NHS Ayrshire and Arran have said that they are not aware of any increase in reports of people feeling dizzy or affected by nausea in Fairlie and surrounding area, after concerns raised by villagers.
We reported last week that the issue was raised at the recent Fairlie Community Council meeting, which was attended by MSP Kenneth Gibson, in relation to a number of residents feeling dizzy effects in recent weeks.
The NHS issued a statement by Dr Elvira Garcia, Consultant in Public Health Medicine after points were put regarding concerns of reports of dizziness and nausea, including one report of a woman falling over and hitting her head, before dying a day later.
Dr Garcia said: "NHS Ayrshire & Arran’s Public Health department is not aware of an increase in the number of people who have reported feeling dizzy in Fairlie or the surrounding areas.
"Current evidence suggests it is unlikely that people are physically affected by low-frequency sound like that emitted by wind turbines."
Complaints of dizziness and nausea have been made by some Fairlie residents, with questions being asked to whether the symptoms are linked to the towering wind turbines at Hunterston.
Concerns were first aired at last Monday’s Fairlie Community Council meeting as chairman Rita Holmes said that she has felt ill effects, while the landlady at the Village Inn, Fiona Corrigan, has also suffered from similar problems. And community councillor John Osbourne has asked MSP Kenneth Gibson to investigate.
MSP Kenneth Gibson has asked the Scottish Parliament Information Centre to advise and research to date suggest there is not any evidence that turbines could cause such problems arising from infrasound - sound waves with frequencies below the lower limit of human audibility - or low frequency noise.
Kathleen Robson, Senior Researcher of Health and Social Care, at the Scottish Parliament Information Centre, stated: "In the first instance it is likely that the complainant would approach the local authority as they are responsible for noise under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and have a duty to investigate. They also have the power to serve a noise abatement order."
The UK Health Protection Agency commissioned research into the possible health effects of infrasound in 2010 which stated: "The proposition that exposure to infrasound may induce adverse effects on health has a long history and remains highly controversial.
"However, few volunteer of observational studies appear to have investigated these possibilities. It has been proposed that specific weather conditions, possibly associated with changes in levels of natural infrasound, may affect behaviour and health. , although these suggestions have not been substantiated.
"In addition there are reports of chronic exposure to unwanted, low frequency acoustic sources in the environment may also induce non-specific symptoms of stress, including headaches, nausea and loss of sleep, but it cannot be excluded that these effects occur due to audible noise."
Mr Gibson told the 'News' that he is looking into the matter further, and will respond directly to constituents who have expressed their concerns. Noise issues have also been raised in relation to the cable laying ship off Hunterston with some residents complaining of sleepless nights, resulting in environmental health writing to Clydeport to advise them to find ways of minimising any potential noise disturbance to local residents. However, the latest figures were within recognised World Health Organisation guidelines.