SYDNEY, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- There is no reliable evidence that wind farms directly cause human health problems, according to a new report released on Tuesday by Australia's National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).
The nation's peak medical research body also concluded in its draft information paper that it's unlikely that substantial noise could be heard more than 1,500 meters away from wind turbines.
The NHMRC paper, Evidence on Wind Farms and Human Health, concludes there is "no reliable or consistent evidence that wind farms directly cause adverse health effects in humans".
"There is no direct evidence that specifically considered possible health effects of infra-sound or low-frequency noise from wind turbines," the paper said.
"Noise from wind turbines, including its content of low- frequency noise and infra-sound, is similar to noise from many other natural and human-made sources."
In releasing the draft information paper, NHMRC's Chief Executive Officer Professor Warwick Anderson invited the community to provide comments on the document and submit any additional evidence for consideration.
"There is some consistent but poor quality evidence that proximity to wind farms is associated with annoyance and, less consistently, with sleep disturbance and poorer quality of life," he said in a statement.
"However, it is unknown whether these effects are caused by the wind turbines themselves, or by other related factors."
According to Anderson, the existing body of evidence is still small with poor quality, therefore, further in-depth research is needed.
NHMRC said the draft information paper is based on the findings of an independent literature review, which used rigorous, internationally recognized methods to select and analyze all available evidence.
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