Abstract
Wind turbines generate low-frequency noise (LFN, 20–200 Hz), which poses health risks to nearby residents. This study aimed to assess heart rate variability (HRV) responses to LFN exposure and to evaluate the LFN exposure (dB, LAeq) inside households located near wind turbines. Thirty subjects living within a 500 m radius of wind turbines were recruited. The field campaigns for LFN (LAeq) and HRV monitoring were carried out in July and December 2018. A generalized additive mixed model was employed to evaluate the relationship between HRV changes and LFN. The results suggested that the standard deviations of all the normal to normal R–R intervals were reduced significantly, by 3.39%, with a 95% CI = (0.15%, 6.52%) per 7.86 dB (LAeq) of LFN in the exposure range of 38.2–57.1 dB (LAeq). The indoor LFN exposure (LAeq) ranged between 30.7 and 43.4 dB (LAeq) at a distance of 124–330 m from wind turbines. Moreover, households built with concrete and equipped with airtight windows showed the highest LFN difference of 13.7 dB between indoors and outdoors. In view of the adverse health impacts of LFN exposure, there should be regulations on the requisite distances of wind turbines from residential communities for health protection.
Highlights
Wind turbines generate low-frequency noise (LFN, 20–200 Hz), which poses health risks to nearby residents
Among the 29 subjects recruited, 11 males and 13 females participated in the summer field campaign, while 9 males and 10 females participated in the winter field campaign, with 14 subjects (8 males, 6 females) participating in both seasons
We found that SDNN reduction (0.43% per 1 dB) due to lowfrequency noise (LFN) from wind turbines was slightly higher than the reduction in traffic noise exposure > 65 dBA (0.13% per 1 dB), in a similar range or slightly lower than those with a 10 μg/m3 increase in P M2.5 exposure (0.39 to 0.92%) and slightly lower than those with ambient temperatures (0.72% per 1 °C)
Summary
Wind turbines generate low-frequency noise (LFN, 20–200 Hz), which poses health risks to nearby residents. The indoor LFN exposure (LAeq) ranged between 30.7 and 43.4 dB (LAeq) at a distance of 124–330 m from wind turbines. In view of the adverse health impacts of LFN exposure, there should be regulations on the requisite distances of wind turbines from residential communities for health protection. In addition to the full noise spectrum, the Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) established regulations for LFN to avoid impacts on residents, since wind farms have been set up very close to residential communities. Hansen et al reported variations in indoor LFN levels (15–45 dB (LAeq)) for two households (houses made of sandstone/ concrete/iron or bricks with windows remaining closed or half open) at different distances from wind turbines[35]. This study assessed the indoor/outdoor differences in LFN exposure in several households located at varying distances from wind turbines. These households serve the purpose of demonstrating the potential impacts of influential factors
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