Azade Simavi
For many years the effects of wind farms on animals and the natural habitat have been researched by scientists and environmentalists. Wind farms built in unsuitable locations have had a devastating impact on populations of some rare species of birds, bats and bees, to the point of near extinction of species in those areas.
Recently it is becoming clearer that the continuous low frequency sounds of wind energy plants are causing some serious health problems to these living creatures.
Research proves that low frequency sounds directly cause physiological diseases. According to the research of the World Health Organization, noise pollution not only damage the sleep order but also cause various cardiovascular diseases.
People who live close to wind turbines, all over the world, have faced serious health and sleep disorder problems; some of them have had to abandon their homes. Complaints from those living close to a wind farm are reported as sleep disorders; headaches; concentration problems; tinnitus; nausea; arrhythmia and anxiety. Victims are filing claims worth millions of dollars against the international companies.
One of these law suits belongs to a family from Portugal. In 2006, four wind turbines were constructed around their farm home at distances of 300 meters to 700 meters. In a very short time the family complained of sleeping disorders, behaviour disorders of the animals, and the child having low performance at school and these complaints formed the basis of the law suit.
The verdict of the court was to order the closest turbine to be removed. However, soon the mother and child were forced to move out of the house, while the father had to stay to take care of the animals. As the health of the father was declining even more, Portuguese judges, in 2013, ordered that the remaining three turbines also be removed.
There are measures against wind farms in many locations all over the world. France and Denmark have pulled back some of windpower plants which are close to residential areas and in Denmark, wind plant construction nearly stopped.
In Australia, two Senators made 3.3 million dollars available for the National Health and Medical Research Council, and made the appeal that new windpower plant construction be halted until further results were found.
Physicians in Germany are declaring the negative effects of wind turbines on health at every opportunity and yet reports on these negative effects are being ignored by developers.
Another important question is: why doesn’t the media publicise these developments and why don’t they perform their duty of care for public welfare?
In Turkey, windpower plants are rapidly being built near residential areas and new projects are continually being signed without sufficient scientific evaluation. Even though the state council sometimes rejects wind turbines projects on the basis of environmental impact, there is no progress regarding the research which enlightens the public regarding the effects of wind farms on human health.
