WCO demands investigation of noise, health complaints

June 18, 2013--Wind Concerns Ontario has sent a letter to Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr Arlene King, requesting that the reports of ill health stemming from the environmental noise and vibration from industrial-scale wind turbines be investigated. WCO says the province has a duty to act under the Health Protection and Promotion Act.

Dr King produced a report in 2010 which stated that there is no direct link between the noise and health effects, but WCO says it is time for a new look at the situation. "A great deal has happened since 2010," says WCO president Jane Wilson, who is a registered nurse. "There have been hundreds of reports of excessive noise and vibration to the Ministry of the Environment, people have gone to their local public health units with complaints and even gone before their municipal councils asking for help, and more recently, we have had a parade of witnesses before the Environmental Review Tribunal. The question of 'direct' or 'indirect' is secondary to the fact that people are being made ill."

King's own report called for more research to be done. The 2011 Environmental Review Tribunal decision noted that as science advances, Ontario's guidelines for noise and safety "must be reviewed and revised...regulatory responses to that evolving science must keep pace."

"That has not been done," says Wilson. "Instead people, and the municipalities in Ontario trying to protect their citizens, have been ignored. It is time for this government to acknowledge that there are problems with the implementation of large-scale wind power projects, and take steps to prevent further harm."

windconcerns@gmail.com
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