Experts say wind power is a safe and healthy alternative to fossil fuels

The national coalition of healthcare groups, the Climate and Health Alliance (CAHA), has today released its Position Statement on wind turbines and human health, rejecting the claims of anti-wind groups that wind power poses a threat to health.

Developed by the organisation’s scientific advisory group on behalf of the members of CAHA, the Position Statement underscores the fact that renewable energy generation such as wind power provides a safe and healthy alternative to fossil fuels.

“There is no credible peer-reviewed scientific evidence that demonstrates a link between wind turbines and direct adverse health impacts in people living in proximity to them,” CAHA Convenor Fiona Armstrong said.

“In contrast, Australia’s current energy generation that relies on the burning of fossils fuels such as coal and gas is not only contributing to climate change but (particularly in the case of coal) also poses significant threats to human health.”

The ‘Health and Wind Turbines’ paper finds while large-scale commercial wind farms have been in operation internationally for many decades, often in close proximity to thousands of people, there is no scientifically validated evidence of any associated increase in ill-health in these populations.

“The balance of current scientific evidence indicates that while a small proportion of people may experience annoyance associated with wind turbines, on the whole no direct adverse physiological health effects related to wind turbines have been demonstrated,” Armstrong said.

“In contrast, however, there are well-documented and serious threats to human health from burning fossil fuels for electricity generation and transport in the form of cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease and cancer,” Armstrong said.