The Waubra Foundation. PO Box 7112 Banyule Vic 3084 Australia Reg. No. A0054185H ABN: 65 801 147 788 Patron Alby Schultz 14th April, 2014 Board Charlie Arnott, B. RuSci (Hons) Tony Hodgson, AM Sarah Laurie, BMBS (Flinders) (CEO) Mr A N Abbott Peter R. Mitchell AM, B.ChE (Chair) Piper Alderman Alexandra Nicol, B.Ag (Hons) GPO Box 65 Kathy Russell, B.Com, CA Adelaide SA 5001 The Hon. Clive Tadgell, AO The Hon. Dr. Michael Wooldridge, B.Sc. MBBS, MBA Provision of Expert Opinion concerning the Adverse Impacts of Wind Turbine Noise TruEnergy Renewable Developments v Goyder Regional Council , A W Coffey & H Dunn Dear Mr Abbott, I confirm that I have been provided with practice direction 5.4 relating to Expert Witnesses (Rule 160), and that I have read it and understood it. I have been asked by you to provide a report to address the following question: “Will noise or other direct or indirect consequences (and which consequences) of the operation of the Stony Gap wind farm erected as contemplated in the Application, and involving turbines of the type and dimensions referred to in the Application, in your opinion be likely to cause adverse health effects or significantly exacerbate existing adverse health effects to a significant percentage of the population living within up to 10 kilometers of the turbines from the Stony Gap Wind Farm?” In my opinion, it is inevitable that this proposed wind development, if built in this location with turbines of the specified size, will cause serious harm to the physical and mental health of a significant percentage of the surrounding population, including particularly to vulnerable groups such as young children, the elderly, and those with pre existing medical and psychiatric conditions, who live and work in the sound energy impact zone of this proposed Stony Gap Wind Farm (SGWF), out to a distance of at least 10 kilometers from the turbines, over the lifetime of the project. This harm will be caused directly by the audible and inaudible sound energy generated by the wind turbines, which will cause significant repetitive sleep disturbance, and physiological stress. The physiological mechanisms have been demonstrated in animals to be due to abnormal activation of the vestibular system and sympathetic nervous system by the effect of infrasound and low frequency noise (ILFN) on the inner ear. 1 These are serious adverse health effects, which lead to a range of other symptoms and illnesses by interfering with the hypothalamic-pituitary axis (“master” control mechanism of the endocrine system), disturbance of the autonomic nervous system and compromise of immunological competence. 2 This report is confined to the adverse health effects on human health from sound energy, reported by residents living near wind turbines as this is my specific area of knowledge and expertise. Other adverse health effects such 2 as symptoms and illnesses resulting from exposure to shadow flicker have certainly been reported by residents at wind developments, but are not addressed in this report. My opinion is informed by my direct knowledge of the reported health problems of residents living near existing Wind Turbine Developments, particularly in Australia and Ontario. My opinion is also informed by the known adverse health consequences resulting from exposure to environmental noise, and the known serious adverse health consequences of chronic sleep deprivation and chronic stress. Sleep deprivation 3 and stress 4 related symptoms are the commonest health complaints reported by residents living near wind turbines, and in my opinion, they are individually and collectively responsible for the observed and reported deterioration in some residents’ health with cumulative exposure to operating wind turbines. There is extensive and longstanding peer reviewed published clinical research detailing the known interconnections and associations between chronic sleep deprivation, stress and numerous clinical disorders 5 including ischemic heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, immune suppression resulting in increased infections and malignancies (cancers), depression, and anxiety. The observation of these particular preexisting symptoms and health problems worsening with exposure to wind turbine noise is not surprising to clinicians and mental health professionals, when they learn what is now known about the way infrasound and low frequency noise, regardless of the source of the noise, are known to affect health via repetitive sleep disturbance, and the physiological and psychological stress pathways.6 The specific reasons for my opinion are set out below. 1.0 General Background – Known Adverse Health Impacts From Sound Energy There is substantial and growing literature about the adverse health impacts resulting from environmental noise, regardless of the noise source. These have been documented in comprehensive World Health Organisation (WHO) and Government reports and literature reviews for many years. Night time noise is of particular concern and interest to most public health authorities, because of the long recognized need for restorative sleep to maintain health. Dr Alice Suter authored a comprehensive report on noise and its impacts for the Administrative Conference of the United States in 1991,7 and stated the following: “Noise has a significant impact on the quality of life, and in that sense, it is a health problem in accordance with the World Health Organization's (WHO) definition of health. WHO's definition of health includes total physical and mental well-being, as well as the absence of disease. Along these lines, a 1971 WHO working group stated: "Noise must be recognized as a major threat to human well-being." (Suess, 1973)” 1.1 World Health Organisation (WHO) Reports Detailing the Effects of Noise In 1999, the WHO issued a comprehensive report authored by Birgitta Berglund, Thomas Lindvall and Dieter Schwela called “Guidelines for Community Noise”.8 Listed in the “adverse health effects of noise section” are sleep disturbance, cardiovascular and physiological effects, mental health, and effects of noise on performance. This 1999 document references an earlier WHO document by Berglund and Lindvall and states (p 20): “In 1992, a WHO Task Force also identified the following specific health effects for the general population that may result from community noise: interference with communication; annoyance responses; effects on sleep, and on the cardiovascular and psychophysiological systems; effects on performance, productivity, and social behavior; and noise-induced hearing impairment (WHO 1993; Berglund & Lindvall 1995; cf. WHO 1980)”. CEO Mobile 61+ 0474 050 463 email: [email protected] www.waubrafoundation.org.au 3 The earlier WHO document was the 1995 document called “Community Noise” edited by Berglund & Lindvall. There is a significant body of research referenced in that document which informed the authors recommendations, which included the following extract from the abstract: “Noise measures or indices based only on energy summation are not enough for the characterization of most noise environments. This is particularly true when concerned with health assessment and predictions. It is equally important to measure and display the maximum values of the noise fluctuations, preferably combined with a measure of the number of noise events, and to assess whether the noise includes a large proportion of low frequency components. For dwellings, recommended guideline values inside bedrooms are 30 dB LAeq for steady-state continuous noise and for a noise event 45 dB LAmax.” 9 In 2009, the WHO issued a report called “Night Noise Guidelines for Europe” 10 which details the then known science relating to the effect of noise on sleep, and the adverse health consequences of sleep disturbance. Specific mention is made of the adverse impacts on children, cardiovascular health, mental health and the links between sleep disturbance with physiological stress. Given the vital importance of night time noise and its effects on sleep and therefore health to the issues being considered by this Court, numerous extracts have been reproduced in the subsequent section of this report at 2.4 Adverse Health consequences of Environmental Noise. Section 2.1.2 of the WHO 2009 report “Night Noise Guidelines for Europe” has a useful section on definitions of disturbed sleep with a description of what constitutes an “environmental sleep disorder”. It states: “Sleep disorders are described and classified in the International Classification of Sleep Disorders (ICSD) (American Academy of Sleep Medicine, 2005). When sleep is permanently disturbed and becomes a sleep disorder, it is classified in the ICSD 2005 as “environmental sleep disorder”. Environmental sleep disorder (of which noise-induced sleep disturbance is an example) is a sleep disturbance due to a disturbing environmental factor that causes a complaint of either insomnia or daytime fatigue and somnolence. Secondary deficits may result, including deficits in concentration, attention and cognitive performance, reduced vigilance, daytime fatigue, malaise, depressed mood and irritability. The most recent World Health Organisation publication called “Burden of disease from Environmental Noise” was issued in 2011, and makes it clear that noise pollution is considered a serious and growing public health problem in Europe. Specific acknowledged adverse health effects in that document include cardiovascular disease, cognitive impairment, sleep disturbance, tinnitus and annoyance. The final