An ill wind

Bruce Grey medical officer of health says all wind turbine studies she examined include reports of human health distress

Every current and credible study examined by Dr. Hazel Lynn, Medical Officer of Health for Bruce Grey, indicates that industrial wind turbines cause distress to people living near them.

These surprising findings are contained in a report by Lynn and research assistant Dr. Ian Arra, which they presented to the Grey Bruce Board of Health last Friday. The physicians recommend that the province stop erecting industrial wind turbines near residents until a sciencebased investigation determines just how close these machines can be safely located near residents.

The researchers also found that the closer people were to turbines, the more distress they encountered.

The pair examined about 25 studies from around the world—each of them peer-reviewed, published and completed. They wanted to know how many of these reports did not identify human distress related to wind turbines. Using this null hypothosis they anticipated they might pinpoint specific attributes about the community, setbacks or turbines themselves that could help further the understanding of the many complaints that arise from people who live near these devices.

Both Lynn and Arra were surprised to find that every one of the studies they reviewed found the presence of individuals reporting symptoms arising from turbines in the study area.

Lynn explained to the board that their findings don’t amount to direct evidence that industrial wind turbines cause adverse health effects, but rather points to an association that requires further research.

“It’s not that turbines are falling down and hitting people,” said Dr. Lynn on CBC Radio’s Ontario Morning on Monday. “That’s direct.

People didn’t have symptoms before the turbines were there—they do have them now. That is association. I don’t know if it matters to them if it is direct or indirect.”

Lynn also notes that her office is not a research institute, but rather initiated this investigation at the request of the Grey Bruce Board of Health.

“This is not a precise study,” acknowledges Lynn. But she says these findings underline the need for more research conducted to figure out what is causing the distress.

Until then she suggests a moratorium be put in place or turbines kept at least two kilometres away from nearby residents.

“We know that when you move them away about 2,000 metres the number of complaints goes down to pretty close the number of complaints you would find in the population,” Lynn told Ontario Morning host Wei Chen.