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Tag Archives: environmental health

New wind turbine noise regulations needed, says Wind Concerns Ontario

29 Wednesday Jun 2016

Posted by ottawawindconcerns in Health, Renewable energy, Wind power

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

environmental health, low frequency noise, MOECC, Wind Concerns Ontario, wind farms, wind turbine noise, wind turbines, Wynne government

Wind turbine noise testing needs total overhaul, Wind Concerns Ontario tells MOECC

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NEWS RELEASE

June 27, 2016, OTTAWA – Ontario needs to do a complete revision of procedures for wind turbine noise testing, Wind Concerns Ontario has informed the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MOECC) in a review of proposed regulatory changes.

According to WCO, the growing scientific research on wind turbine noise emissions and the escalating number of unresolved complaints confirm that proposed changes to the government’s old protocol are insufficient to address the problems faced by people living among wind turbine projects.

“The changes the Ministry has proposed to its existing procedures are nothing more than minor tweaks,” says president Jane Wilson. “The government is ignoring the need for real change to keep up with science, and to protect health from noise emissions.”

By 2015, the MOECC had received more than 2,700 complaints about problems with wind turbine noise, WCO learned. Though more recent data are not available, monitoring by WCO suggests that this number has continued to grow with the number of larger new turbines that have become operational since then.

Proposed new testing procedures are inadequate as they limit testing to audible noise outside of the home, while many citizen complaints relate to turbine noise emissions that people cannot hear, but rather, are vibrations or sensations that they feel, says WCO. And, while many complaints are about the noise and sensation experienced inside buildings, the MOECC only tests outside noise.

“The MOECC persists in the standard of using one form of noise measurement, the dBA, while the acoustics industry and even the Government of Canada has said this is providing only part of the picture on noise emissions,” Wilson says.

The process of confirming turbine compliance with regulations is convoluted and complex — people have lost trust in the Ontario government, WCO says. For example, the Enbridge project near Kincardine began operation in late 2008 but there is still no report that confirms the turbines are compliant.

The MOECC also relies on information from the power developers, and predicted modelling — not actual noise testing. This has resulted in a loss of faith in the Wynne government as a protector of public health.

Rather than dismissing resident complaints, WCO told the Ministry in a comment document in response to proposed regulatory changes, the government should view these contacts as an opportunity to learn and show leadership in responsible renewable energy implementation.

Wind Concerns Ontario is a coalition of community groups and citizens concerned about the impact of industrial-scale wind power projects on the economy, the environment, and health.

…

Contact Jane Wilson at president@windconcernsontario.ca

Additional quotes:

“If government and the wind power development industry is using only A-weighted noise measurement or dBA, they are only getting part of the picture.”

“Wind turbines have been found out of compliance via third-party measurements, yet the MOECC does not act on these findings. The MOECC also does not report publicly on complaints or actions taken as it does for other complaints made to the ministry ‘Spills Line’. ”

“Using only computer-generated predictive noise models does not reflect the reality of wind turbine noise emission experiences in Ontario. The Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change needs to do actual, on-site testing in conditions similar to or the same as those that spurred a citizen complaint to assure Ontarians it is fulfilling its mandate to protect people.”

www.windconcernsontario.ca

See the WCO comment document filed with the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change here: ResponsetoNoiseProtocol-June16FINAL

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Health impacts of wind turbine noise, infrasound a public health concern: Carmen Krogh at ideacity

19 Friday Jun 2015

Posted by ottawawindconcerns in Renewable energy, Wind power

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Carmen Krogh, environmental health, Government of Canada, green energy, Health Canada, ideacity, renewable power roadmap, renewables, wind farm, wind turbine noise and health, wind turbines

Health researcher Carmen Krogh was a guest speaker at this year’s ideacity event in Toronto. No matter where in the world industrial-scale wind turbines have been installed, she said, the constellation of symptoms is the same.

This has become a world public health concern.

Take 20 minutes, please, to view this presentation, and ask yourself about the role of the Government of Canada in this, as the wind power industry leads the government down the renewable energy “roadmap” using taxpayer dollars. It is time the government sponsor proper, independent research that really wants to find an answer, not promote the industry on the untested promise of green energy and jobs.

View her excellent presentation here.

Citizens’ group: Radiation Emissions Act in force for wind farms

16 Thursday Apr 2015

Posted by ottawawindconcerns in Health, Ottawa, Renewable energy, Wind power

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

acoustic emissions, CFREE, Council of Canadian Academies, environmental health, Green Energy Act Ontario, Health Canada, health impacts wind turbines, Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Canada, Joan Morris, Ministry of Health Canada, radiation emissions, Radiation Emitting Devioces Act, Rona Ambrose, wind farm, wind industry, wind turbine noise

Here is a statement from a citizens’ group, Canadians for Radiation Emissions Enforcement (CFREE), which posits that wind turbines’ acoustic emissions are covered under federal law, the Radiation Emitting Devices Act.

The group has responded to the recently released report on wind turbine noise and health by the Council of Canadian Academies. Their full statement is available on CFREE’s weblog, available here.

An excerpt follows:

It is prescribed in the REDA [Radiation Emitting Devices Act]that if an importer or operator of a device such as a wind turbine is made aware of risk of personal injury or  impairment of health they must “forthwith notify the Minister” [of Health for Canada]. CFREE asks why wind developers did not follow this law seven years ago when people first reported problems to them about the impacts of the noise emitted from turbines operating in their vicinity.

“If developers had complied with the law and reported the complaints to Health Canada, investigations would have been carried out back then before the Green Energy Act. This could have advanced the understanding a long time ago and avoided risk of harm to those living close to these facilities” said Joan Morris, an epidemiologist and Chair of CFREE.

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