Abstract
BackgroundThe wind turbine’s sound seems to have a proportional effect on health of people living near to wind farms. This study aimed to investigate the effect of noise emitted from wind turbines on general health, sleep and annoyance among workers of manjil wind farm, Iran.Materials and methodsA total number of 53 workers took part in this study. Based on the type of job, they were categorized into three groups of maintenance, security and office staff. The persons’ exposure at each job-related group was measured by eight-hour equivalent sound level (LAeq, 8 h). A Noise annoyance scale, Epworth sleepiness scale and 28-item general health questionnaire was used for gathering data from workers. The data were analyzed through Multivariate Analysis of variance (MANOVA) test, Pillai’s Trace test, Paired comparisons analysis and Multivariate regression test were used in the R software.Results and discussionThe results showed that, response variables (annoyance, sleep disturbance and health) were significantly different between job groups. The results also indicated that sleep disturbance as well as noise exposure had a significant effect on general health. Noise annoyance and distance from wind turbines could significantly explain about 44.5 and 34.2 % of the variance in sleep disturbance and worker’s general health, respectively. General health was significantly different in different age groups while age had no significant impact on sleep disturbance. The results were reverse for distance because it had no significant impact on health, but sleep disturbance was significantly affected.ConclusionsWe came to this conclusion that wind turbines noise can directly impact on annoyance, sleep and health. This type of energy generation can have potential health risks for wind farm workers. However, further research is needed to confirm the results of this study.
Highlights
The wind turbine’s sound seems to have a proportional effect on health of people living near to wind farms
The results indicated that sleep disturbance as well as noise exposure had a significant effect on general health
General health was significantly different in different age groups while age had no significant impact on sleep disturbance
Summary
The wind turbine’s sound seems to have a proportional effect on health of people living near to wind farms. This study aimed to investigate the effect of noise emitted from wind turbines on general health, sleep and annoyance among workers of manjil wind farm, Iran. Wind energy compared to the other forms of traditional energy generation has fewer health effects and for this reason has positive health benefits [1]. Compared with the health effects caused by unclean forms of traditional electricity generation, renewable energy generation is related to fewer adverse health effects [2]. In the Pederson study (2007) except for annoyance, there was no direct adverse health effects associated with wind turbine noise. Leventhall [7] concluded that wind turbine noise as a low frequency sound could have adverse effects on person’s health and cause sleep disorder. According to the World Health Organization, noise annoyance has detrimental effects on health-related quality of life [10]
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