Wind turbines and health: a critical review of the scientific literature.
OBJECTIVE
This review examines the literature related to health effects of wind turbines.


METHODS
We reviewed literature related to sound measurements near turbines, epidemiological and experimental studies, and factors associated with annoyance.


RESULTS
(1) Infrasound sound near wind turbines does not exceed audibility thresholds. (2) Epidemiological studies have shown associations between living near wind turbines and annoyance. (3) Infrasound and low-frequency sound do not present unique health risks. (4) Annoyance seems more strongly related to individual characteristics than noise from turbines.


CONCLUSIONS
Further areas of inquiry include enhanced noise characterization, analysis of predicted noise values contrasted with measured levels postinstallation, longitudinal assessments of health pre- and postinstallation, experimental studies in which subjects are "blinded" to the presence or absence of infrasound, and enhanced measurement techniques to evaluate annoyance.
From the Department of Biological Engineering (Dr McCunney), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge; Department of Epidemiology (Dr Mundt), Environ International, Amherst, Mass; Travel Immunization Clinic (Dr Colby), Middlesex-London Health Unit, London, Ontario, Canada; Dobie Associates (Dr Dobie), San Antonio, Tex; Environment, Energy and Acoustics (Mr Kaliski), Resource Systems Group, White River Junction, Vt; and Psychological Evaluation and Research Laboratory (Dr Blais), Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston.
Robert J
RJ
McCunney
Kenneth A
KA
Mundt
W David
WD
Colby
Robert
R
Dobie
Kenneth
K
Kaliski
Mark
M
Blais
D001290:Attitude; D001309:Auditory Threshold; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D009622:Noise / Q000009:adverse effects*; D010551:Personality; D011210:Power Plants / Q000295:instrumentation*; D013016:Sound / Q000009:adverse effects; D013018:Sound Spectrography; D014919:Wind