Family says wind farm noise made them sick

HALIFAX—A Nova Scotia man who abandoned his home, claiming noise from a nearby wind farm made his family sick, says a study by an audio expert proves his case—even though a new federal government report concludes the exact opposite.
Daniel d’Entremont and his family left their home in the southwestern Nova Scotia community of Lower West Pubnico last February.

D’Entremont says the 17 wind turbines that tower over the community—the closest just 400 metres away—were sending low-frequency vibrations into the house.
This inaudible noise, he claims, deprived his family of sleep, gave his children and wife headaches, and made it impossible for them to concentrate.
“We’ve only returned three nights, and whenever we return we feel this sensation in our body,” said d’Entremont, who now lives in nearby Abrams River with his wife and four of their children.
Two other children live on their own.
But a study released this month by the federal Natural Resources Department, which oversees funding for wind farm projects, found no problems with low-frequency noise, also known as infrasound.
The report, prepared by HGC Engineering of Mississauga, Ont., noted high levels of infrasound cannot be detected from the d’Entremont home and concludes it is not a concern.
Measurements “indicate sound at infrasonic frequencies below typical thresholds of perception; infrasound is not an issue,” said the report.
Charles Demond, president of Pubnico Point Wind Farm Inc., says he wasn’t surprised by the findings.
“It essentially says that there’s no issue whatsoever with infrasound.”
There’s no consensus about whether low-frequency vibrations from spinning wind turbines can affect the health of nearby residents.
Some experts deny the link outright while others urge further research.
D’Entremont has a study of his own that he says supports his claims. Gordon Whitehead, a retired audiologist with 20 years of experience at Dalhousie University in Halifax, conducted tests at d’Entremont’s home.
Whitehead said he actually recorded similar levels of low-frequency sounds in and around the home as listed in the federal report.
The difference, he says, is in his interpretation.
“They’re viewing it from the standpoint of an engineer; I’m viewing it from the standpoint of an audiologist who works with ears,” said Whitehead, who wrote the report on his own time and paid his own expenses.
“The report should read that [the sound] is well below the auditory threshold for perception. In other words, it’s quiet enough that people would not be able to hear it.
“But that doesn’t mean that people would not be able to perceive it.”
While it’s still not clear what, if anything, related to the wind farm was making the d’Entremonts sick, Whitehead said low-frequency noise can affect the balance system of the ear, leading to a range of symptoms including nausea, dizziness, and vision problems.
“It’s not perceptible to the ear, but it is perceptible,” he stressed. “It’s perceptible to people with very sensitive balance mechanisms and that’s generally people who get very easily seasick.”