Fright factors about wind turbines and health in Ontario newspapers before and after the Green Energy Act

Deignan, Benjamin; Harvey, E.; Hoffman‐Goetz, Laurie

doi:10.1080/13698575.2013.776015

Cited by 48 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…8 Deignan et al examined the local newspapers of six different communities with wind turbine developments in rural Ontario and found the vast majority of articles contained words or phrases with a fright factor such as ''dread,'' ''involuntary exposure,'' and ''poorly understood by science'' and concluded that these articles might produce fear, concern and anxiety in regard to wind turbines in readers. 14 Crichton et al were the first to test the nocebo hypothesis subjecting a group of 54 participants to either real or sham infrasound after half the participants had watched a video on the health effects of wind turbine noise designed to increase their expectations of harm, whilst the other half watched a video designed to play down their expectations of harm. The study found that participants exposed to material designed to increase their concern about the effects of wind turbine infrasound were more likely to report symptoms, even when in the sham group.…”

Section: The Nocebo Hypothesismentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of infrasound and negative expectations to adverse pathological symptoms from wind farms

Tonin¹,

Brett

Colagiuri

2016

Journal of Low Frequency Noise, Vibration and Active Control

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An investigation was conducted on the effect of reported pathological symptoms of simulated infrasound produced by wind turbines. There is ongoing debate in the scientific community concerning the cause of the negative health effects reported by people living near wind farms, whether those effects are caused by the infrasound itself, or alternatively by a psychogenic response (such as a nocebo effect) to a presumption that the infrasound is the cause. In this study, a simulated wind turbine infrasound pressure waveform was generated using a custom-built headphone apparatus. Volunteers were influenced into states of high expectancy of negative effects from infrasound, and low expectancy of negative effects and their reactions to either infrasound or a sham noise were recorded. It was found, at least for the short-term exposure times conducted here-in, that the simulated infrasound has no statistically significant effect on the symptoms reported by volunteers, but the prior concern volunteers had about the effect of infrasound has a statistically significant influence on the symptoms reported. This supports the nocebo effect hypothesis.

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Section: The Nocebo Hypothesismentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of infrasound and negative expectations to adverse pathological symptoms from wind farms

Tonin¹,

Brett

Colagiuri

2016

Journal of Low Frequency Noise, Vibration and Active Control

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“…As to visibility of 'fright factors' investigated in other media analyses (Abdelmutti & Hoffman-Goetz, 2009;Bennett, Calman, & Curtis, 2009;Burke, 2012;Deignan et al, 2013;Ekberg, 2007;Granatt, 2004;Meara, 2002;Verbeke, Frewer, Scholderer, & De Brabander, 2007), they were very little present in the newspapers we covered; for the most part we observed that articles especially from the Edmonton Journal and the Calgary Herald have a very upbeat tone regarding greening and are about businesses and individuals who are 'greening' their actions. However, it is not quite clear how much of an impact this upbeat coverage has especially as the economic factor was so evident.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Greening and Energy Issues: An Analysis of Four Canadian Newspapers

Wolbring¹,

Noga²

2013

JSD

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The concept of greening has been part of the public discourse for some time. The greening of energy, which is seen as essential for green growth and a green economy, which in turn is seen as essential for sustainable development, is part of this public discourse. Media is seen to be important in shaping public opinion. We investigated how two national Canadian newspapers (Globe and Mail and National Post) and two regional (Alberta) newspapers (Calgary Herald and Edmonton Journal) cover greening as it relates to energy issues. The key findings were: although 88% of newspaper articles that covered greening also covered energy issues, only 0.15% of the articles that covered energy issues also contained the term greening; greening was mostly framed in economical not environmental protection terms; many themes were covered but often only once in a given article and often in less than 10% of the overall articles. This analysis could give guidance to stakeholders such as industry and non-governmental organizations on how greening is discussed in relation to energy issues. The analysis suggests that there is a need for increasing the visibility of greening in energy covering articles, that a more analytical approach is needed linking it for example to the greening indicator discourse as indicators are envisioned to give guidance as to what to do how and that a rethinking of how stakeholders distribute their greening message as it relates to energy issues might be warranted.

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“…It is therefore important to consider the role of mass media in influencing public attitudes about wind turbines and how this may alter responses and perceived health impacts of wind turbines in the community. For example, Deignan et al (97) recently demonstrated that newspaper coverage of the potential health effects of wind turbines in Ontario has tended to emphasize "fright factors" about wind turbines. Specifically, Deignan et al (97) reported that 94% of articles provided "negative, loaded or fear-evoking" descriptions of "health-related signs, symptoms or adverse effects of wind turbine exposure" and 58% of articles suggested that the effects of wind turbines on human health were "poorly understood by science."…”

Section: Weight Of Evidence Conclusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, Deignan et al (97) recently demonstrated that newspaper coverage of the potential health effects of wind turbines in Ontario has tended to emphasize "fright factors" about wind turbines. Specifically, Deignan et al (97) reported that 94% of articles provided "negative, loaded or fear-evoking" descriptions of "health-related signs, symptoms or adverse effects of wind turbine exposure" and 58% of articles suggested that the effects of wind turbines on human health were "poorly understood by science." It is possible that this type of coverage may have a significant impact on attitudinal factors, such as fear of the noise source, that are known to increase noise annoyance (91)(92)(93).…”

Section: Weight Of Evidence Conclusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing Environmental Impacts of Offshore Wind Farms: Lessons Learned and Recommendations for the Future

Adaramola¹

2015

Wind Resources and Future Energy Security

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The association between wind turbines and health effects is highly debated. Some argue that reported health effects are related to wind turbine operation [electromagnetic fields (EMF), shadow flicker, audible noise, low-frequency noise, infrasound]. Others suggest that when turbines are sited correctly, effects are more likely attributable to a number of subjective variables that result in an annoyed/stressed state. In this review, we provide a bibliographic-like summary and analysis of the science around this issue specifically in terms of noise (including audible, low-frequency noise, and infrasound), EMF, and shadow flicker. Now there are roughly 60 scientific peer-reviewed articles on this issue.The available scientific evidence suggests that EMF, shadow flicker, low-frequency noise, and infrasound from wind turbines are not likely to affect human health; some studies have found that audible noise from wind turbines can be annoying to some. Annoyance may be associated with some self-reported health effects (e.g., sleep disturbance) especially at sound pressure levels >40 dB(A). Because environmental noise above certain levels is a recognized factor in a number of health issues, siting restrictions have been implemented in many jurisdictions to limit noise exposure. These setbacks should help alleviate annoyance from noise. Subjective variables (attitudes and expectations) are also linked to annoyance and have the potential to facilitate other health complaints via the nocebo effect. Therefore, it is possible that a segment of the population may remain annoyed (or report other health impacts) even when noise limits are enforced. Based on the findings and scientific merit of the available studies, the weight of evidence suggests that when sited properly, wind turbines are not related to adverse health. Stemming from this review, we provide a number of recommended best practices for wind turbine development in the context of human health.

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Fright factors about wind turbines and health in Ontario newspapers before and after the Green Energy Act

Cited by 48 publications

References 28 publications

The effect of infrasound and negative expectations to adverse pathological symptoms from wind farms

The effect of infrasound and negative expectations to adverse pathological symptoms from wind farms

Greening and Energy Issues: An Analysis of Four Canadian Newspapers

Assessing Environmental Impacts of Offshore Wind Farms: Lessons Learned and Recommendations for the Future

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