Alves-Pereira, Castelo Branco, Low Frequency Noise Case Studies – Residential Exposure
On the Impact of Infrasound and Low Frequency Noise on Public Health — Two Cases of Residential Exposure
Mariana Alves-Pereira & Nuno Castelo Branco, 2007
Case Report 2: Family R. lives on a horse- and bull-breeding farm, located in a zoned, rural agricultural area, 1 hour north of Lisbon. Family R. consists of mother, father, 12-year-old son, and 8-year-old daughter. In November 2006, 4 wind turbines (2MW each) were installed around Family R.’s farm, at approximately 322m, 540m, 580m and 643m from the residential home. The distance to the stables is less than to the residential house.
The wind turbines installed around Family R.’s home began operation in November 2006. In March 2007, the parents received a letter from the school inquiring about the reason for the sharp decrease in the memory and attention skills of the 12-year-old child, and the overwhelming tiredness he exhibited during physical education classes. The school questioned the parents if the boy was getting enough hours of sleep during the night.
The entire family has already received the typical vibroacoustic disease diagnostic tests, including echocardiograms which did not disclose any significant thickening of cardiovascular structures. Tissue fragments have been removed from the farm animals that have been scheduled for slaughter, and will be submitted to the light and electron microscopy analyses that this team usually conducts on ILFN-exposed tissue fragments. These procedures will be repeated every 6 months, and follow-up reports will ensue.