Riina I. Bray
BAsc, MSc, MD, FCFP, MHSc Medical Director, Environmental Health Clinic, Women’s College Hospital Assistant Professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto Cross-Appointment Dalla Lana School of Public Health
DR. RIINA I. BRAY BASc, MSc, MD, FCFP, MHSc – ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH CONSULTANT
Date: November 28th, 2018
Human Health and the Environment Assessment and Management of Chronic Complex Conditions 13069 Keele Street King City, Ontario L7B 1G1
TO
Premier Hon. Doug Ford, Etobicoke North Premier’s Office, Room 281, Queen’s Park, Toronto, ON M7A 1A1, doug.fordco@pc.ola.org Hon. Toby Barrett, Haldimand-Norfolk, Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry, Whitney Block, Room 6522, Toronto, ON M7A 1W3, toby.barrett@pc.ola.org Hon. Raymond Sung Joon Cho, Scarborough North, Minister for Seniors and Accessibility Frost Building South, 6th Floor – 7 Queen’s Park Cres., Toronto, ON M7A 1Y7, raymond.choco@pc.ola.org Hon. Christine Elliott, Newmarket—Aurora, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, Hepburn Block, 10th Floor 80 Grosvenor St., Toronto, ON M7A 1E9, christine.elliott@pc.ola.org Hon. Ernie Hardeman—Oxford, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, 11th Floor, 77 Grenville St., Toronto, ON M5S 1B3, ernie.hardemanco@pc.ola.org Hon. Monte McNaughton Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, Minister of Infrastructure Hearst Block 8th Floor, 900 Bay St., Toronto, ON M7A 2E1, monte.mcnaughtonco@pc.ola.org Hon. Rod Phillips Ajax, Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks Ferguson Block. 11th Floor, 77 Wellesley St. W, Toronto, ON M7A 2T5, rod.phillips@pc.ola.org Hon. Greg Rickford Kenora—Rainy River, Minister of Energy, Northern Development and Mines Whitney Block, 5th Floor. 99 Wellesley St. W., Toronto, ON M7A 1W1, greg.rickford@pc.ola.org Hon. Todd Smith, Bay of Quinte, Minister of Government and Consumer Services Mowat Block, 6th Floor, 900 Bay St., Toronto, ON M7A 1L2, todd.smithco@pc.ola.org Hon. Bill Walker, Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, Government Caucus Office, Room 251 Main Legislative Building, Queen’s Park, Toronto, ON M7A 1A4, bill.walkerco@pc.ola.org Hon. Sam Oosterhoff, Niagara West, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Education Mowat Block, 22nd Floor, 900 Bay St., Toronto, ON M7A 1L2, sam.oosterhoffco@pc.ola.org Hon. Rick Nicholls, Chatham-Kent—Leamington, Deputy Speaker Room 440,Main Legislative Building, Queen’s Park,Toronto, ON M7A 1A8, rick.nicholls@pc.ola.org Dr. David Williams, BSc., MD, MHSc, FRCPS, Chief Medical Officer of Health, 5775 Yonge Street – 16th Floor, Toronto ON M7A 2E5 Canada, infoline.moh@ontario.ca
DR. RIINA I. BRAY BASc, MSc, MD, FCFP, MHSc – ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH CONSULTANT
Dear Honourable Mr. Ford, Ministers, and MPPs, colleagues,
I am writing to express concern about the potential for harm for human health represented by Ontario’s Industrial Wind Turbines (IWTs) and their supporting infrastructure.
Research has demonstrated how various forms of pollutant from IWTs can adversely affect human health.1 These include noise, infra-sound, dirty electricity, and ground current which can each, along with shadow flicker, contribute to ill-health among those who live near wind turbines.2
Havas and Colling’s research draw on Frey and Hadden’s work to note that “most people who live near wind turbines and complain of ill effects blame the effects on the noise generated by the turbines.”3 Indeed, research globally has suggested that noise from turbines does indeed contribute to ill-health, and the literature suggests best practices for IWT placement to avoid noise issues.4 5
Havas and Colling also draw on existing research to note that “pressure waves at levels outside the range of human hearing can also have unpleasant side effects”. The combination of low-frequency noise and infra-sound may produce, in patients, “a set of symptoms that include depression, irritability, aggressiveness, cognitive dysfunction, sleep disorder, fatigue, chest pain/pressure, headaches, joint pain, nausea, dizziness, vertigo, tinnitus, stress, heart palpitations, and other symptoms.”6 This combination of symptoms has been described by Pierpont as ‘wind turbines syndrome’7 and elsewhere (SEE BELOW REFERENCES FOR MORE TEXT)
1 Havas, M. and D. Colling (2011) Wind Turbines Make Waves: Why Some Residents Near Wind Turbines Become Ill. Bulletin of Science Technology & Society. 414-26. DOI: 10.1177/0270467611417852
2 Ibid
3 Frey, B. J., & Hadden, P. J. (2007). Noise radiation from wind turbines installed near homes: Effects on health– With an annotated review of the research and related issues. Retrieved from http://docs.windwatch.org/wtnoisehealth.pdf
4 Chouard, C.-H. (2006). Le retentissement du fonctionnement des eoliennes sur la sante de l’homme [Repercussions of wind turbine operations on human health]. Panorama du medecin. Retrieved from http://ventdubocage.net/documentsoriginaux/sante/eoliennes.pdf 5 Shepherd, D and Billington, R. (2011) Mitigating the Acoustic Impacts of Modern Technologies: Acoustic, Health, and Psychosocial Factors Informing Wind Farm Placement. Bulletin of Science Technology & Society. 389–398.
6 Havas, M. and D. Colling (2011) Wind Turbines Make Waves: Why Some Residents Near Wind Turbines Become Ill. Bulletin of Science Technology & Society. 414-26. DOI: 10.1177/0270467611417852 7 Pierpont, N. (2009). Wind turbine syndrome: A report on a natural experiment. Santa Fe, NM: K-Selected Books.
CONTINUED….
as vibroacoustic disease.8 9 They note how U.S. Military research has also demonstrated that acoustic infrasound can have dramatic and serious effects on human physiology.10 This research states that:
Acoustic, infrasound: very low frequency sound which can travel long distances and easily penetrate most buildings and vehicles. Transmission of long wave- length sound creates biophysical effects, nausea, loss of bowels, disorientation, vomiting, potential organ damage or death may occur. Superior to ultrasound because it is “inband,” meaning it does not lose its properties when it changes mediums such as air to tissue. By 1972 an infrasound generator had been built in France, which generated waves at 7Hz. When activated it made the people in range sick for hours.11
A significant impact on human health from IWTs can also result from electromagnetic pollution. The inverters and other technologies present within the turbines generate high levels of electrical distortion on the 60HZ sine wave of electrical current put on to the electrical grid by the renewable source.12 This research around high levels of electrical distortion is confirmed by research by the Wind Plant Collector System Design Working Group, a part-industry organization, and published by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).13 Also resulting from power generation in IWTs are increased levels of ground current often measured as voltage and often described as ‘stray voltage.’14 The circulation of these levels of distorted high-frequency signals, also known in the vernacular as ‘dirty electricity,’ as well as ground current or stray voltage in areas extending kilometers beyond individual IWT sites can contribute to electromagnetic injury and sensitivity to electromagnetic emissions.
8 Castelo Branco, N. A., & Alves-Pereira, M. (2004). Vibroacoustic disease. Noise & Health, 6(23), 3-20. 9 Castelo Branco, N. A. (1999). The clinical stages of vibroacoustic disease. Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine, 70(3, Pt. 2), A32-A39. 10 Bunker, R. J. (Ed.). (1997). Nonlethal weapons: Terms and references (INSS Occasional Paper No. 15). Colorado Springs, CO: USAF Institute for National Security Studies. Retrieved from http://www.aquafoam.com/papers/Bunker.pdf 11 Ibid.
12 Lobos, T., Rezmer, J., Sikorski, T., & Waclawek, Z. (2008). Power distortion issues in wind turbine power systems under transient states. Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering & Computer Sciences, 16, 229-238. 13 Bradt, M. Badrzadeh, E. Camm, D. Mueller, J. Schoene, T. Siebert, T. Smith, M. Starke, R. Walling (2012). Harmonics and Resonance Issues in Wind Power Plants. IEEE PES Wind Plant Collector System Design Working Group. IEEE.
14 Havas, M. and D. Colling (2011). Wind Turbines Make Waves: Why Some Residents Near Wind Turbines Become Ill. Bulletin of Science Technology & Society. 414-26.
Sensitivity to EMF has been termed Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity (EHS).15 It is thought to occur in 320 per cent of our population and poses the greatest risk to patients with pre-existing cardiac, neurological, dermatological and immunological conditions.16 17 18 19 20 However, healthy individuals are often affected as well and those affected complain of sleep disturbances, headaches, fatigue and difficulty concentrating. Symptoms are reduced by avoidance measures. Long-term and serious health effects can also result for those not immediately experiencing initial sensitivity.21 22
This cumulative effect of these various health impacting factors combined with the prevalence of IWTs across the province suggest that significant steps at various levels and in various areas need to be taken to:
1) widely acknowledge the potential risks that IWTs represent 2) fully respond to the thousands of demonstrated complaints of adverse effects of IWTs across the province23 (SEE MORE POINTS BELOW REFERENCES)
15 Bevington,M. (2010). Electromagnetic-sensitivityandelectromagnetic- hypersensitivity: A summary. London, England: Capability Books. 16 Austrian Medical Association. (2012). Guideline of the Austrian Medical Association for the diagnosis and treatment of EMF- related health problems and illnesses (EMF syndrome) Consensus paper of the Austrian Medical Association’s EMF Working Group. Vienna, Austria: Austrian Medical Association.
17 Baliatsas C, Van Kamp I, Lebret E, Rubin GJ. Idiopathic environmental intolerance attributed to electromagnetic fields (IEI-EMF): a systematic review of identifying criteria. BMC Public Health 2012, 12:643.
18 Belpomme, D., Campagnac, C., & Irigaray, P. (2015). Reliable disease biomarkers characterizing and identifying electrohypersensitivity and multiple chemical sensitivity as two etiopathogenic aspects of a unique pathological disorder. Reviews on Environmental Health, 30(4), 251–271.
19 McCarty, D. E., Carrubba, S., Chesson, A. L., Frilot, C., Gonzalez-Toledo, E., & Marino, A. A. (2011). Electromagnetic hypersensitivity: evidence for a novel neurological syndrome. The International Journal of Neuroscience, 121(12), 670–67.
20 Slottje, P., van Moorselaar, I., van Strien, R., Vermeulen, R., Kromhout, H., & Huss, A. (2016). Electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS) in occupational and primary health care: A nation-wide survey among general practitioners, occupational physicians and hygienists in the Netherlands. International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health.
21 Carpenter D. Human disease resulting from exposure to electromagnetic fields. Rev Environ Health 2013; 28(4):159-172.
22 Pall, M. L. (2014). Microwave electromagnetic fields act by activating voltage-gated calcium channels: why the current international safety standards do not predict biological hazard. Recent Res. Devel. Mol. Cell. Biol., (7). 23 Wind Concern Ontario (2018). Response to Wind Turbine Noise Complaints by the Ontario Ministry of Environment and Climate Change. Second Report: Complaints 2015-16. Wind Concern Ontario.
3) carefully measure noise, infrasound, and electromagnetic emissions in and around all of Ontario’s IWT installations 4) follow mitigative steps around electromagnetic pollution (high frequency distortion, ground current/stray voltage) as suggested by the wind industry’s own publications and by other noninvested experts 5) re-site IWTs to other locations without human populations when mitigation cannot be effectively undertaken
The risks for the short and long-term health of Ontarians of not undertaking such mitigating and remediating steps is significant.
Sincerely, Riina Bray
Riina I. Bray BAsc, MSc, MD, FCFP, MHSc Medical Director, Environmental Health Clinic, Women’s College Hospital Assistant Professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto Cross-Appointment Dalla Lana School of Public Health
The author grants permission to post this letter for public viewing and sharing.
APPENDIX A Summary of references in alphabetical order
Austrian Medical Association. (2012). Guideline of the Austrian Medical Association for the diagnosis and treatment of EMF- related health problems and illnesses (EMF syndrome) Consensus paper of the Austrian Medical Association’s EMF Working Group. Vienna, Austria: Austrian Medical Association. Retrieved from http://www.magdahavas.com/wordpress/wp- content/uploads/2012/06/Austrian-EMFGuidelines-2012.pdf
Baliatsas C, Van Kamp I, Lebret E, Rubin GJ. Idiopathic environmental intolerance attributed to electromagnetic fields (IEI-EMF): a systematic review of identifying criteria. BMC Public Health 2012, 12:643. Belpomme, D., Campagnac, C., & Irigaray, P. (2015). Reliable disease biomarkers characterizing and identifying electrohypersensitivity and multiple chemical sensitivity as two etiopathogenic aspects of a unique pathological disorder. Reviews on Environmental Health, 30(4), 251–271. Johansson, O. (2015). Electrohypersensitivity: a functional impairment due to an inaccessible environment. Reviews on Environmental Health, 30(4), 311–321.
Bevington,M.(2010). Electromagnetic-sensitivity and electromagnetic-hypersensitivity: A summary. London, England: Capability Books.
Bradt, M. Badrzadeh, E. Camm, D. Mueller, J. Schoene, T. Siebert, T. Smith, M. Starke, R. Walling (2012). Harmonics and Resonance Issues in Wind Power Plants. IEEE PES Wind Plant Collector System Design Working Group. IEEE. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/6281633/ DOI: 10.1109/TDC.2012.6281633
Carpenter D. Human disease resulting from exposure to electromagnetic fields. Rev Environ Health 2013; 28(4):159-172.
Castelo Branco, N. A., & Alves-Pereira, M. (2004). Vibroacoustic disease. Noise & Health, 6(23), 3-20.
Chouard, C.-H. (2006). Le retentissement du fonctionnement des eoliennes sur la sante de l’homme [Repercussions of wind turbine operations on human health]. Panorama du medecin. Retrieved from http://ventdubocage.net/documentsoriginaux/ sante/eoliennes.pdf
Frey, B. J., & Hadden, P. J. (2007). Noise radiation from wind turbines installed near homes: Effects on health–With an annotated review of the research and related issues. Retrieved from http://docs.windwatch.org/wtnoisehealth.pdf
Havas, M. and D. Colling (2011) Wind Turbines Make Waves: Why Some Residents Near Wind Turbines Become Ill. Bulletin of Science Technology & Society. 414-26. DOI: 10.1177/0270467611417852
McCarty, D. E., Carrubba, S., Chesson, A. L., Frilot, C., Gonzalez-Toledo, E., & Marino, A. A. (2011). Electromagnetic hypersensitivity: evidence for a novel neurological syndrome. The International Journal of Neuroscience, 121(12), 670–676.
7
DR. RIINA I. BRAY BASc, MSc, MD, FCFP, MHSc – ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH CONSULTANT
Pall, M. L. (2014). Microwave electromagnetic fields act by activating voltage-gated calcium channels: why the current international safety standards do not predict biological hazard. Recent Res. Devel. Mol. Cell. Biol., (7).
Pierpont, N. (2009). Wind turbine syndrome: A report on a natural experiment. Santa Fe, NM: K-Selected Books.
Shepherd, D and Billington, R. (2011) Mitigating the Acoustic Impacts of Modern Technologies: Acoustic, Health, and Psychosocial Factors Informing Wind Farm Placement. Bulletin of Science Technology & Society. 389–398.
Slottje, P., van Moorselaar, I., van Strien, R., Vermeulen, R., Kromhout, H., & Huss, A. (2016). Electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS) in occupational and primary health care: A nation-wide survey among general practitioners, occupational physicians and hygienists in the Netherlands. International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health. doi:10.1016/j.ijheh.2016.11.013
YES!! Thanks so much for this info. Fighting Turbines in Grant County, WV -New Creek Mountain. For 2 years I have been reading, doing my own research to tell people this really is a “thing” that is happening. How we can fight against these turbines and get them turned off. Loss of sleep, peace and quiet, and the ruination of our country home. Still trying to get someone to come and stay and do research in our area. Or a new agency to come out and video/interviews for what is going on.
Appreciate all your shared evidence.
Falmouth Massachusetts –one 110 decibel wind turbine needs 2923 foot setback for health and safety :
Re: Falmouth Wind II Turbine Relocation Study
Author: Rand, Robert
This letter (PDF attached) is respectfully submitted to the Town of Falmouth to provide a qualified professional opinion about the proposed relocation of Wind II. This is submitted independently as a courtesy to the Town free of compensation from any party.
https://www.wind-watch.org/documents/category/locations/americas/us/massachusetts/
The original permittings for Wind I and Wind II (and NOTUS) resulted in neighbor complaints soon after start-up and were confirmed to exceed Falmouth’s 40-dBA noise limit (turbines sited too close). Weston & Sampson’s relocation recommendation for Wind II appears to be inconsistent with the Town 40 dBA noise limit and the 2017 Barnstable Superior Court Decision.
1. The distance to meet 40 dBA for Wind II, a Vestas V82 with sound power level of 110 dBA, is approximately 891 meters or 2923 feet. This is greater than the setback distances provided by the proposed new location. The proposed new location is still too close.
2. At 2147 and 2244 feet listed in the subject report, the expected sound level is 43 dBA.
3. Use of the proposed new location appears certain to result in the relocated wind turbine’s maximum noise levels exceeding the Falmouth noise limit of 40 dBA.
4. Use of the proposed new location appears certain to result in the relocated wind turbine’s maximum noise levels exceeding established background sound levels of 27-28 dBA by over 10 dB, breaching State 10-dB noise limits.
Supporting detail is provided in the attached PDF. Please contact me if you have any questions.
Respectfully Submitted,
Robert W. Rand, ASA, INCE
October 26, 2018
—
Robert W. Rand, Member ASA, INCE
Rand Acoustics
Tel: 207-632-1215
Fax: 206-339-3441
Web: http://randacoustics.com
TO:
Mr. Julian M. Suso, Town Manager
Mr. Rod Palmer, Building Commissioner
Town of Falmouth
59 Town Hall Square
Falmouth, MA 02540
Re: Wind Turbine Relocation Study, Weston & Sampson Report, October 12, 2018
Download original document: “Re: Wind Turbine Relocation Study”
After seven years of living 1500-1600 feet from the twin 1.65MWatt 397 foot tall Vestas V-82 wind turbines belonging to the Town of Falmouth, Massachusetts I have learned more than I ever wished to know about their detriments to health and welfare. That of my neighbors, my friends, my family, and my own. I found it impossible to live in my own home because of their delirious effects which steadfastly increased with severity over time. Thankfully our battle was successful and the court ordered them shutdown on June 20, 2018. Unfortunately the prolonged stress levels have resulted in continuing heart and other health problems.
I certainly am not fond of those pushing the Green Religion.