There are several points I believe are worth making in response to recent debate on wind development and health issues.

There is a lot of misleading information on the Internet about wind power and health. This includes studies that are self-proclaimed as being peer-reviewed when they are not, and websites that proclaim specific syndromes and diseases resulting from the noise produced by wind turbines.

In recent months, several government agencies have conducted reviews of the science, including the Wisconsin PUC, Minnesota Department of Health, the Chief Medical Officer of Health for Ontario, and the Australian government’s National Health and Medical Research Council. They all have made similar conclusions — that there is no evidence of a direct health or disease impact from wind turbines, especially if properly placed.

Maine’s regulations provide for health protection, assuring appropriate placement away from residences, and are within or comparable to the 2009 World Health Organization’s recommendations.

The Maine Medical Association’s 2009 resolution on this issue is often mischaracterized. The organization did not recognize health effects from wind power. Its statement was mainly one of encouraging a scientific approach to the issue.

Wind power energy means less from coal and foreign oil, both being major contributors to global warming and diseases such as cancer, asthma and heart disease.

Community involvement is critical in the decision-making process about wind development. However, there is no credible scientific evidence at this time supporting diseases or syndromes resulting from wind turbines that are in compliance with state regulations.

Dora Anne Mills, M.D., Augusta

Director, Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention