Wind power …

In general, we perceive something as noise when it is loud, unpleasant and disturbing.

But there is also a noise that cannot be heard and is nevertheless harmful: infrasound.

The university medical centre in Mainz has now shown in a study that infrasound has a negative effect on the body. Infrasound is sound whose frequency lies below the range of human hearing, i.e. below 16–20 Hz.

Infrasound waves are also emitted by wind turbines, for example, because they generate sound waves below 20 Hz. Wind turbines radiate a broad spectrum of sound. The emitted power amounts to a few watts, of which about 20 to 50 milliwatts fall within the audible range.

Infrasound is produced above all by wind turbines with stall control (“stall” and “active stall”). People cannot hear these infrasound waves, but they can be harmed by them. These sound waves have a particular effect on the heart. Seen in this light, is it even possible that wind turbines could cause heart disease?

Further information was offered by the Brandenburg State Office for the Environment (LfU), including downloadable documents on the subject; the page in question is no longer available.