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People are still being harmed by industrial wind developments, says writer |
Letter to the Editor To Comment on this article Click Here |
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In February of 2009, premier Dalton McGuinty said, "We're going to say to Ontarians that it's okay to object on the basis of safety issues and environmental standards; if you have real concerns there, put those forward and we must find a way to address those. "But don't say, 'I don't want it around here.' ... NIMBYism will no longer prevail," he added, using the acronym for "Not In My Back Yard." There are families who are still undergoing wind company and MOE (Ontario Ministry of the Environment) noise testing after three years of doing all they've been told to do, with no resolution to the problem. They don't want to be guinea pigs anymore. They are tired and sick. They are betrayed and they are angry. Also in 2009, we started WindVOiCe, which stands for Wind Vigilance for Ontario Communities and is a valid health survey using strict protocol to protect data integrity. We began the survey because people from areas with turbine installations were reporting excessive noise causing serious sleep deprivation, headaches, nausea, heart palpitations and other symptoms. By April of 2009, 53 people were reporting adverse health effects and disturbed living conditions. In February, 2011, we released the seventh and final update of the WindVOiCe© health survey results with a final total of 136 people reporting problems. I believe this number represents the tip of the iceberg. Nearly 25 families from Ontario that we know of, have been forced from their homes after the start up of turbines nearby. We don't know how many have quietly sold and escaped to regain health. Almost every week I hear from a new person having difficulty. The two year "snapshot" of information presented in WindVOiCe should have raised a red flag with the McGuinty government but it did not. The MOE has not helped, and does not help, people who come forward to report health problems, and even continues to issue Certificates of Approval to build more projects. John Wilkinson, minister of the environment and MPP for Perth/Wellington, repeatedly denies that anyone is having health issues from turbines and continues to declare that turbines are never louder than 40 decibels. Both statements are absolutely incorrect. The first peer-reviewed scientific journal devoted solely to the impacts of wind turbines on communities was published July, 2011, by SAGE, Publications Bulletin of Science, Technology and Society. Article topics include Assessing Our Ability to Design and Plan Green Energy Technologies, Wind Turbine Noise, The Problems with Noise Numbers for Wind Farm Noise Assessment, Potential Adverse Impacts on Children's Well-Being, Infrasound From Wind Turbines Could Affect Humans, and Properly Interpreting the Epidemiologic Evidence About the Health Effects of Industrial Wind Turbines on Nearby Residents. Dr. McMurtry, a recent recipient of the Order of Canada, writes about a Case Definition for Clinical Diagnosis of Adverse Health Effects regarding Industrial Wind Turbines, and Carmen Krogh, co-founder for WindVOiCe, has an article on Industrial Wind Turbine Development and Loss of Social Justice. There is an article about WindVOiCe and the Need for Vigilance Monitoring and one on Public Health Ethics: the Challenge with Industrial Wind Turbines. A recent tribunal appeal decision for a project in Ontario acknowledged that wind turbines can cause harm to humans. The decision states, "While the Appellants were not successful in their appeals, the Tribunal notes that their involvement and that of the Respondents, has served to advance the state of the debate about wind turbines and human health. This case has successfully shown that the debate should not be simplified to one about whether wind turbines can cause harm to humans. The evidence presented to the Tribunal demonstrates that they can, if facilities are placed too close to residents. The debate has now evolved to one of degree."
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The term "degree" means we must prove there will be serious harm to an individual, in a specific project, before it is built and operating. It's a very challenging test and one that, to my knowledge, is not a typical requirement for other industries. The government is well aware of the fact that there are health problems; it has received the evidence many times including the recently-published, peer-reviewed articles. The government's energy policy is based on politics, not people. "To do no harm" is the job of any governmental authority. People are being harmed. I’m in touch with many of them. There is a realization that the systems we thought were in place to protect us, aren’t working. Many municipalities have come to the realization that they are faced with protecting us from our own provincial government's imposed law. There are more than 70 municipalities calling on the provincial government to look at this issue and many of those are asking for a moratorium until there is definitive study done by health professionals on siting turbines with the health and well-being of our rural families in mind. Many municipalities have passed bylaws and resolutions that work to protect our communities even though it means certain legal challenge in the months ahead. You can download the WindVOiCe results, see reviews of wind industry and the Medical Officer of Health’s literature review on health issues from industrial wind turbines and find out how to access peer-reviewed articles from the Wind Vigilance website, www.windvigilance.com A young man who had to leave home with his mom, a home that became too toxic to live in after turbines became operational, attended some information meetings held by people concerned with turbines and the entire process that goes with it. I asked him what he thought of the meetings and he said he could not relate to the people attending. He says people who come to these meetings understand there may be health issues when turbine installations become operational but tend to focus on property devaluation, viewscape, loss of tourism, etc. He doesn't dismiss that these are very valid concerns but says people don't quite get just how destructive to a person's health turbines can be and that health becomes the single most important issue to anyone unfortunate enough to be living through the loss of health and a safe home. Lorrie
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