Exposition an Windkraft-Schall führt zu Erkrankungen

Das Australische Oberverwaltungsgericht – ATT – bestätigt Sarah Laurie und die Waubra Foundation

Erstmalig auf der Welt hat das australische Oberverwaltungsgericht – Australia’s Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) –  erklärt, dass die “Lärmbelästigung” durch von Windkraftanlagen erzeugtem niederfrequenten Schall und Infraschall “einen plausiblen Weg in die  Krankheit” darstelle, der auf einem begründeten Zusammenhang zwischen Schallbelastung und einigen Erkrankungen beruht, einschließlich Bluthochdruck und kardiovaskuläre Erkrankungen, die möglicherweise teilweise durch Schlafstörungen und / oder psychischen Stress / Distress ausgelöst werden.

Das australische Gericht stellte ebenfalls fest, dass ” die A-Bewertung – dB (A) –  nicht dazu ausgelegt ist, Schall von Windkraftanlagen zu messen und somit hierfür ungeeignet ist”

Dass die A-Bewertung  jedoch die Grundlage jeder weltweit im Einsatz befindlichen Lärmschutzrichtlinie für Windenergieanlagen darstellt

Die Feststellung des AAT bedeutet somit, dass jede dieser Lärmrichtlinien auf akustischem Unsinn beruht und daher völlig bedeutungslos ist.
Übersetzung JR

Mit besonderem Dank an Sarah! Ihrem unermüdlichen Einsatz mit der Waubra Stiftung, für die Aufklärung zu den Auswirkungen von ILFN emittiert von WEA auf die Gesundheit, haben wir dieses für australische Schallopfer bahnbrechende Urteil zu verdanken. Ebenfalls Dank gilt allen Wissenschaftlern aus Akustik, Medizin und Forschung, die Sarah vor Gericht mit ihren Zeugenaussagen unterstützt haben bei der Vermittlung von Hintergrundwissen.

Auch wenn das AAT noch lange nicht alle Zusammenhänge der Auswirkungen von WEA-Schall,  vom Hör- über Infraschall und vor allem nicht die Rolle der Vibrationen durch Körperschall erkannt hat, so ist diese Bestätigung dennoch ein Meilenstein auf dem Weg in die ideologie- und lobbyfreie Aufklärung.
Auch in Deutschland arbeiten Windkraftlobbyisten hart, um die verheerenden Auswirkungen der Vibrationen und Schwingungen, hervorgerufen durch Körperschall zu verleugnen. Ausgerechnet eine der Wissenschaften zur Schallausbreitung und Auswirkungen auf den Organismus, die bereits seit 1980 bis heute durch Prof. Mariana Alves Pereira und Dr. Nuno Castelo Branco als Vibroakustische Erkrankung (VAD) intensiv erforscht ist, die in Portugal Berufsunfähigkeitsrenten und Schadenersatz für Schallopfer, von Kabinen- und Flugfeldpersonal bis zu Anwohnern von WEA, nach sich ziehen kann und in Deutschland immerhin mit der Abrechnungsziffer T75.2 ,”Schwindel durch Infraschall” und “Schäden durch Vibrationen” gewürdigt wird…
Dass der DIN-Ausschuss zur 9613-2 sich immer noch schwer tut, das Zusammenspiel von Infra- und Körperschall in der Überarbeitung der DIN zu berücksichtigen, ist ebenfalls den zahlreichen Lobbyisten mit wirtschaftlichen und ideologischen Interessen geschuldet.
Nutzen Sie diese neuen Information aus Übersee und informieren Sie Ihre Politiker und Behörden vor Ort, sowie insbesondere die Bund/Länderarbeitsgemeinschaft Immissionsschutz – LAI – und die Arbeitsgruppen der DIN Kommission!
JR

https://stopthesethings.files.wordpress.com/2017/12/waubra-and-acnc-decision.pdf

Besonders lesenwert ab Seite 141, Punkt 467 des Urteils die wichtigsten Tatsachenfeststellungen und Schlussfolgerungen zu Schall und Gesundheit:

ZUSAMMENFASSUNG DER WIRKUNG DER MEDIZINISCHEN UND WISSENSCHAFTLICHEN BEWEISE
Nutzen Sie ggf. einen Übersetzer Ihrer Wahl:

SUMMARY OF THE EFFECT OF THE MEDICAL AND SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE

On our analysis, a number of propositions emerge from the medical and scientific evidence. Some of those propositions had unanimous support by the relevant experts, and others had the support of most.

The propositions which we understand have unanimous support from the relevant experts or are not contested include the following:

• Wind turbines emit sound, some of which is audible, and some of which is inaudible (infrasound);
• There are numerous recorded instances of WTN exceeding 40 dB(A) (which is a recognised threshold for annoyance/sleep disturbance);
• There are also recorded instances of substantial increases in sound at particular frequencies when particular wind farms are operating compared with those at times when they are shut down. [Measurements undertaken at the Waterloo wind farm showed that “noise in the 50 Hz third-octave band was found to increase by as much as 30 dB when the wind farm was operational compared to when it was shut down” – Exhibit A51, p 2.]
• If it is present at high enough levels, low frequency sound and even infrasound may be audible;
• WTN is complex, highly variable and has unique characteristics;
• The amount and type of sound emitted by a wind farm at a given time and in a given location is influenced by many variables including topography, temperature, wind speed, the type of wind turbines, the extent to which they are maintained, the number of turbines, and their mode of operation;
• Wind farms potentially operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week;
• There are numerous examples of WTN giving rise to complaints of annoyance from nearby residents, both in Australia and overseas.

The propositions which are supported by the preponderance of relevant expert opinion, and which we accept on that basis, include the following:

• A significant proportion of the sound emitted by wind turbines is in the lower frequency range, i.e. below 20 Hz;
• The dB(A) weighting system is not designed to measure that sound, and is not an appropriate way of measuring it. It is even acknowledged in the International Standard, ISO 1996-1 that the A-weighting system alone is “not sufficient to assess sounds characterized by tonality, impulsiveness or strong low-frequency content” – Exhibit A29, T43/8; Section 6.1; “Acoustics – Description, measurement and assessment of environmental noise – Part 1: Basic quantities and assessment procedures”, International Standard ISO (1996-1).
• The most accurate way of determining the level and type of sound present at a particular location is to measure the sound at that location;
• The best way of accurately measuring WTN at a particular location is through ‘raw’ unweighted measurements which are not averaged across time and are then subjected to detailed “narrow-band” analysis;
• When it is present, due to its particular characteristics, low frequency noise and infrasound can be greater indoors than outdoors at the same location, and can cause a building to vibrate, resulting in resonance;
• Humans are more sensitive to low frequency sound, and it can therefore cause greater annoyance than higher frequency sound;
• Even if it is not audible, low frequency noise and infrasound may have other effects on the human body, which are not mediated by hearing but also not fully understood. Those effects may include motion-sickness-like symptoms, vertigo, and tinnitus-like symptoms. However, the material before us does not include any study which has explored a possible connection between such symptoms and wind turbine emissions in a particular population.

We consider that the evidence justifies the following conclusions:

• The proposition that sound emissions from wind farms directly cause any adverse health effects which could be regarded as a “disease” for the purposes of the ACNC Act is not established;
• Nor, on the current evidence, is there any plausible basis for concluding that wind farm emissions may directly cause any disease;
• However, noise annoyance is a plausible pathway to disease. We note the World Health Organization has stated: “There is sufficient evidence from large-scale epidemiological studies linking the population’s exposure to environmental noise with adverse health effects. Therefore, environmental noise should be considered not only as a cause of nuisance but also a concern for public health and environmental health”– Exhibit A4, T287/5709, citing “WHO. Burden of disease from environmental noise.” World Health Organization; 2011 [viewed April 2013]; Available from: http://www.euro.who.int/en/what-we-publish/abstracts/burden-of-disease-from-environmental-noise.-quantification-of-healthy-life-years-lost-in-europe as referenced by Professor G Wittert in Exhibit 56 NHMRC Draft Information Paper: Evidence on Wind Farms and Human Health, “Expert Review: Comments in full”, National Health and Medical Research Council, February 2015, Appendix 8; and Exhibit 4, T299/6308, Reference No. 40, WHO “Burden of disease from environmental noise”. Bonn: World Health Organization European Centre for Environment and Health, 2011. Available from: http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/136466/394888.pdf
• There is an established association between WTN annoyance and adverse health effects (eg. this was established by the Health Canada study);
• There is an established association between noise annoyance and some diseases, including hypertension and cardiovascular disease, possibly mediated in part by disturbed sleep and/or psychological stress/distress. This is also supported by much of the documentary material before us, including a Victorian Department of Health publication entitled “Wind farms, sound and health”, Technical Information, at 7. How can noise affect our health? – Exhibit A4, T297/6232362.
• There are as yet no comprehensive studies which have combined objective health measurements with actual sound measurements in order to determine for a given population the relationships between the sound emissions of wind turbines, annoyance, and adverse health outcomes. Indeed there is as yet no study which has given rise to a soundly based understanding of the degree to which particular types or levels of wind turbine emissions give rise to annoyance, or what levels or types of emissions are associated with what level of annoyance in the population. Because it relied on calculated rather than actual sound measurements, and was limited to the A and C-weighted systems, the Health Canada study did not do this.

…

The applicant submitted that the evidence in the hearing provided plausible and credible evidence of the kind required. Counsel referred in particular to the effect of noise on sleep and, in particular, in disturbing sleep. It was not contentious that impaired sleep, if sufficiently serious, may result in a number of ailments and diseases. Professor Wittert said that “depression and sleep disturbance are, respectively, the first and third most common psychological reasons for patient encounters in general practice”. The professor went on to say that insomnia doubles the risk of future development of depression and that insomnia symptoms together with shortened sleep are associated with hypertension. Professor Wittert also said that a person suffering from restricted sleep is exposed to an increased risk of elevated blood sugar levels and endocrine disorders such as diabetes, symptomatic ischaemic heart disease, hypertension, obesity, insomnia and anxiety related illnesses.

The applicant emphasised that Environmental Sleep Disorder has been recognised in the International Classification of Diseases, although there does appear to be some controversy about its existence as a separate and discrete condition.

We also note that the evidence indicated that the annoyance resulting from noise during sleeping times may be greater for those with a noise sensitivity or who have become sensitised to noise.

As our earlier findings have indicated, some wind farms generate sound which is capable of causing, and does cause, annoyance. We are further satisfied that annoyance of the kind which is generated (often associated with psychological distress and sleep disturbance), is a recognised pathway to a range of adverse health outcomes, including hypertension and cardiovascular disease.

Alles lesen und nutzen:

https://stopthesethings.files.wordpress.com/2017/12/waubra-and-acnc-decision.pdf

Aus STT – Stop These Things

Australian Court Finds Wind Turbine Noise Exposure a ‘Pathway to Disease’: Waubra Foundation Vindicated

In a World first, Australia’s Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) has declared that the “noise annoyance” caused by wind turbine generated low-frequency noise and infrasound “is a plausible pathway to disease” based on the “established association between noise annoyance and some diseases, including hypertension and cardiovascular disease, possibly mediated in part by disturbed sleep and/or psychological stress/distress.

https://stopthesethings.com/2017/12/09/australian-court-finds-wind-turbine-noise-exposure-a-pathway-to-disease-waubra-foundation-vindicated/

Informationen zu Nationaler Rat für Gesundheit und Medizinische Forschung (NHMRC):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Health_and_Medical_Research_Council

Beispiele aus dem Urteil des ATT
Ab Seite 77

Concepts and Nomenclature
“Sound and “noise”

248.
The following helpful explanations are contained in the publication “

Systematic review  of the human health effects  of wind farms”  by  the  University  of  Adelaide (Systematic Review),  commissioned  by  the  National  Health  and  Medical  Research  Council  and published in 2013 (to which we will return shortly) […]
Ab Seite 81
The Systematic Review 

In 2012, the National Health and Medical Research Council (the NHMRC) commissioned
a systematic review by members of the University of Adelaide of the literature concerning
the  association  between  exposure  to  wind  farms  and  health  effects  on  humans.    The
result was  a  report  provided  to  the  NHMRC  to  which  the  parties  referred  as  “the
Systematic Review”.

Ab Seite 91
Medical recognition of adverse health effects from windfarms