Wind Turbines and Health
20% Wind Energy and Climate Change
Wind energy can help improve air quality
- 87,000 metric tons of sulfur dioxide annually
- 61,000 metric tons of nitrogen oxides annually5
Wind energy can help reduce global warming pollutants
The entire fleet of wind turbines operating in the United States as of the end of 2011 will prevent the emission of over 68 million tons of carbon dioxide – a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change – each year.6 Human health can be adversely affected by rising global temperatures. Fewer frost events and longer warm seasons could result in stronger and more widespread allergens and fungal spores, as well as an increase in the spread of exotic diseases.
Health experts also raise concerns of an increased incidence of heat waves and resulting deaths.7 Wind energy produces less than two percent of the emissions from coal combustion per megawatt-hour, even when the manufacturing process of wind turbines is accounted for,8 giving it one of the lowest greenhouse gas lifecycle emissions levels of any power technology.
The credible peer-reviewed scientific data and government reports refute the claim that wind farms cause negative health impacts
The Massachusetts Departments of Environmental Protection and Public Health commissioned a panel of experts with backgrounds in public health, epidemiology, toxicology, neurology, sleep medicine, neuroscience, and mechanical engineering to analyze “the biological plausibility or basis for health effects of turbines (noise, vibration, and flicker).” The review of existing studies included both peer-reviewed and non- peer reviewed literature.
Among the key findings of the panel were:
- There is no evidence for a set of health effects, from exposure to wind turbines that can be characterized as “Wind Turbine Syndrome.”
- Claims that infrasound from wind turbines directly impacts the vestibular system have not been demonstrated scientifically. Available evidence shows that the infrasound levels near wind turbines cannot impact the vestibular system.
- The strongest epidemiological study suggests that there is not an association between noise from wind turbines and measures of psychological distress or mental health.
- None of the limited epidemiological evidence reviewed suggests an association between noise from wind turbines and pain and stiffness, diabetes, high blood pressure, tinnitus, hearing impairment, cardiovascular disease, and headache/migraine.9
Shadow flicker occurrence is easily calculated and is not harmful to persons with epilepsy
Shadow flicker occurs when the blades of a turbine pass in front of the sun to create a recurring shadow on an object. Computer models in wind development software can determine the days and times during the year that specific buildings in close proximity to turbines may experience shadow flicker. Mitigation measures can be taken based on this knowledge and may include setbacks or vegetative buffers. Issues with shadow flicker are less common in the United States than in Europe due to the lower latitudes and the higher sun angles in the U.S.
The allegation is sometimes made that shadow flicker from wind turbines can cause epileptic seizures. This is not true—shadow flicker from wind turbines occurs much more slowly than the light “strobing” associated with seizures. The strobe rates generally necessary to cause seizures in people with photosensitive epilepsy are 5 to 30 flashes per second10 and large wind turbine blades cannot rotate this quickly.
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Last Update March 2009
Sources:
- An Agenda for Clean Air: Protect the Air We Breathe. (2009). http://www.npca.org/cleanair/agenda/Protect_the_Air_We_Breathe.pdf
- Department of Energy. (2008). 20% Wind Energy by 2030 www.20percentwind.org
- American Wind Energy Association. AWEA U.S. Wind Industry Annual Market Report Year Ending 2011.
- American Lung Association. (2010). State of the Air: 2010. http://www.stateoftheair.org/2010/health-risks/health-risks-particle.html
- AWEA U.S. Wind Industry Annual Market Report Year Ending 2011
- AWEA U.S. Wind Industry Annual Market Report Year Ending 2011
- U.S. News and World Report. (2008). 10 Ways Global Warming Could Hurt Your Health. http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/2008/09/15/10- ways-global-warming-could-hurt-your-health.html
- Kempton, W. & Levy, J. (2007). Harvard School of Public Health. http://www.ocean.udel.edu/windpower/DE-Qs/IRP-KempLevy-Health.pdf
- Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and Department of Public Health (2012). Wind Turbine Health Impact Study: Report of
- Independent Expert Panel http://www.mass.gov/dep/energy/wind/turbine_impact_study.pdf
- Epilepsy Foundation. (n.d.). Photosensitivity and Epilepsy. http://www.epilepsyfoundation.org/about/photosensitivity/