The Health Impacts of Wind Power on Nearby Residents - Research Proposal Example

Introduction In many countries there has been adoption of wind energy since it is seen as being a clean form of energy since its generation relies on wind which is renewable; its generation is local something that provides some form of energy independence and the power generation process does not result to generation carbon dioxide or other environmentally unfriendly gases. Wind power can be harnessed both offshore and inland but this study is keen on land based wind turbines. Land based wind turbines have capacity of generating electricity ranging from 100Kw to 3000kw (Balombin, 1980). Wind power generation may be of great significance to the economy but adverse health effects have also been reported as a result to exposure to this form of energy generation. People who stay or work in vicinity of wind turbines have been reported to suffer various negative effects with symptoms such as lack of sleep, cognitive dysfunction, and headache, experience of stress, depression, annoyance and anxiety. This has also let to many being angered and feeling some sense of injustice. The symptoms have been attributed to the emissions that are generated by the turbines including ground current, noise, infrasound, shadow flicker and electromagnetic radiations. There is need for developing much care for people exhibiting such symptoms. In this study the aim is exploration of the health impacts of wind power on the people living or working close to wind turbines. The specific objectives i. Identifying and characterizing of concern such as noise, vibrations, light flicker and identifying any scientific documentation showing connection between health impacts that are linked wind turbines that may have impact on humans ii. Evaluate and discuss information from peer reviewed scientific studies iii. Make an assessment of the magnitude and frequency of potential impacts and risks to human health that may be linked to design and operation of the turbines on he basis of existing data iv. Identify best practices that have been documented that may lead to reduction of the potential human health impacts Literature review Wind turbines Wind power is generated by harnessing kinetic energy in the air (wind) that is brought about by effect of solar. The use of wind energy is not new since it has been used by many generations for instance its application sailing vessels and wind mills have been in practice for many centuries. The application of wind energy in generation of energy is the most recent and it involves mounting of electrical generators on a shaft which is being driven by wind mill blades. Wind turbines electricity is of lower cost when compared to that generated thermal power plants . In wind turbines first the natural wind is captured and then converted to mechanical form energy which then is transformed to electrical energy (Tong, 2010). Most of the modern wind turbines used in the generation of electricity have three blades and the turbine come in different sizes. International Reports of Health Effects of Wind Power In the past years it has been disclosed in various report the negative effects that are linked to wind turbines on people in the neighborhood with noise being the major complain (Chief Medical Officer of Heath in Ontario, . The noise that come from the turbines may be seen as being preoccupying, having some piercing effect and surprising owing to its irregularity in intensity. Noise is composed of what can be described as incongruous and granting sounds that causes disturbance and creates distraction to attention of people. High frequency of such noise brings about destruction of sleep with people being awaked with an increase in wind speed that makes the turbines to be even noisier and this prevents the affected people not to go to sleep again. Other adverse effects that have been reported by people living next to turbines include feeling of nausea, fatigue, headache and dizziness. The observation by Harry (2007) is that noise from turbines leads to destruction of sleep at night and thus leading to daytime sleepiness. This has been observed to bring about mental health disturbance of people residing in a distance as far as 2km from the turbines. Adverse effects of turbines have also been reported in the Industrial wind turbine projects in New Zealand and Australia. Different symptoms of industrial wind turbines including excessive tiredness, altered life quality, sleep destruction, anxiety, distress , tinnitus and palpitations of the heart have also been reported by a health self reporting community named Wind VOICe that is based in Ontario. In the report it was also revealed that wind turbine exposure led to degradation of the living standards of different individuals and that it also had different socioeconomic effect on people. It has also been reported that in some cases the severity of effects was so high that the people affected chose to migrate from their homes or at least they were to have some agreement with those involved in the turbine development. The Ontario 2010 environmental review were in agreement that the wind turbines are likely to result massive health effects to the individuals. This came after it considered different evidence and testimonies by twenty-six witnesses . Scope This study will be restricted to the effects of wind turbines on those living neer or working neer the turbines. Other negative effects on environment such as the area of occupation of the turbines being left bear and being prone to erosion will not be included. The details of the sources of noise in the turbines will be looked into. Effects on the turbines that affect people indirectely such as effect on animals is beyond the scope on this study. Approach This study will involve intensive literature searches and reviews in the attempt of identifying studies that evaluate human population responses to turbines in addition to population and individual responses to the three major characteristics of turbines when in operation: noise generation, vibration and flicker. Emphasis will be laid on identifying the biological plausibility or the cause of the health effects of turbines as a result of noise, vibration and flicker. And going beyond the usual forms of scientific approach, in this study care will be taken to look at non-peer reviewed materials with regards to the likely health effects including information relating to what is referred to as “Wind Turbine Syndrome” with rigorous analysis being provided as to whether this has any scientific basis. This is because the most common complaints that have been reported by people operating near turbines has been disruption of their sleep, the study will look at the relationship between noise, vibration and annoyance as well as looking at potential impacts that come as a result of people being deprived of their sleep. In the assessment of the evidence on health hazards of the wind turbines, the study will adhere to acceptable scientific principals with different types of studies being relied on. The study will consider studies involving humans as being of most primary value. These will involve either human epidemiological studies relating specifically to exposure to wind turbines or cases of specific exposures that are linked to turbines could be defined in addition to considering experimental data. While bearing in mind that this study is restricted to effect on human beings it is good to acknowledge that animal studies may play a critical role in the exploration of biological plausibility and understanding potential biological mechanisms in different exposures and thus providing information about possible health effects where use of humans my bring about ethical issues. References Balombin, J. R. (1980). An exploratory survey of noise levels associated with a 100 KW wind turbine. Proceedings from the 99th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America. Atlanta, Georgia. Chief Medical Officer of Health. (2010). The potential health impact of wind turbines. European Wind Energy Association. (2009). Wind Eenergy-- the facts: a guide to the technology, economics and future of wind Power: Earthscan. Harry, A. (2007). Wind turbines, noise and health. Tong, W. (2010). Wind power generation and wind turbine design. Southampton: WIT Press. Read More