A proposal for evaluating the potential healtheffects of wind turbine noise for projectsunder the Canadian EnvironmentalAssessment Act

摘要

The Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (CEAA) requires certain projectswith federal government triggers to undergo an environmental assessmentbefore receiving federal government approval. On request under CEAA, HealthCanada provides advice on the health effects of noise to responsible authoritiesfor wind turbine projects. The advice that Health Canada provides on the healtheffects of noise is generally based only on well-accepted scientific evidence fora link between noise exposure and health. For quiet rural areas, in whichannoyance reactions towards intruding noise may be augmented, this paperproposes noise mitigation if predicted wind turbine noise levels exceed 45 dBAat noise sensitive receptors. In this proposal, a cautious approach is adopted byusing predicted noise levels that are evaluated at the wind speed that producesthe highest wind turbine noise, and background noise is evaluated in calmwinds. This accounts for sheltering by obstructions. Wind speed gradient effectsrelated to stable atmospheric conditions are also accounted for with thisapproach. The proposal is based on predicted project-noise related changes inlong-term high annoyance, rattle and sleep disturbance. Noise mitigation forwind turbine construction noise is proposed based on potential for expectationof complaints.