Roxanne Zak, energy committee chair of the Sierra Club, said a study would provide information about the proper amount of distance between wind turbines and residents to prevent health effects on residents. Zak said it is critical for the public to acknowledge “wind turbine syndrome” is real, and that sound and pressure differences can create health problems for some people.Wind turbine opponents testify in Boston | SouthCoast today
“We can’t dismiss the evidence that people are having problems,” she said.
The majority of Massachusetts residents support wind energy, Zak said, but they need reassurance that projects will be sited properly. “If we want the public to accept wind power, we have to look at both the positive and negative effects of wind turbines,” Zak said.
Fairhaven resident Louise Barteau said she testified that she experienced health problems — pressure in her head, dizziness and nausea — when she rented an art studio on Arsene Street last year. Barteau said she no longer rents that property.
"What I experienced was very small in comparison to the people who live there," she said, adding there are 701 Fairhaven homes within 3,000 feet of the turbines.
For Barry Funfar, the investigation can't come soon enough. A Falmouth resident and neighbor of one of the town's two turbines, Funfar said the local and state government's inaction on what he believes are the turbines' harmful effects is negligence. "Our government is knowingly hurting people," he said, calling the area around the turbines "a toxic zone."
Funfar said he is a Vietnam veteran and suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder after returning home from the conflict. After struggling to regain a sense of normalcy, the turbine issue has taken much of that away from him, he said.
"I spent 10 years in therapy to get my life back, only to have it taken away by these turbines," Funfar said.
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