Skip to main content

Do Wind Turbines Cause Adverse Health Effects?

By
This claim is a bit bogus in my opinion but Dr. Nina Pierpont in NY is set to publish a book next month that claims "living close to wind turbines ... can cause sleep disorders, difficulty with equilibrium, headaches, childhood "night terrors" and other health problems."

Since a doctor makes these claims I guess these health hazards must be real ... not necessarily. Needless to say, the nuclear industry deals with this kind of stuff day in and day out. I wonder how the wind folks will react to these types of claims.

Wind advocates, welcome to a whole new game of PR!
Labels:

Comments

Matthew66 said…
I'd like to think a medical practitioner knows what she's talking about, but Helen Caldicott springs to mind (I did see the link).
August 14, 2008 at 2:15 PM
Anonymous said…
Expect to see some of the same nuclear advocates who have historically derided Caldicott for not having relevant credentials ("she's just a pediatrician") citing Pierpont as a credible expert on why wind energy is no good.
August 15, 2008 at 1:02 PM
Hugh said…
The "syndrome" in question consists of a grab-bag of non-specific, patient-reported symptoms. Basically, all of life's little aches, pains and mood swings are included:

"sleep problems (insomnia), headaches, dizziness, unsteadiness, nausea, exhaustion, anxiety, anger, irritability, depression, memory loss, eye problems, problems with concentration and learning, tinnitus (ringing in the ears)."

quoted from Nina Pierpont's own site.

None of these necessarily indicate an underlying medical problem or environmental influence. Barring bang-up pier-reviewed research (which BTW, Pierpont isn't doing on this subject) results, there doesn't appear to be a there there.
August 17, 2008 at 1:31 AM
lad said…
I live close to Bruce Power and several wind projects. We have had no problems living by a nuclear plant, but there are currently four families living in homes powered by generators (supplied by the wind company) due to the problem of stray voltage created by the turbines. A few other people have left their homes due to headaches and the incessant noise. The Ontario noise guidelines are inadequate and families are being exposed to excessive repetitive noise from these projects. There is a very good reason why the setbacks from residences is much greater in Europe.
August 17, 2008 at 5:59 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Making Clouds for a Living

By
Donell Banks works at Southern Nuclear’s Plant Vogtle units 3 and 4 as a shift supervisor in Operations, but is in the process of transitioning to his newly appointed role as the daily work controls manager. He has been in the nuclear energy industry for about 11 years.

I love what I do because I have the unique opportunity to help shape the direction and influence the culture for the future of nuclear power in the United States. Every single day presents a new challenge, but I wouldn't have it any other way. As a shift supervisor, I was primarily responsible for managing the development of procedures and programs to support operation of the first new nuclear units in the United States in more than 30 years. As the daily work controls manager, I will be responsible for oversight of the execution and scheduling of daily work to ensure organizational readiness to operate the new units.

I envision a nuclear energy industry that leverages the technology of today to improve efficiency…
Post a Comment
Read more

Why America Needs the MOX Facility

By
If Isaiah had been a nuclear engineer, he’d have loved this project. And the Trump Administration should too, despite the proposal to eliminate it in the FY 2018 budget.

The project is a massive factory near Aiken, S.C., that will take plutonium from the government’s arsenal and turn it into fuel for civilian power reactors. The plutonium, made by the United States during the Cold War in a competition with the Soviet Union, is now surplus, and the United States and the Russian Federation jointly agreed to reduce their stocks, to reduce the chance of its use in weapons. Over two thousand construction workers, technicians and engineers are at work to enable the transformation.

Carrying Isaiah’s “swords into plowshares” vision into the nuclear field did not originate with plutonium. In 1993, the United States and Russia began a 20-year program to take weapons-grade uranium out of the Russian inventory, dilute it to levels appropriate for civilian power plants, and then use it to produce…
Post a Comment
Read more

Nuclear: Energy for All Political Seasons

By
The electoral college will soon confirm a surprise election result, Donald Trump. However, in the electricity world, there are fewer surprises – physics and economics will continue to apply, and Republicans and Democrats are going to find a lot to like about nuclear energy over the next four years.

In a Trump administration, the carbon conversation is going to be less prominent. But the nuclear value proposition is still there. We bring steady jobs to rural areas, including in the Rust Belt, which put Donald Trump in office. Nuclear plants keep the surrounding communities vibrant.

We hold down electricity costs for the whole economy. We provide energy diversity, reducing the risk of disruption. We are a critical part of America’s industrial infrastructure, and the importance of infrastructure is something that President-Elect Trump has stressed.

One of our infrastructure challenges is natural gas pipelines, which have gotten more congested as extremely low gas prices have pulled m…
Post a Comment
Read more