Toronto Globe and Mail:

A Health Canada study has found no evidence to support a link between exposure to wind-turbine noise and health effects reported by people living near the towering structures.

The Wind Turbine Noise and Health Study, conducted over a four-month period in 2013, involved more than 1,200 residents in Southwestern Ontario and PEI whose homes were located at various distances from almost 400 of the electricity-generating structures in 18 wind-turbine developments.

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The study found no link between wind-turbine noise and respondents’ reports of sleep disturbances, dizziness, tinnitus, migraines or chronic headaches, increased blood pressure or ongoing health conditions such as heart disease, chronic pain or diabetes.

“None of these were associated with wind turbine noise exposure, nor was perceived stress,” a Health Canada spokesman said during a technical briefing with reporters.

“Some people did report these conditions. Some people had higher levels of perceived stress, higher blood pressure and so on,” said the spokesman. “But they were not linked to noise.”

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Health Canada says the study is the most comprehensive of any around the world that have looked at the potential effects of wind turbines on human health.

To conduct the study, researchers from Health Canada and Statistics Canada went door-to-door to households – 1,011 in Ontario, 227 in PEI – to administer a detailed questionnaire to one adult resident in each home.

A subgroup of residents also had measurements taken of health-related indicators, including hair analysis to determine long-term levels of the stress hormone cortisol, blood pressure, resting heart rate and sleep patterns.