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Wind Turbine Noise and Health in the New Zealand Context
Dr Daniel Shepherd
Executive Summary
- Sound is what we hear; noise is unwanted sound.
- Sound, be it unwanted or wanted, influences not only the way we think and behave, but also our physiological systems including cardiovascular and gastrointestinal activities, and hormone secretion.
- It is often claimed that continual exposure to a noise results in habituation, that is, one gets used to the noise. Such a proposition is not supported by either research or anecdotal evidence.
- There is now convincing evidence in the literature to conclude that community noise induces annoyance, disrupts sleep, impairs children’s school performance and negatively impacts cardiovascular health. It also impedes rest, relaxation and recreation activities.
- The latest research indicates that annoyance with wind turbine noise is associated with psychological distress, stress, difficulties in falling asleep and sleep interruption.
- Annoyance from noise, which can compromise health in susceptible individuals, is poorly predicted by the physical properties of the noise.
- Community noise, including noise emanating from wind turbines, can induce sleep disturbances by waking a sleeper, altering sleep patterns, reducing dream sleep, increasing body movement and changing cardiovascular responses.
- Inadequate sleep has been associated not just with fatigue, sleepiness and cognitive impairment but also with an increased risk of obesity, impaired glucose tolerance (risk of diabetes), high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer, depression and impaired immunity as shown by susceptibility to the common cold virus.
- The evidence as it stands indicates that wind turbine noise has the potential to degrade psychological, physical, environmental and social well-being. All these factors combine to determine an individual’s quality of life...
Erratum
"British acoustician Dr Geoff Leventhall makes the claim that because wind turbines don't produce low frequencies, then people can't hear them and therefore they are making up their complaints.”
Upon investigation we have found that the claims made in this statement are unsubstantiated. We have therefore withdrawn them from the book.
We wish to sincerely apologise to Dr Leventhall for any distress and inconvenience that these claims may have caused him.
Author: Dr D. Shepherd
Editors: Dr B. Rapley & Dr H Bakker
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