From:
Rick James [mailto:rickjames@e-coustic.com]
Sent: Wednesday, May 13, 2009 11:14 AM
To: 'Loudor'
Cc:
Subject: RE: Reports on Wind Turbines and Infrasound for use by Lake
Township Planning Commission
Lou,
You
are correct that they are not accurate. My comments below are based on a
quick skimming of the materials you provided and my exposure to similar
information from other wind developers. Given a more thorough review I
might find some new info, but for the most part this is my ‘knee – jerk”
reaction.
HGC
is an acoustics firm that is heavily vested in wind developer’s success for
their own business success. The first thing that must be understood is
that they are acoustical experts and have no qualifications to conduct
‘research’ into medical issues. The studies that are referenced are
very old research done by researchers in the early years of ‘modern’
acoustical engineering. Gunner Rasmussen’s work is an example of such
work. For its era it represented the best we had, but it did not have the
benefit of modern tools for medical research. It also focused mainly on
the impact of Infra and low frequency sound (ILFN) on the auditory system partly
because it was the organ that acousticians tend to place at the pinnacle of
importance, but also because at that time the tools that medical researchers
have, like MRIs, etc. were not available. Medical research has come a long
way since then as evidenced that we no longer think tonsils and appendixes are
superfluous organs. Yet, for many years acoustical engineers were taught
that “what one cannot hear, cannot hurt ...” as a result of this early
research.
The
point I want to make is that the organs that are at risk from ILFN are not
auditory (except for the sleep disturbance issues), but instead the vestibular
organs which are the organs of “balance” not hearing. There are also
risks to the cardio and other organs.
Dr.
Pierpont’s study focuses on pathologies of the organ of balance and the list
of symptoms is clearly not related to auditory function. For example (From
her March 2009 final draft,
“The
core symptoms of Wind Turbine Syndrome are sleep disturbance, headache, tinnitus,
other ear and hearing sensations, disturbances to balance and equilibrium,
nausea, anxiety, irritability, energy loss, motivation loss, disturbances to
memory and concentration, and visceral
vibratory vestibular disturbance (VVVD). Core symptoms are defined as common and widely
described by study participants, closely linked in time and space to turbine
exposure, and amenable to diagnosis by medical history. The latter was a
particular requirement of this study. The subjects of this study had other types
of health problems during exposure, discussed in “Other symptom clusters and
isolated problems,” but different types of study will be needed to find out if
there is a link between these problems and wind turbine exposure.”
The
most distinctive feature of Wind Turbine Syndrome is the group of symptoms I
call visceral vibratory vestibular
disturbance,
or VVVD. The adults who experience this describe a feeling of internal
pulsation, quivering, or jitteriness, accompanied by nervousness, anxiety, fear,
a compulsion to flee or check the environment for safety, nausea, chest
tightness, and tachycardia. The symptoms arise day or night, interrupting
daytime activities and concentration, and interrupting sleep. Wakefulness is
prolonged after this type of awakening. Subjects observe that their symptoms
occur in association with specific types of turbine function: the turbines
turned directly towards or way from them, running particularly fast, or making
certain types of noise. The symptoms create aversive reactions to bedroom and
house.”
Subjects
tend to be irritable and frustrated, especially over the loss of their ability
to rest and be revitalized at home. Subjects with VVVD are also prone to
queasiness and loss of appetite even when the full set of symptoms is not
present”
Note
that in all the reports provided by DTE, the focus is on ‘perception’ and by
that they mean auditory perception. What the new medical research shows is
that the vestibular system is sensitive to much lower amplitudes of ILFN than
needed to be audible. Thus, the old studies focused on auditory function
are no longer the final word on this issue. I have attached two draft
affadavits from medical researchers that do have the background needed to
address whether there are health risks. The signed versions were submitted
on Monday in the DeKalb County, IL hearing on a special use permit for a large
wind project proposed by Florida Power and Light. You can also
google the works of Dr. Robert McMurtry, formerly a dean of an
Rick
James
E-Coustic Solutions
Tel: (517) 507-5067
Fax: (866) 461-4103
Email: rickjames@e-coustic.com
"A subset of society should not be forced to bear the cost of a
benefit for the larger society."
From: One
Page Takings Summary: U.S Constitution and Local Land Use, by: George S.
Hawkins, Esq., Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association
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PRESS RELEASE: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
http://www.windaction.org/releases/21154
WASHINGTON D.C. (May 11, 2009) - In a letter submitted today, environmental and wildlife groups[1] called on Interior Secretary Kenneth Salazar to immediately suspend work on the Wind Turbine Guidelines Advisory Committee of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service[2] citing excessive industry influence in preparing the Committee's draft recommendations. The letter follows up on a January 2008 correspondence sent to the Secretary's predecessor, Dirk Kempthorne, where the groups raised concern with the unlawful imbalance in the Committee's membership in favor of wind power proponents and paid representatives. The imbalance is in violation of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), governing the establishment of federal advisory committees.
In the letter, the groups assert that after more than one and one-half years since the Committee's formation, the draft recommendations read more as an unabashed endorsement of wind power than a rigorous effort to address the harmful - and ever growing - effects on wildlife of poorly sited and constructed wind power projects. Despite its charter to "provide advice and recommendations to the Secretary of the Interior" regarding "effective measures to avoid or minimize impacts to wildlife and their habitats related to land-based wind energy facilities," the Committee's draft recommendations do little more than offer justifications for not developing rigorous, enforceable criteria to address the escalating wildlife impacts.
"The Committee's makeup continues to be dominated by wind power
proponents, advocates, and industry representatives," said Eric R.
Glitzenstein of Meyer
Glitzenstein & Crystal, the public interest law firm representing the
groups. "Unfortunately, our concerns of a year ago have now been validated
with the Committee's draft recommendations, which do not even begin to
acknowledge the parameters of the problem - let alone prescribe meaningful
solutions." For example, Glitzenstein added, "wind power projects in
the
The groups urge Secretary Salazar to take immediate action and suspend the work of the Committee in order to reevaluate its composition and operation. They also recommend the Secretary make all necessary changes to ensure the committee has the genuine scientific expertise and independence required to develop recommendations that are truly protective of migratory birds, bats, and other wildlife resources. This essential action, if taken, will show that the Secretary is serious in his promise to restore sound science in the Interior Department's decision-making, rather than the usual rhetoric that places our wildlife resources at high risk and erodes public confidence in government. The letter was also sent to the Inspector General for the Interior and members of Congress in order to encourage appropriate oversight measures.
CONTACT:
Kieran Suckling, Center for Biological Diversity, (520) 275-5960
Eric Glitzenstein, Meyer Glitzenstein & Crystal, (202) 588-5206
###
[1] Groups represented:
Industrial
Wind Action Group
Center
for Biological Diversity
The Humane Society
of the United States
D. Daniel Boone
Maryland
Conservation Council
Save
Our Allegheny Ridges
Friends
of Blackwater Canyon
Protect
the Flint Hills
Chautauqua County Citizens for Responsible Wind Power
Green
Berkshires, Inc.
Juniata Valley
Audubon Society
Ripley Hawk Watch
Alliance
to Protect Nantucket Sound
Wildlife
Advocacy Project
Union Neighbors United
Laurel
Mountain Preservation Association
[2] The Wind
Turbine Guidelines Advisory Committee was formed to provide advice and
recommendations to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in developing effective
measures to avoid or minimize impacts to wildlife and their habitats related to
land-based wind energy facilities (see Fed. Reg. 72:11373 (March 13, 2007)).
Former Interior Secretary Kempthorne announced the appointment of 22 people to
the committee on October 24, 2007.
Click on Affidavits below: