus, heart ailments anxiety, stitch and beating palpitation. According to the World Health Organization, “health effects due to low-frequency components in noise are estimated to be more severe than for community noises in general”(1).
Although some health problems are proven to come from the wind turbines’ effect, people sometimes believe they are ill and actually start to feel sick. This happens because they are convinced that the wind turbines cause harmful symptoms (Simon). The sickness of these people is real, however the cause comes from their minds and not from anything related with wind turbines. A lot of debate is ongoing with respect to the relationship between reported health effects and wind turbines. Wind energy has an undeniable positive effect in our environment due to its ecologically friendly component. However, health effects have been conflicting with the benefits of wind energy. There are many people who assume that some diseases are associated with the infrasound emitted by the wind turbines, and this is a very plausible fact. However, there is no scientific consensus that infrasonic noise below the threshold of hearing will have no effect on health (Tuttle). For this reason the challenge of finding a balance between minimizing the health problems of the people who live close by wind plants and maximizing the production of energy through a sustainable way is still far to accomplish, but solutions like setting a minimum distance between the wind plants and the population has started to be implemented in some regions of the US.
Works Cited
- “Low Frequency Noise, Infrasound and Wind Turbines – The Society for Wind Vigilance.” Low Frequency Noise, Infrasound and Wind Turbines – The Society for Wind Vigilance. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2012. <http://www.windvigilance.com/about-adverse-health-effects/low-frequency-noise-infrasound-and-wind-turbines>. (1)
- Heintzelman, Martin D.; Tuttle, Carrie M. Land Economics. Aug2012, Vol. 88 Issue 3, p571-588. 18p.
- Noise Control Engineering Journal; Mar/Apr2011, Vol. 59 Issue 2, p135-157, 23p
- Thermal Engineering (English translation of Teploenergetika), v 58, n 11, p 962-969, November 2011; ISSN: 00406015; DOI: 10.1134/S0040601511110127; Publisher: Maik Nauka-Interperiodica Publishing
- Chain Reaction; Aug2012, Issue 115, p38-39, 2p, 1 Black and White Photograph
- Wind Engineering; Dec2010, Vol. 34 Issue 6, p721-731, 11p
- “Health Effects and Wind Turbines: A Review of the Literature.” Environmental Health. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2012. http://www.ehjournal.net/content/10/1/78
- “Do Wind Turbines Cause Health Problems?” HowStuffWorks. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2012 .<http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/wind-turbines-health.htm>.