Infrasound: Be Afraid, be Very Afraid

Or, get informed.

In a blatant display of self-promotion, the Lemming presents a micro-review of something the Lemming wrote - for another blog:

"Winter, Christmas, Small Town America, and News "
Sauk Centre Journal Blog (December 16, 2010)

"...This week's Sauk Centre Herald front page reminded me of reasons why I love living here. It's not that this example of small town America is some perfect little care-free haven, where improbably cheerful folks live just the way it was in the 'good old days.'

"I remember 'the good old days,' by the way: and they weren't. Which isn't quite another topic.

"The top headline this week is about wind turbines, a wind farm that's planned for this area, and concerns that a couple of folks have about it. It's not the aesthetics of the wind turbines that bothers them: They've heard that the blades make infrasound. That's another invisible thing that may hurt people. Or, not.My guess is that we've got more trouble with the 60-cycle hum generated by the power grid: but I'm not terribly concerned about that, either...."

That got the Lemming curious. In the Sauk Centre Journal Blog, I point out that "infrasound" is a fancy word for sound that's pitched too low for us to hear. Concerns about infrasound are real: in a very qualified way:

• "Responses of the ear to low frequency sounds, infrasound and wind turbines"
  Department of Otolaryngology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, Missouri, via National Institutes of Health (June 16, 2010)
• "Scientist Challenges the Conventional Wisdom That What You Can't Hear Won't Hurt You"
  National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, commenting on the June 16, 2010 article

That WUSM, St. Louis, MO, study points out that each heartbeat produces "infrasound." so does each breath. Our bodies generate it every time we cough, too.

"Infrasound," as such, seems to be part of our environment. Part of us, for that matter.

The sort of sound wind turbines make? The WUSM article's abstract says that in unusual cases, some folks really do experience change in their ears. Sometimes.

Where concern about wind turbine sound is, on the scale between something serious and a new way to get research grants? The Lemming doesn't know.

It's a little hard to work up a panic over this, since, as the Lemming wrote in that other blog:

"...I remember when everything caused cancer. During those particular 'good old days,' we were also warned that some carcinogens caused heart attacks. These dire threats were discussed - quite seriously - in newspapers and magazines, and worked their way into college textbooks.

"Some of that, ah, concern was based on reality. Some - well, we've moved on to other terrifying threats...."

About the wind turbines? The Lemming thinks it shouldn't hurt to let researchers look into whether or not there's a cause for concern. Provided they do real research, the kind with facts and numbers.

Vaguely-related posts:

• "Lemming Tracks: '8 x 8' Water Rule, Real Research; Beer and Pretzels"
  (November 27, 2010)
• "Lots of Lead and Cadmium in Kids' Tableware: Spiffy"
  (November 22, 2010)
  • If the Lemming was 'smart'
    • I'd pick a simple attitude, like
      
      • Newspapers always lie!
      • Journalists walk on water!
      • It's a conspiracy!
    • And stick with it
  • The Lemming lives in the real world, though
    • Sometimes old-school journalism gets it right
    • Sometimes, not
• "Woman 'Cut in Half:' Journalistic Hyperbole, Remarkable Account"
  (September 23, 2010)
• "Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Ear Wax Blockage * But Were Afraid to Ask"
  (May 23, 2010)
• "3D TV Health Concern: Sort of"
  (April 15, 2010)