Two trials to study wind farms and human health

The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) yesterday awarded grants totalling $3.3 million to two trials into the effects of wind farms on human health.

According to NHMRC CEO Professor Anne Kelso, the funding is intended to support “high-quality, independent research on this issue”.

“To address this, we need well-designed studies conducted by excellent researchers in Australian conditions,” Professor Kelso continued.

“These grants directly support the Australian Government’s commitment to determine any actual or potential effects of wind farms.”

Associate Professor Peter Catcheside, from Flinders University in South Australia, received $1,357,652 to explore relationships between noise from wind farms and effects such as annoyances and reduced sleep and quality of life. His project will directly evaluate physiological disturbance characteristics of wind farm noise compared to traffic noise reproduced in a specialised and carefully controlled laboratory environment.

Professor Guy Marks, from the University of New South Wales, will meanwhile use $1,943,934 to investigate the broader social and environmental circumstances that may influence the health of people living near wind farms. Over one short- and one long-term study, sleep quality, balance, mood and cardiovascular health will all be measured.

The grants were awarded in response to the 2015 Targeted Call for Research into Wind Farms and Human Health, following the release of the NHMRC statement ‘Evidence on Wind Farms and Human Health’. The outcomes of the research will assist in developing policy and public health recommendations regarding wind turbine development and operations in Australia.

Originally published here.