Summary of Health Canada study on wind turbine noise and health impacts released today

OTTAWA, Nov. 06, 2014 /CNW/ - The Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA) welcomes new research by Health Canada, a summary of which, released today, concludes that there is no evidence of a causal relationship between exposure to wind turbine noise and self-reported medical illnesses and health conditions.

Specifically, the Health Canada study finds:

• No evidence to support a link between exposure to wind turbine noise and any of the self-reported illnesses and chronic conditions
• No association between multiple measures of stress and exposure to wind turbine noise
• No association between wind turbine noise and self-reported or measured sleep quality
• No association between wind turbine noise and any significant changes in reported quality of life, or with overall quality of life, and satisfaction with health.

The study did find a correlation, but not a causal relationship, between increasing levels of wind turbine noise and annoyance.  The Health Canada summary identified a number of other factors that may contribute to annoyance levels, including economic benefit, visual appearance and noise sensitivity.

"Based on the summary, the Health Canada study is an important new addition to scientific research on wind turbines and human health. We look forward to reviewing the results of the Health Canada study in more detail and will continue to monitor the scientific literature in this area," says CanWEA president Robert Hornung. "The balance of scientific evidence to date continues to show that properly sited wind turbines are not harmful to human health and that wind energy remains one of the safest and environmentally friendly forms of electricity generation."

About the Canadian Wind Energy Association 
CanWEA is the voice of Canada's wind energy industry, actively promoting the responsible and sustainable growth of wind energy. A national non-profit association, CanWEA serves as Canada's leading source of credible information on wind energy and its social, economic and environmental benefits. Join us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and join the conversation at windfacts.ca.

SOURCE: Canadian Wind Energy Association

Ulrike Kucera, Media Relations Officer, Canadian Wind Energy Association, (O) 613 234 8716 ext. 228, (M) 613 867 4433, [email protected]