Stress and the silent menace of wind farms
I have long- standing concerns about the stressful effects on human health of living next to wind turbines (Mail). In the late Fifties, I read an article in New Scientist magazine entitled The Next Sound You hear Will Be Deadly.
It described experiments carried out by French scientist Dr vladimir Gavreau, who developed a generator that emitted ultra-low acoustic frequencies which severely affected natural brain rhythms to such a degree that they could result in death.
This reference was awakened a few years ago when I read that residents living close to wind farms were exhibiting distressing symptoms of nervousness, insomnia, anxiety and similar unpleasantness.
Detailed examination revealed that the affected residents were suffering from long-term, low-level infrasound vibrations coming from the blades of the nearby turbines.
Little credence was given by the renewable energy providers to the victims’ complaints. They hid behind the industry standard eTSU-R-97 document, a paper developed by the industry, for the industry, detailing the acceptable levels of sound intensity from wind farms through various frequencies.
When this document was prepared, wind turbines were relatively small and vibrations correspondingly low. Now, turbines have grown in size, and their low frequency noise has grown, too. But the eTSU document applied back in the past is still cast in stone.
Two studies analysed by the Renewable energy Foundation raise further concerns. Research by G.P. van den Berg, of Groningen University, into the presence of low- frequency components in wind turbine noise establishes that measurable low-frequency noise is present.
It had been assumed that lowfrequency sound from wind turbines wasn’t a major annoyance factor as the blade passing frequency is about one hertz, where the human auditory system is relatively insensitive.
But the blade passing frequency modulates higher-frequency sounds and creates periodic sound.
Residents near wind turbines have observed that, often late in the afternoon or in the evening, the turbine sound acquires a distinct ‘beating’ character, the rhythm of which is in agreement with the blade passing frequency. This effect is stronger for modern, taller turbines. Professor Peter Styles, at Keele University, studied the vibrations from 60m-high wind turbines at Dun Law, in the Scottish Borders, and found that ‘considerable infrasound signals can be detected out to about 10km’.
Finally, it’s recognised that wind farms are impacting on people’s lifestyles more than previously admitted. The need to update the testing standard is paramount.
People should know the risks of living next to a wind farm. They cannot hear its sounds, but the effects are serious. JOHN LANGLEY, Newport, Isle of Wight.
Ringing the changes
aS a recently retired solicitor who specialised in road traffic cases, I also had to deal with those involving abuse of mobile phones and I thoroughly support the campaign to toughen penalties for using a handheld mobile phone while driving (Mail) — subject to two provisos.
First, the law doesn’t distinguish between someone like the lorry drivers pictured using their phones while driving at 50mph and someone making a call while stationary in, say, a motorway queue. The law must be changed to cover this.
Second, toughening penalties will make no difference without enforcement. at present, police resources are wasted on speed cameras which by and large catch motorists who are driving safely if slightly over the speed limit.
JOHN JOSEPHS, Northampton.
Selling out Glasgow
PeRchaNce M&S’s troubles with clothing sales has something to do with 30 years ago when it cancelled overnight its contract with William Baird & co of Glasgow and went to the Far east. Quality went down, sizing went haywire.
KEITH GOODWIN, Eastbourne, Sussex.
Brexit realities
ReMaINeRS must accept that we are leaving the eU and Leavers have no reason to worry. I don’t consider Leavers ignorant, but I do think some of the more complicated issues could have been explained much better than they were.
There seems to be a perception that immigrants are crooks, scroungers and health tourists.
No doubt some fall into that category, but the UK desperately needs immigrants.
Most are healthy young people doing jobs where insufficient British people are prepared to train for skilled posts or where our own workers are too ‘precious’ to stoop to menial jobs.
Leaving the Single Market poses a huge risk. eU countries may export £80 billion more to us than we do to them, in absolute terms, but that’s because there are 27 of them and only one of us.
In relative terms, 44 per cent of our exports go to the eU, but we take only eight per cent of the eU’s exports: we would miss them but they would hardly notice we’d left.
If we leave the single market, car prices will rise, regardless of what has been promised to Nissan. But such a rise is unlikely to hit the German car makers whose mainly luxury models aren’t as pricesensitive as the mostly economy models we export to the eU.
as for the often expressed view that leaving the eU will open up opportunities elsewhere, 56 per cent of our total exports already go to the rest of the world; one wonders where these new markets are and what are we going to sell them which we are not already selling?
countries like australia are apparently keen to do a trade deal with us, but that’s more likely to do with things they can sell us rather than what they can buy.
Leavers and Remainers need to step back from the nastiness tearing us apart. We’ve decided to leave — but surely not at all costs? collectively, the eU is huge compared with the UK and it can afford to make negotiations very difficult for us. MALCOLM SOUTHALL, Northfield, Birmingham.
Desk dining
I NOTe that most employees now take their lunch (which used to be called dinner) at their desk (Mail).
I’ve worked in quite a few manufacturing firms and the Works act, which should be displayed in the workplace, stipulated that the dinner break must be taken away from the place of work.
This applied to shift workers, too. Bigger firms had a canteen to allow this — and, considering the conditions in which I’ve worked, any chance for a break was welcome.
ALF BETTS, Bridgwater, Somerset.
Medical madness
I WROTe to health Secretary Jeremy hunt MP pointing out that large numbers of medical students who will qualify over the next few years are already thinking of applying to move abroad for better pay, working conditions and career prospects, and where they feel they will be more valued. I’ve been told this by my granddaughter, a medical student. Most medical students leave medical school with five or six years of student loan debt to pay back, loans taken out to pay for their university tuition fees.
To encourage new doctors to stay in the NhS, I suggested to Mr hunt that a good incentive would be to write-off one year of student loan debt for each year worked with the NhS after qualification.
The health Services in australia, New Zealand, canada etc must be delighted that we train large numbers of their junior doctors at no expense to them.
Mr hunt hasn’t considered my letter worthy of any response.
ALAN MILLER, Swanmore, Hants.
Freedom of speech?
GYMNaST Louis Smith has been banned from competing for two months for mocking Islam online (Mail). This is an appalling act of censorship. comedians routinely mock bishops and vicars in their acts, so if you can mock christianity, you can mock Islam, can’t you?
This is part of the general censorship since the Salman Rushdie affair. In a free world all ideas, beliefs, and opinions have to be treated equally. MARC HURSTFIELD,
Northfleet, Kent.
What a showman!
DOMINIc SaNDBROOK writes (Mail) that auntie BBc has lost her way when viewers had to suffer an episode of the ‘terrible’ Dick van Dyke Show from 1966.
I think Mr Sandbrook is assuming that because Dick van Dyke had a strange american/cockney accent in Mary Poppins, his Tv show must have been insufferable.
It was terrific — one of the most iconic comedy series seen on British Tv. The multi-talented van Dyke was sensational, as was Mary Tyler Moore. It made her a star.
There were many spin- offs, written by carl Reiner, considered one of the best comedy writers. his talented genes were handed down to his son, Rob — and what pleasures he’s given us with scripts such as When harry Met Sally.
BARRY BERNSTEIN, London N12.