August 28th - The more I learn, the less I believe!

After getting the report back from the wind energy company (Kruger), I asked some friends and professionals about it. I had guesses and questions (you saw posted), but since I know very little about wind, noise, energy, etc., they were of course only my "common sense would dictate" reactions to what was happening. As I began getting feedback from people, it was AMAZING to me how accurate my guesses actually were. Of course, not explained expertly, but the theory basically correct. I have been investigating further "standing waves", and a bit about how sound travels, how it bounces, "acoustics", resonance, vibrations and waves..One web page I looked at refers to musical instruments, reflections and what happens when sound waves are "disturbed" or "blocked" (http://www.lightandmatter.com/html_books/3vw/ch04/ch04.html) I found it very interesting, especially since I thought about sound and instruments immediately when relating the location of our home and the sound waves and vibration coming from the turbines....

So what is so unbelievable??? I can not believe that wind companies, specifically the people responsible for the designing, engineering, building and erecting of these giant wind machines can actually claim that "there is no evidence" of sound or vibration emitted that will affect the population. And, how can our government and so many others sit by and disregard the complaints and facts presented by so many victims! It makes perfect sense that the wind, sound and vibration generated by such a massive machine would send these factors in the direction it is blowing - it further makes sense that if an object (such as a home) is in the direct path, it could act as an amplifier, and that the residence of that home would feel, hear and sense the disturbance!

My youngest has started grabbing at his left ear often and screaming. If his brother plays with certain toys that make noise, or yells, he cringes and cries and screams - this is a new thing, certainly not the ordinary. He has been checked by the family doctor a few times, but diagnosed as being " a little red in the ear" possibly an infection and treated with drugs. It keeps going on, more screaming - more drugs....His appointment with the pediatrician is finally coming up next month and hopefully they will be able to run some real tests to determine his problem and whether it is related to the turbines.

I understand that in the Strathroy area there are plans for several turbines to go up around a school! This I can not believe....exposing children to something that has been so readily complained about all day, every day for months!!! There is a girl on the news today who is 13 and wants to sail around the world unaccompanied and the government may not let her due to the possible danger, but they will allow an entire school full of children under 14 to be exposed to a potential hazard that may affect their learning ability, hearing, and who knows what else as they develop??? Sometimes this feels like a movie to me because I can not believe that there are human beings out there who are really willing to risk families and children for money.

So as I research and get feedback, I am writing a list of questions to send to Kruger for their "official" response. I asked several questions the day of and they promised to get back to me, but I have heard nothing....When the letter is finished, I will post it for you. I hope it helps someone, I hope it helps us!
Thanks, Nik

Yet Another Family Home taken by Wind Turbines....

This report is from Australia, and this could be Gerred and I speaking. I agree with this woman about being energetic and now that the wind turbines are spinning being ready for a nap by mid-afternoon...it's true, it affects your body, your mind and your spirit!!!!

When will the wind energy people be able to stop using the fact that there is "no conclusive evidence" as an arguement. If a store brand product or food item was causing this many complaints, it would be pulled from the shelves and investigated!

Please write to your local, provincial and federal government representatives and stop this before it affects someone you love!

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25964195-5006785,00.html

August 22 - windows open for the first time!

Today was a great day! It is cooler than it has been, AND, we were actually able to open the windows and turn off our a/c for the first time in months since the turbines are quiet today!!! Hopefully they stay that way so we can leave the windows open for the evening and enjoy the fresh, cool breeze. If they start up again, we'll have to shut everything up and turn our a/c on....very expensive, and not near as nice to sleep in.....nik

August 20th - Kruger representative visit

It is currently 10:00 am, the representative from Kruger Energy just left...I called the two men who were here the other day to come out and have a listen since the turbines were rather loud this morning...One arrived about 9:30 and came into one of the upstairs bedrooms to have a listen. We could definitely hear the "woosh, woosh" of the turbines even with the kids watching tv downstairs. I tried to explain that when we are asleep at night that it is even louder, and that a few nights ago I could even hear it over a movie I was watching in that room. I even had him lie down on the bed because it seems to be louder when you are in a restful state. At that moment it even occured to me that the wall behind the bed could be acting as a conductor as well. He called to find out the amount being produced at present and although I can not remember the two numbers he said, he stated that they were giving max output at present. He asked "does this really keep you awake?"...I told him YES, it does. and that a few minutes of listening is nothing compared to months of the endless drone and the humm and the noise while trying to sleep...We went out back of the house to listen next and found that the turbines noise was loudest between the house and turbines, and not quite as loud when we stood over to the far side of the house. We discussed placement and my theory of the sound bouncing off the house. As we stood there, my right ear started to "throb" for lack of a better word (like being on a plane, or that thump, thump you get when a window is open in a car and you are travelling at a high speed). I asked if he could feel it, and his response was "sorry, no, I'm fine". I said maybe it was different sensitivity, or perhaps the result of exposure over a long period of time to which his response was that he works near the turbines all the time. He mentioned that when he was up on their operations building the other day with 6 turbines pointing at him he could not hear them, but he admitted that with only two (three actually) near us he could hear them. he also mentioned that this is "as loud as they would get", but I had to strongly disagree as this is not the loudest they have been...to which he indicated that when MOE has them test the noise they are measuring at lower levels and perhaps this is why. I do think they are actually louder when they are turning a bit slower, or perhaps when different environmental affects are in place (humidity, air pressure, etc.)

I still don't believe he is convinced that this noise is a problem, nor do I believe that he thinks any of our health problems or complaints of vibration and ear problems are legitimate concerns, or perhaps he does realize it at some level but certainly as an employee of the energy company I can not see that being openly admitted to us. I told him of my youngest holding his left ear this morning and screaming that it hurt. I told him of my headaches being a bit better but that my throat has been sore and I have had some problems. (My doctor is sending me to an ear, nose and throat specialist to rule out any inner problems as she can find nothing wrong and does not rule out the turbines as a possible cause of the problems I am experiencing). He said he would make a few calls and then he left. I thanked him for coming out, but I am not sure it did any good. My objective is to create an understanding of these Kruger representatives that this is not just something that is "in our heads", this is in fact a REAL problem. I regret to say that I feel it will take many more visits before we receive any type of sympathy or real problem solving effort. I hope I am wrong and that we are being taken seriously, but there always seems to be "another" point made about the weather changes causing headaches, dry eyes, etc....He mentioned that he had had some issues with dry eyes the past couple of days, and it's funny, I did not have the serious dry eyes this morning. I don't think that these people want to admit it - although, I don't know how much longer they can turn a blind eye as more and more victims come forward.
I also told the representative of our plans to try to shield ourselves from the noise by installing spray foam insulation and three pain windows as well as new siding, etc. He was either unable or unwilling to express whether that might help. It occurred to me that I should try to find out whether this type of thing has been done and been helpful in the past so I am going to ask the Energy company about that formally. Surely, there must have been others before us who have tried to block the sounds out of their home - Anyone out there who knows of anyone who has made these attempts, it would be greatly appreciated to hear from you....this is a very costly endeavour and if it doesn't work, it will be very, very disappointing...

Nik

August 19th, 2009 - Thanks for the support

Thank you everyone for your support. It's been great to get some feedback and ideas on the report Kruger supplied to us. I have rec'd some great ideas and insights as to what could be the cause of the 120Hz noise inside our home. I am going to try all of your suggestions as a fix.

My youngest was back at the doctor's office again last night with ear problems that were again diagnosed as infection. This is the third time in as many months that they have dosed him with penicillan. I realize this could be common childhood issues as ear nose and throat problems can be quite common, but I worry that the turbines noise and vibration is affecting him - no way to know for sure. Our family doctor has admitted that she really doesn't know much about the effects of turbines, and really, should she be expected to? Shouldn't the wind companies and our government be providing information on the harms? - hmmm, a funny picture just popped into my head - Imagine if the turbines were labelled like cigarettes with graphic warnings - Picture a turbine with a big picture on the side of it of a women holding her hands to her ears plastered on the side of it and the caption - Turbine noise may cause disturbance to locals: And another, with someone lying awake - turbines may cause sleepless nights: And another with a Green person - turbines may cause nauseousness!!!
I know it's not funny, but I just have to laugh when I see more and more victims from all over the world coming forward and it seems not a thing being done about it...otherwise I will cry....
Here is a link to a video that someone sent me. It is a news report and this poor woman is completely surrounded - I picture this being me in a few years if they continue to erect turbines near and around our home as is planned.....


http://video.ninemsn.com.au/video.aspx?mkt=en-au&brand=ninemsn&tab=m164&mediaid=224784&from=39&vid=06F65387-45FD-47C5-B17E-A99C5BDF3C4A&playlist=videoByTag:mk:en-AU:vs:0:tag:aunews_auaca:ns:MSNVideo_Top_Cat:ps:10:sd:-1:ind:1:ff:8A#::187803a0-6356-467d-ab0c-0d0dbd5cdf57

August 17th - met with Kruger representatives

On Friday afternoon, we were visited by two representatives from Kruger wind energy regarding the noise testing they had done months ago. Unfortunately, my husband was at work, however, I sat at my kitchen table with the two representatives Jo Boland and Ron Anderson (Ron used to work for the municipality of CK and is now the Rural Development Manager for Kruger Energy). The report consisted of a cover letter referencing the Aercoustics (independent engineering firm) study as well as technical notes from Siemens (the company that builds and services the turbines I believe). The last paragraph of the cover letter reads "The report concludes that "the wind-farm is now operating within the sound-level limits set by the MOE". In an effort to better understand and confirm the noise levels being experienced presently at this location, KEPA will proceed with noise measurements at the site".

A second letter attached was to Kruger Energy from Jakob Skjoeth, Seimens Engineer and David Janigan, Kruger Energy. It states that .."on june 2nd, 09, Seimens engineer Jakob Skjoeth, on request from Kruger Energy performed a test at the Port Alma wind site in order to investigate a perceived irregularity in the noise level coming from the turbines in low wind conditions.Based on this test, Seimens made an adjustment to the Seimens turbine converter parameters. This effectively eliminated the irregularity in the noise from the turbines. Mr. Skjoeth notes that the control loop settings were possibly too aggressive and created torque variations in the power-train, causing the unwanted noise. The adjustment that was implemented is being analyzed by Siemens engineers in Denmark to determine the final solution to this issue."

Then of course was the attached report. Joe read through the report, which was quite technical and I am not sure I understand all of the sound readings. To sum up, what was indicated was that a. Kruger found an odd noise and fixed it, and b. the turbines were running within allowable limits. The report contained several graphs and charts, but the actual readings were not attached, merely a summary of data charted. It seemed to me like the main focus was "averages" and "trends". My experience leaves me a bit skepical as I know that graphs, charts and trend lines can be laid out in various ways to show what the author would like them to show and omitting or camaflouging other details. I am sorry to sound distrustful, but I really feel like "the little fish in the big pond - expendable".

One odd thing in the report was that one paragraph indicated that the sound inside of our home did not correlate with the sound outside of our home.

On the bottom of page 2 "Review of the resident initiated recording.." this is where we heard the turbines very loudly and manually pressed the record button showed a similar distribution, some levels exceeding MOE limits, more falling below MOE limits. It should be noted that the noise may, in part, be due to sound emanating from inside the residence..." this is not likely due to sounds in our home as nearly every time we pressed the button it was the middle of the night and the house was silent except for the turbines ...When one compares the sound pressure levels inside the residence with the correspoding ones outside(figure 8), one sees that there is no linear correlation. Also, not all the sound recorded by the outdoor microphones are wind turbines noise. Sounds from road and farm vehicles are included as well..."
Then on page 3...."A 120 Hz tone can be idenitified on all spectra of the indoor sound (figure 11). Is is especially noticeable during periods when the turbines were generating little or no power. This tone does not appear on the coherence data, indicating that the sound is generated inside the dwelling and not associated with the sound from the wind turbines. It is well known that superposition of different tones of comparable amplitude will render the low frequency tones more audible, and annoying. There is little published data that would permit one to quantify the effect of this psycho-acoustic phenomenon on subjective response such as loudness and annoyance."
In the final minutes of the discussion, my questions were pretty basic. It seemed to me that they are working on averages and that would mean that they are in fact at times over the allowable limits of noise. I believe much more often than the report seems to indicate. I asked quite directly what we were supposed to do now since we still suffer symptoms, although they seem to have lessened with the milder weather, of sleeplessness, dizziness, and extremely dry morning eyes.

Joe asked me if I believed that all of that could be attributed to the wind turbines. He went so far as to provide examples of how he himself does not sleep well for example if he is stressed out from work, and that sometimes when the pressure changes his eyes can feel dry as well. I explained that we had none of these symptoms prior to the erection of the wind turbines and also that a sleepless night or two is nothing compared to weeks and months on end with little relief.

Of course, my next question was about the "extra" noise they say we have in our house. I asked what could cause a 120 Hz tone that seemed to be rather consistent. Niether could answer that question but suggested that if we could find out what it is, we could eliminate it and that might eliminate the enhanced effects we feel we are getting from the turbines. They promised to ask about it and see if there were any suggestions as to what could be causing it. My immediate thought was that since the microphone was placed directly behind the computer, perhaps the computer (which is one of the few things that is usually always on at our home) could be the cause. However, when the microphone was being installed by the technicians in our home, I remember asking them if I needed to shut down the computer at night and they said that this type of noise would not be picked up....

I could not really say much. What could I say? They were here to tell me that the turbines are not too loud, nor causing us any discomfort. I said to both of them that I would really like it if they could come here when the turbines are bad and spend time in the house and then tell me that there is no noise. Joe offered to come anytime during the day if I called, but as I told him, the problems are most noticeable at night... I thought it was ironic that Joe mentioned that he had told me to call him with problems and questions on our last visit and that he had not heard anything from me.... I found this funny. Did he want me to call him every day with the same complaint? Was he actually asking that I pester him with the same questions, which of course his only answer would likely have been that they were still waiting for the results. I could not help but feel like I was being "blamed" for not doing my part in calling and reporting each incident, day after day.

Ron did give me his card and said I could call him when they were noisy. I had planned to do this at first opportunity - which would have been late this afternoon and early this evening as I noticed they were very loud, but to be honest, I just couldn't bring myself to give up my Sunday with my kids to spend time with a man I don't know visiting my home to hear the turbines. I am not at all worried that there will be plenty more opportunities to share these noises, but today was not that day.

As I sit here typing this blog information, I am thinking more and more about this 120 Hz sound that is in our home that is apparently amplifying the way we "feel" the turbines and it makes me wonder this: If they are saying the combination of various tones can "render low frequency tones more audible and annoying", what is the expectation? Does this mean that people who live in homes near wind turbines are to live without new technologies? Does it mean computers? cell phones? refridgerators? air conditioning? freezers? flourescent lights? I imagine that all of these things give off some sort of low frequency tone.

Further, I find it odd that the inside noise is greater than the outside noise. But as I think about it, it seems sort of true to me. When I stand outside on the porch at night, I can hear the turbines, but I can also hear other sounds in the night - the wind in the trees, the frogs, the birds sometimes, etc. When I lie in bed at night in the silence, I hear only the woosh, woosh, woosh of the turbines, and they almost seem louder, closer, more enhanced somehow - Could it be that the house itself amplifies the noise somehow? Could a home be a conductor? Could our house be positioned in such a way that we are hearing several turbines...they are after all lined up, so perhaps one amplifies another and so on until it reaches our windows....Why are all of these things not considered? Could this be a reason why some people in some locations feel the effects more than others...it is interesting that from what I have noticed, other than those who are suseptible to the turbines for health or other reasons, the affected seem to sit in 'clumps'. Could it be the topography? underground conductors, the building construction? So many unanswered questions and the only thing I know for sure is that our symptoms correlate with the turbines.

The few days before my meeting with Kruger the windmills were not running at all (apparently they were on shutdown). These past two days, especially today, I noticed I am again very, very tired. I laid beside my young son today and fell asleep for 2 hours in the middle of the day! This is not the norm for me. I account it to the fact that my rest is not proper even though I am "asleep" at night.

I don't really know what else to say at this point except that we will be waiting for answers from Kruger regarding this "tone" in our home, and we will continue to report our discomforts and the noise of the turbines. Kruger did note, as mentioned above, that KEPA will condintue with noise measurements at the site. I am going to request that these next noise measurements be done when the leaves are off the trees, and the wind is actually blowing...this may give a better representation of the actual noise we hear.

By the way, if anyone knows of a great piece of property with 15 or more acres of trees on it, not too far from Chatham and without turbines nearby - please let me know...it took us several years of looking to find this home we live in, but if another became available that was turbine free, I would move today!

Goodnight all, Nik (sorry about the spelling, fonts,bold and italic -it's far too late to sweat the small stuff)

Scarborough Residents Protest Proposed Wind Turbines

Tuesday August 11, 2009
CityNews.ca Staff

A group of angry Scarborough residents gathered Tuesday night to protest proposed wind turbines off the Scarborough Bluffs. Find out why they're fighting the plan, and what Premier Dalton McGuinty had to say about it all in the video below.


http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_36426.aspx

August 11 - Turbines Not Running!!!!!

Two nights ago during the terrible storm, the turbines combined with the thunder and lightening to make for a very long and sleepless night, but yesterday and today they have not moved at all! This is great news for us, but with the heat and humidity so high, I have to wonder what good they are if they don't spin during these times of required electricity...it was this time last year when we had the big blackout - how can the turbines assist with shortages if they do not spin when we need them most?

All I can say is that it sure was a good feeling driving home from town this afternoon and seeing that NONE of them were turning at all! I hope that they stay this way a few more days so we can get some rest....

It's funny though, even though they were not turning yesterday, I still felt dizzy through most of the day and exhausted, I know it was from lack of sleep that I felt tired, but I wonder about the dizziness and whether the strong affects of the turbines takes some time to wear off...sort of like getting off a boat you have been on for a long duration and it takes a while to feel like you are walking on land again......
Not observed
Temperature: 22.3°C
Pressure: 101.4 kPa
Tendency: falling
Dewpoint: 22.3°C
Humidity: 100 %
Wind: N 6 km/h
Humidex: 32



Nik

August 8th - Very Interesting News from Australia

This morning was a "dry eye" morning again, but other than that not too bad as symptoms go until about 3:30 pm when we all felt extremely tired and fell asleep for nearly 3 hours, waking groggy and feeling the vibrations on the bed!!!

However, I did receive an interesting email informing me of the following article. (Thank you for sharing this news story with me.) I am at a lost at how our own government can continue to ignore not only the local complaints, but also the amazing amount of information coming in from the United States and all over the world about the Fact that Wind Energy is not the way of the future, but instead, an expensive project that does not fulfill it's requirement....

Please read the attached article and know that many of us here in Ontario share this dream of stopping the wind turbine projects....

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25877969-5000117,00.html

August 7, Disturbing Information

I rec'd an email that tells me that a comment was sent to one of the wind sites that was very insensitive - not completely out of the norm, however, it seems that the message came from a computer at the ministry of natural resources. I find that very disturbing, do you?

You can click the title of this post to go to the website and see the report - Natural Resources Canada Gets NASTY!

Also See email below:

Sent: Thursday, August 06, 2009 8:32 AM

Please send this link to every MP. This is outrageous! Another Ontario family is driven from their home and THIS is the government we have to deal with!


Natural Resources Canada Gets NASTY!
The following comment was sent anonymously to the WCO website regarding Barbara Ashbee having to vacate her her home:

Please let me know when the property comes up for sale. Since everyone claims that property values will decrese, I will expect a bargain basement price!

Not only does this person not know how to spell but I checked the IP address of the originator of this comment and lo and behold:

OrgName: Natural Resources Canada
OrgID: NRC-41
Address: 580 Booth Street
City: Ottawa
StateProv: ON
PostalCode: K1A-0E4
Country: CA

Author : (IP: 132.156.196.29 , 132.156.196.29) E-mail :
URL :
Whois :
http://ws.arin.net/cgi-bin/whois.pl?queryinput=132.156.196.29

August 5th - 10:44 pm

Last Night(Tuesday) was almost as bad as the night before. I got home about 10:30 and when I went to bed at 11pm it had been a great day (especially considering I had no sleep the night before), however, as soon as my head hit the pillow, the bed began "spinning". I had nothing to drink, I was not ill, but I could hear the windmills and it literally felt as though the bed was "spinning"...every time I shut my eyes, I felt dizzy and queazy...it lasted a few minutes, and I just tried to relax and fall asleep...I think that since I was so tired from the night before I just fell asleep (a blessing in disguise I think)...In the morning, when I woke up, my eyes felt dry and irritated, scratchy and I felt unrested. My youngest woke up terribly cranky and insisted his legs and arms hurt. My oldest complained also of aches and pains and said - " I didn't sleep at all mommy" When I asked him why not he just said he didn't know. I don't think he was up in the night, but he definately did not feel rested judging by his comments and behaviour. My husband when he came down stairs said to me "what can we do about this dry eye thing in the morning? My eyes are killing me" I knew exactly what he was talking about as mine felt the same way...
While I was up at three am blogging the other night, I sent emails to the mayor and all of the CK councillors inviting them to take a look at my blog. I have emailed and left voice mails for several of them previously. I have never heard back from any of them, except one. Art Stirling was the only councillor who bothered to reply to our concerns. Although I don't feel he is able to help us much, I do appreciate that at least he had the courtesy to respond and acknowledge our concerns. Perhaps I am impatient and others will as well, but since this is not my first attempt, I am doubtful. We have not rec'd any information from the wind company yet and it's been months since they did the noise testing. I will give them another call tomorrow, but I won't hold my breath for any new information or assistance. A comment was left on my last post that during the time we were so bothered by the turbines that the Port Alma project had been running at 80-90% for over 12 hours...that would certainly explain the noise and intense symptoms, but I wonder how you find out that information. Blogger, if you can let me know where I can find that, it would be much appreciated. Seems quiet enough right now, but a couple of hours ago, the turbines were beginning to turn towards us again - too bad, we were hoping they would stay facing the other way and give us a bit of a break again........Nik
Temperature: 17.7°C
Pressure: 101.8 kPa
Tendency: falling
Dewpoint: 14.3°C
Humidity: 81 %
Wind: SSW 4 km/h

August 4th 3 am - No sleeping with this noise

It is 3am and there is no sleeping going on at this house! As I type, I am waiting on the line for the spill action centre to entre by complaint so that i can get a confirmation number and my little one is crying for me to come and "snuggle him" because he is also awake from the turbine noise and complains to "turn off the fan"...when I went to bed tonight at 11:30, I could not believe how loud the "woosh, woosh" sound was even over the ceiling fan turning in the bedroom. Tonight is one of the loudest we have heard in a while. I was able to fall asleep but have been awake for about an hour now listening to the sound.....
I was away in Toronto last week(3 nights) and although I had full relief from the turbines (all of my symptoms disappeared completedly), I was awakened by the planes flying overhead my airport hotel - The difference: when the plane flew over, it went away and I quickly fell back to sleep! This noise does not stop and keeps us all from sleeping...my oldest has been talking in his sleep "be quiet!" he shouts from his bed, and, he shouts to his brother to stop making so much noise, but I know it is not his brother - who is lying quietly, it is the wind turbines he hears...
1738-7ULA8Q is the number I have been given to know that my report to the MOE spills action centre has been received. It's a number. We are a number. My family is one of many who are a number in the sacrificial game that Ontario is playing called "let's build as many as we can, as quick as we can, and hope for the least amount of resistance"....
It's after 3am, I have to get up early for work, and I can not help but wonder while I get out of bed to blog and recored the event, make a required reporting phone call, calm my little one, and lie awake unable to sleep - Are the turbine management and representatives who told us there would be no noise, no disturbance, and that "we would hardly know they were there" able to sleep? Or do they lie awake nights thinking about the people who are suffering from the turbines and deal with their conscience and struggle with right and wrong? Do they know even more about the issues than they let on and wrestle with their feelings about the effects of the vibrations on my children's growing bodies and minds? Or, are they at home peacefully sleeping while counting their money in their dreams....

August 4th - 3:14am:
Chatham Kent
Temperature: 21.4°C
Pressure: 101.2 kPa
Tendency: falling
Dewpoint: 19.7°C
Humidity: 90 %
Wind: SSW 18 km/h
Humidex: 29