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micky wrote:
> Why do people make fun of trump for saying windmills cause cancer?
> 
> Windmills really do cause cancer.

This is generally true:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3653647/

Canadian family physicians can expect to see increasing numbers of rural 
patients reporting adverse effects from exposure to industrial wind 
turbines (IWTs). People who live or work in close proximity to IWTs have 
experienced symptoms that include decreased quality of life, annoyance, 
stress, sleep disturbance, headache, anxiety, depression, and cognitive 
dysfunction. Some have also felt anger, grief, or a sense of injustice. 
Suggested causes of symptoms include a combination of wind turbine 
noise, infrasound, dirty electricity, ground current, and shadow 
flicker.1 Family physicians should be aware that patients reporting 
adverse effects from IWTs might experience symptoms that are intense and 
pervasive and might feel further victimized by a lack of caregiver 
understanding.

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Background
There is increasing concern that energy generation from fossil fuels 
contributes to climate change and air pollution. In response to these 
concerns, governments around the world are encouraging the installation 
of renewable energy projects including IWTs. In Ontario, the Green 
Energy Act was designed, in part, to remove barriers to the installation 
of IWTs.2 Noise regulations can be a considerable barrier to IWT 
development, as they can have a substantial effect on wind turbine 
spacing, and therefore the cost of wind-generated electricity.3 
Industrial wind turbines are being placed in close proximity to family 
homes in order to have access to transmission infrastructure.4

In Ontario and elsewhere,5 some individuals have reported experiencing 
adverse health effects resulting from living near IWTs. Reports of 
IWT-induced adverse health effects have been dismissed by some 
commentators including government authorities and other organizations. 
Physicians have been exposed to efforts to convince the public of the 
benefits of IWTs while minimizing the health risks. Those concerned 
about adverse effects of IWTs have been stereotyped as “NIMBYs” (not in 
my backyard).6,7

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Global reports of effects
During the past few years there have been case reports of adverse 
effects. A 2006 Académie Nationale de Médecine working group report 
notes that noise is the most frequent complaint. The noise is described 
as piercing, preoccupying, and continually surprising, as it is 
irregular in intensity. The noise includes grating and incongruous 
sounds that distract the attention or disturb rest. The spontaneous 
recurrence of these noises disturbs the sleep, suddenly awakening the 
subject when the wind rises and preventing the subject from going back 
to sleep. Wind turbines have been blamed for other problems experienced 
by people living nearby. These are less precise and less well described, 
and consist of subjective (headaches, fatigue, temporary feelings of 
dizziness, nausea) and sometimes objective (vomiting, insomnia, 
palpitations) manifestations.8

A 2009 literature review prepared by the Minnesota Department of Health9 
summarized case reports by Harry (2007),10 Phipps et al (2007),11 the 
Large Wind Turbine Citizens Committee for the Town of Union (2008),12 
and Pierpont (2009).13 These case studies catalogued complaints of 
annoyance, reduced quality of life, and health effects associated with 
IWTs, such as sleeplessness and headaches.9

In 2010, Nissenbaum et al used validated questionnaires in a controlled 
study of 2 Maine wind energy projects. They concluded that “the noise 
emissions of IWTs disturbed the sleep and caused daytime sleepiness and 
impaired mental health in residents living within 1.4 km of the two IWT 
installations studied.”14

Reports of adverse health effects15 and reduced quality of life16 are 
also documented in IWT projects in Australia and New Zealand.

A 2012 board of health resolution in Brown County in Wisconsin formally 
requested financial relocation assistance for “families that are 
suffering adverse health effects and undue hardships caused by the 
irresponsible placement of industrial wind turbines around their homes 
and property.”17

An Ontario community-based self-reporting health survey, WindVOiCe, 
identified the most commonly reported IWT-induced symptoms as altered 
quality of life, sleep disturbance, excessive tiredness, headache, 
stress, and distress. Other reported effects include migraines, hearing 
problems, tinnitus, heart palpitations, anxiety, and depression.18 In 
addition, degraded living conditions and adverse socioeconomic effects 
have been reported. In some cases the effects were severe enough that 
individuals in Ontario abandoned their homes or reached financial 
agreements with wind energy developers.19

After considering the evidence and testimony presented by 26 witnesses, 
a 2011 Ontario environmental review tribunal decision acknowledged IWTs 
can harm human health:

This case has successfully shown that the debate should not be 
simplified to one about whether wind turbines can cause harm to humans. 
The evidence presented to the Tribunal demonstrates that they can, if 
facilities are placed too close to residents. The debate has now evolved 
to one of degree.20

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Indirect effects and annoyance
When assessing the adverse effects of IWTs it is important to consider 
what constitutes human health. The World Health Organization (WHO) 
defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social 
well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”21

Despite being widely accepted, the WHO definition of health is 
frequently overlooked when assessing the health effects of IWTs. 
Literature reviews commenting on the health effects of IWTs have been 
produced with varying degrees of completeness, accuracy, and 
objectivity.22 Some of these commentators accept the plausibility of the 
reported IWT health effects and acknowledge that IWT noise and visual 
effects might cause annoyance, stress, or sleep disturbance, which can 
have other consequences. However, these IWT health effects are often 
discounted because “direct pathological effects” or a “direct causal 
link” have not been established. In 2010, the Ontario Chief Medical 
Officer of Health released The Potential Health Impact of Wind Turbines, 
which acknowledged that some people living near wind turbines report 
symptoms such as dizziness, headaches, and sleep disturbance but 
concluded “the scientific evidence available to date does not 
demonstrate a direct causal link between wind turbine noise and adverse 
health effects.”23 The lead author of the report,23 Dr Gloria Rachamin, 
acknowledged under oath that the literature review looked only at direct 
links to human health.24

Focusing on “direct” causal links limits the discussion to a small slice 
of the potential health effects of IWTs. The 2011 environmental review 
tribunal decision found that serious harm to human health includes 
“indirect impacts (e.g., a person being exposed to noise and then 
exhibiting stress and developing other related symptoms).”20

According to the night noise guidelines for Europe:

Physiological experiments on humans have shown that noise of a moderate 
level acts via an indirect pathway and has health outcomes similar to 
those caused by high noise exposures on the direct pathway. The indirect 
pathway starts with noise-induced disturbances of activities such as 
communication or sleep.25

Pierpont documented symptoms reported by individuals exposed to wind 
turbines, which include sleep disturbance, headache, tinnitus, ear 
pressure, dizziness, vertigo, nausea, visual blurring, tachycardia, 
irritability, problems with concentration and memory, and panic episodes 
associated with sensations of internal pulsation or quivering when awake 
or asleep.13 The American Wind Energy Association and the Canadian Wind 
Energy Association convened a panel literature review that determined 
these symptoms are the “well-known stress effects of exposure to noise,” 
or in other words, are “a subset of annoyance reactions.”26

Noise-induced annoyance is acknowledged to be an adverse health 
effect.27–30 Chronic severe noise annoyance should be classified as a 
serious health risk.31 According to the WHO guidelines for community 
noise, “[t]he capacity of a noise to induce annoyance depends upon many 
of its physical characteristics, including its sound pressure level and 
spectral characteristics, as well as the variations of these properties 
over time.”32 Industrial wind turbine noise is perceived to be more 
annoying than transportation noise or industrial noise at comparable 
sound pressure levels.33 Industrial wind turbine amplitude modulation,34 
audible low frequency noise,35 tonal noise, infrasound,36 and lack of 
nighttime abatement have been identified as plausible noise 
characteristics that could cause annoyance and other health effects.

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Health effects in Ontario expected
Evidence-based health studies were not conducted to determine adequate 
setbacks and noise levels for the siting of IWTs before the 
implementation of the Ontario renewable energy policy. In addition, 
provision for vigilance monitoring was not made. It is now clear that 
the regulations are not adequate to protect the health of all exposed 
individuals.

A 2010 report commissioned by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment 
concludes:

The audible sound from wind turbines, at the levels experienced at 
typical receptor distances in Ontario, is nonetheless expected to result 
in a non-trivial percentage of persons being highly annoyed .… 
[R]esearch has shown that annoyance associated with sound from wind 
turbines can be expected to contribute to stress related health impacts 
in some persons.37

Consequently, physicians will likely be presented with patients 
reporting health effects.

Family physicians should be aware that patients reporting adverse 
effects from IWTs might experience symptoms that are intense and 
pervasive and that they might feel further victimized by a lack of 
care-giver understanding. Those adversely affected by IWTs might have 
already pursued other avenues to mitigate the health effects with little 
or no success. It will be important to identify the possibility of 
exposure to IWTs in patients presenting with appropriate clinical 
symptoms.38

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Conclusion
Industrial wind turbines can harm human health if sited too close to 
residents. Harm can be avoided if IWTs are situated at an appropriate 
distance from humans. Owing to the lack of adequately protective siting 
guidelines, people exposed to IWTs can be expected to present to their 
family physicians in increasing numbers. The documented symptoms are 
usually stress disorder–type diseases acting via indirect pathways and 
can represent serious harm to human health. Family physicians are in a 
position to effectively recognize the ailments and provide an empathetic 
response. In addition, their contributions to clinical studies are 
urgently needed to clarify the relationship between IWT exposure and 
human health and to inform regulations that will protect physical, 
mental, and social well-being.
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