Health Canada, wind turbines, poor health

According to Health Canada there is no link between poor health and wind turbines, a decision that some still disagree with. The conclusion by the agency is that wind turbines can cause stress, but that there is no direct link that shows these items actually cause poor health. In order to come to a conclusion federal scientists conducted the most comprehensive study of this kind so far, and many communities which host wind farms in the area were studied by the federal scientists to see whether the health of the populations were affected by the turbines. The researchers studied a total of 1,200 participants, all of whom lived within 2 kilometers of wind turbines in the Ontario and P.E.I. areas. The researchers did caution that the results of the Health Canada study only applies to the populations in the two areas that were used for the study, and do not necessarily apply to other areas.

The Health Canada study that looked for links between wind turbines and poor health did note that individuals in these areas did report some stress, which was reported as headaches and sleep disruptions, but the study results concluded that there is not anything which shows that these stressors resulted from wind turbines. An official with Health Canada stated “If someone indicated a higher level of perceived stress, (in some cases they) did have higher cortisol levels (a hormone released when an individual experiences stress). However, these (were) not related to wind turbine exposure.” Whether people believe the study results remains to be seen.