The Huron County Health Unit has agreed to work with Wind Concerns Ontario and the University of Waterloo on a study of the impact of noise from wind turbines on people living near the turbines.
Wind Concerns President Jane Wilson says many people feel their complaints are not being heard, and the government isn't following up on them. She adds much of the research that's been done to date has been incomplete and only looked at part of the picture.
They are hoping to fill in those gaps with their study that will involve selecting sample families from the people that have already contacted the health unit, and recording things like their sleep patterns, measuring noise levels at several points in and around their homes, and then analyzing and publishing the results.
The Huron Board of Health passed a motion Thursday to be a partner in the study.
Wilson says in order to get accurate results, they have to test during all of the seasons. She says conservative estimates put the number of people who are sensitive to the noise at about 15%, and that can depend on weather conditions as well as pre-existing conditions like migraine headaches that could be irritated by noise from turbines.
Jane Wilson, Wind Concerns Ontario (photo by Bob Montgomery)