Wind Turbines Give You Spots

I don’t know whether to laugh or shed tears in comic agony at this, which looks like the latest in a very long line of environmental “hoaxes”.

A person allegedly a paediatrician from New York claims to have diagnosed a new disorder, with a wide range of symptoms, relating to Wind Turbines.

Provisionally named “Wind Turbine Syndrome”, this “visceral vibratory vestibular disturbance” can be detected in folks unlucky enough to be living within the spinning shadow of new wind farms.

Apparently, Wind Turbines are to blame for an amazingly broad set of physical ailments : “heart disease, tinnitus, vertigo, panic attacks, migraines and sleep deprivation”. And it can stunt brain growth in children, according to the doctor.

I bet it would be found that they also give you acne, if you look into it in more depth.

That this woman is a doctor who specialises in childhood medicine, as is claimed, it seems remarkable that she should somehow suddenly become an expert in bioacoustics and the interactions between engineering and the human body.

Plus, there’s so much room for manoeuvre here. Instead of blaming Wind Turbines, she could equally have set out to demonstrate a causality between pesticides and the kinds of human ill-health she centres on.

Or investigated genetically modified organisims in food. Or medical treatments. Or stress. Or the amount of time driving in a car and watching television.

This is, in my opinion, ridiculous non-science, and it should be countered. And the Independent, the Daily Mail, the Daily Telegraph and the Belfast Telegraph really should know better than to print this unverified by any third parties, in my view.

https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/green-living/are-wind-farms-a-health-risk-us-scientist-identifies-wind-turbine-syndrome-1766254.html

“Are wind farms a health risk? US scientist identifies ‘wind turbine syndrome’ : Noise and vibration coming from large turbines are behind an increase in heart disease, migraine, panic attacks and other health problems, according to research by an American doctor : By Margareta Pagano : Sunday, 2 August 2009 : Living too close to wind turbines can cause heart disease, tinnitus, vertigo, panic attacks, migraines and sleep deprivation, according to groundbreaking research to be published later this year by an American doctor. Dr Nina Pierpont, a leading New York paediatrician, has been studying the symptoms displayed by people living near wind turbines in the US, the UK, Italy, Ireland and Canada for more than five years. Her findings have led her to confirm what she has identified as a new health risk, wind turbine syndrome (WTS)…”

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1203770/Are-wind-farms-risk-health.html?ITO=1490

“Living near a wind farm can cause heart disease, panic attacks and migraines : By Daniel Martin : 03rd August 2009 : Living close to wind farms can lead to a greater risk of heart disease, panic attacks and migraines, according to a study. The farms can cause ‘wind turbine syndrome’, the symptoms of which also include tinnitus, vertigo and sleep deprivation, research to be published later this year claims. Dr Nina Pierpoint, a leading New York paediatrician, says her five-year study of people living near wind turbines in the U.S., Britain, Italy, Ireland and Canada has led her to believe that they can also trigger nightmares in children and stop their brains developing properly. Turbines: Ministers want to see another 4,000 across the country, meanwhile new research shows living near wind farms could damage your health : There are 219 wind farms in Britain, and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband has plans for around 4,000 extra turbines to be installed. Dr Pierpoint, a fellow of the American Academy of Paediatrics, believes turbines are dangerous because the low frequency sounds they emit interfere with the ear’s vestibular system, which controls our sense of balance. These sounds – which are too low frequency for the human ear to hear – cause a group of symptoms she calls ‘visceral vibratory vestibular disturbance’, or VVVD. They cause problems such as quivering, nervousness, fear, a compulsion to flee, chest tightness and tachycardia or increased heart rate. The noise from turbines can also trigger nightmares and other disorders in children as well as harm cognitive development in the young, she claims. Dr Pierpoint says not everyone who lives near such wind turbines is susceptible. But she said: ‘There is no doubt that my clinical research shows that the infrasonic to ultrasonic noise and vibrations emitted by wind turbines cause the symptoms which I am calling wind turbine syndrome. ‘The wind industry will try to dis-credit me, but I can cope with that. This is not unlike the tobacco industry dismissing health issues from smoking.’ She added: ‘It’s been gospel among acousticians for years that if a person can’t hear a sound, it’s too weak for it to be detected or registered by any other part of the body. ‘But this is no longer true. Humans can hear through the bones. This is amazing. It would be heretical if it hadn’t been shown in a well-conducted experiment.’ Dr Pierpoint argued that future wind farms should be built at least two kilometres (1.2 miles) from homes. Most scientists believe there is no health risk from wind turbines, saying her analysis is based on a sample size which is far too small to draw any conclusions. Her study is based on 38 people. But she has received backing for her findings, with Professor Lord May, former chief scientific adviser to the Government, describing her research as ‘impressive, interesting and important’…”

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/5963049/Wind-turbines-cause-heart-problems-headaches-and-nausea-claims-doctor.html

Wind turbines cause heart problems, headaches and nausea, claims doctor : Wind turbines can cause heart problems, tinnitus, nausea, panic attacks and headaches among people living nearby, according to a US doctor who has studied their effects for five years. : By Ian Johnston : Published: 03 Aug 2009 : Dr Nina Pierpont is recommending that wind turbines should not be built any closer than 2,000 metres to housing : Dr Nina Pierpont, a New York paediatrician, said she was convinced that vibration and noise emitted by wind turbines can produce a range of symptoms which she has named “Wind Turbine Syndrome” or WTS. During her research, which she funded herself, she examined the health of people living near wind farms in the US, the UK, Italy, Ireland and Canada. She is now recommending that wind turbines should not be built any closer than 2,000 metres (2,187 yards) to housing. Dr Pierpont, a fellow of the American Academy of Paediatrics, said: “There is no doubt that my clinical research shows that the infrasonic to ultrasonic noise and vibrations emitted by wind turbines cause the symptoms which I am calling wind turbine syndrome. “What I have shown in my research is that many people – not all – who have been living close to a wind turbine running near their homes display a range of health illnesses and that when they move away, many of these problems also go away. “There are about 12 different health problems associated with WTS and these range from tachycardia [abnormal heart beat], sleep disturbance, headaches, tinnitus, nausea, visual blurring, panic attacks with sensations of internal quivering to more general irritability.” She said she expected that the wind industry would “try to discredit me and disparage me”. But Dr Pierpont said: “I can cope with that. This is not unlike the tobacco industry dismissing health issues from smoking.” Dr Pierpont’s research – to be published in October by K-Selected Books – was described by Professor Lord May, former chief scientific adviser to the UK government, as “impressive, interesting and important”. And Dr Christopher Hanning, founder of the British Sleep Society, said her findings should be “required reading for all planners considering wind farms”. The Government says noise from turbines does not cause health problems, a view endorsed recently by acousticians at Salford University…”

https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/environment/is-it-dangerous-to-live-close-to-wind-turbines-14441692.html

“Is it dangerous to live close to wind turbines? : By Linda Stewart : Monday, 3 August 2009 : Northern Ireland’s potential to lead the way on green power could be threatened by fears of health dangers to people living near wind turbines. Renewable energy experts have pointed out that Northern Ireland is ideally placed to capitalise on wind and wave energy, cutting its heavy reliance on imported power — but the race to go green could be held up by damning new research from a leading New York paediatrician. Dr Nina Pierpoint has warned that living too close to wind turbines can cause heart disease, tinnitus, vertigo, panic attacks, migraines and sleep deprivation in groundbreaking research due to be published later this year. Following studies of people living near wind turbines in the US, UK, Italy, Ireland and Canada for the past five years, she has identified a new health risk called wind turbine syndrome (WTS). She says the disruption of the inner ear’s vestibular system by low-frequency noise from the turbines is causing problems ranging from internal pulsation and quivering to nervousness, fear, a compulsion to flee, chest tightness and increased heart rate…”