The critics of wind turbines are
dismissing a provincial government study before it has been completed and published.
Jane Wilson of North Gower, president
of Wind Concerns Ontario, says the Ontario Ministry for the Environment and
Climate Change, is taking too narrow an approach to investigating the health
impacts of noises from the turbines.
“In short, by relying on testing for
audible noise only, and only testing outdoors, the MOECC is not getting the
whole picture on the reason for the hundreds upon hundreds of noise complaints
throughout rural Ontario.
“The real culprit appears to be low-frequency
noise which is a ‘sensation’ for many people.
“We believe the MOECC needs to take
residents' noise complaints seriously, act, and report publicly on what they do,
Wilson says in an e-mail to Ontario Farmer.
Wilson says in an e-mail to Ontario Farmer.
“The MOECC persists in the standard
of using one form of noise measurement, the dBA, while the acoustics industry
and even the Government of Canada has said this is providing only part of the
picture on noise emissions,” Wilson says.
In news release, the organization
says “the process of confirming turbine compliance with regulations is
convoluted and complex — people have lost trust in the Ontario government.
“For example, the Enbridge project
near Kincardine began operation in late 2008 but there is still no report that
confirms the turbines are compliant.
“The MOECC also relies on information
from the power developers, and predicted modelling — not actual noise testing.
This has resulted in a loss of faith in the Wynne government as a protector of
public health.”
