Press Release Materials 7-25-11–Letter & Towns

Letter to DEP_DPH-7_19_11

7/19/2011
Kenneth L. Kimmell, Commissioner, Department of Environmental Protection
One Winter Street, Boston, MA 02108
John Auerbach, Commissioner, Department of Public Health
One Ashburton Place, Boston, MA 02108

RE: Submission of materials to be entered into evidence regarding the review of public health
and safety standards near wind turbines

Dear Commissioners Kimmell and Auerbach:
A group of health professionals and representatives of citizen groups last year wrote a letter to
Commissioner Auerbach and subsequently attended a meeting with the Commissioner along with two
State Representatives. We formally requested a review of public health and safety standards near wind
turbines. We expected to be contacted concerning a study and expected to have a seat at the table
when the study was convened. We recently met with Suzanne Condon, Associate
Commissioner/Director and Daniel Delaney, Legislative Director at the Department of Public Health.

As health professionals, citizens, representatives of citizen groups and members of a state-wide
organization Wind Wise ~ Massachusetts, we submit this request for your immediate action.
Commissioners of the DEP and DPH are entrusted with the responsibility to protect the health and
safety of the citizens of Massachusetts. We are therefore confident that you will enter into evidence the
information we have collected, for review by the expert panel.

The additional information found attached to this email includes:

• A catalogue listing of over 200 documents containing studies, journal articles, scientific papers, reports, presentations, news articles, personal stories and a listing of videotapes available on the web to watch.
• Additional supporting information which contains an overview and background information

You will also receive in the mail the above items as well as the following, of which we formally request
you make copies available to all members of your expert panel:

• A CD-ROM with all of the materials submitted via email as well as the source documents that have been catalogued
• Several DVDs with videotaped footage of those living with wind turbines
• The book: Wind Turbine Syndrome: A Report on a Natural Experiment written by Nina Pierpont, MD, PhD.

We were assured by highly regarded administrators of DPH that the experts chosen for the panel will
be totally independent and unbiased, and that no member of the expert panel has ever been paid, or is
currently being paid, by the wind energy industry, pro-wind advocacy organizations, wind developers,
or any related industries.

We also respectfully request that:

• The meetings of the expert panel are public meetings and that public hearings be held so the public is able to speak to the panel and to appropriately express concerns in a timely manner but without a three minute time limit.
• At least one seat at the table of this expert panel be from the unfortunate group of over 50 physically ill citizens in the town of Falmouth, MA who are living with wind turbines that are sited too close to their homes.
• The DEP set up a citizens’ advisory committee.

It is imperative that your agencies undertake an independent and comprehensive review of all health
aspects of wind turbine siting, particularly in those communities where wind projects have resulted in
significant numbers of residents becoming ill, including Falmouth. Such affected communities should
be the focus of a standard epidemiological study in an attempt to learn from them and improve future
wind turbine siting. Furthermore, your agencies have the obligation to immediately help the people
throughout Massachusetts who are now suffering due to health impacts from operating wind turbines.

The public health and risks posed by industrial wind turbines represent unacceptable threats to the citizens of Massachusetts and require your personal and immediate intervention and action.

In an effort to promote transparency in government, we respectfully request that the DEP post online
all submitted materials and comments so that any citizen may view the submissions and further that
the link to such site be prominently advertised.

It is very important to note that according to our information, the experts, engineers, health care
professionals, and authors who are sourced throughout the documents we are submitting, do not have
financial interests in energy companies or related industries, nor have they received funding from
industry for the research and published work they have completed.

By the same token, a note of extreme caution, please ensure that the information and research that
you review for your final report and recommendations comes from independent experts, engineers,
and health care professionals and is not produced by individuals or organizations that have a financial
interest in the wind energy industry.

As health care professionals and concerned citizens of Massachusetts we expect that you will
communicate with us to confirm that our submission of materials has been accepted and the panel will
have full access to the materials we have submitted. We further expect to hear from you personally to
let us know the extent of public participation that will take place concerning the review you are
conducting.

We maintain the most responsible outcome of a truly independent study of the siting of wind turbines is to invoke the precautionary principle and a moratorium on building all wind turbines in Massachusetts until more research is completed.

Respectfully submitted,
407 people in 106 MA towns (names on file)

CC: Suzanne Condon, Associate Commisioner/Director, Department of Public Health; Daniel Delaney, Legislative Director, Department of Public Health; Paul Reville, Secretary, Executive Office of Education; Luis S. Spencer, Acting Commissioner, Department of Correction; Alice A. Tolbert Coombs, M.D., President, Massachusetts Medical Society; Massachusetts Public Health Association; Massachusetts Health Officers Association; Massachusetts Association of Public Health Nurses; Massachusetts Association of Health Boards; Massachusetts Environmental Health Association; Massachusetts Municipal Association; Massachusetts Regional Planning Boards; Massachusetts State Senators; Massachusetts State Representatives;  351 Massachusetts town Boards of Selectmen; 351 Massachusetts town Boards of Health; 351 Massachusetts town Planning Boards

106 Towns and Cities Represented

List of Massachusetts cities and towns represented by the over 400 people who agreed to be listed on
the letter to the Commissioners of Public Health and Environmental Protection regarding adverse
health impacts of wind turbines
1. Adams
2. Agawam
3. Alford
4. Aquinnah
5. Arlington
6. Ashfield
7. Becket
8. Blandford
9. Boston
10. Bourne
11. Boxborough
12. Brewster
13. Brimfield
14. Cambridge
15. Charlemont
16. Cheshire
17. Chilmark
18. Clarksburg
19. Conway
20. Dalton
21. Dartmouth
22. Dennis
23. Duxbury
24. East Longmeadow
25. Eastham
26. Edgartown
27. Egremont
28. Fall River
29. Falmouth
30. Florida
31. Georgetown
32. Gosnold
33. Grafton
34. Granville
35. Great Barrington
36. Hadley
37. Hamilton
38. Hancock
39. Hardwick
40. Harwich
41. Hawley
42. Heath
43. Hingham
44. Holyoke
45. Lanesborough
46. Lee
47. Lenox
48. Lincoln
49. Ludlow
50. Mansfield
51. Marblehead
52. Marion
53. Mashpee
54. Mattapoisett
55. Medford
56. Monroe
57. Monterey
58. Mount Washington
59. Nahant
60. Nantucket
61. Needham
62. New Ashford
63. New Marlborough
64. Newburyport
65. Newton
66. North Adams
67. Northboro
68. Northampton
69. Oak Bluffs
70. Orleans
71. Pelham
72. Pittsfield
73. Plainfield
74. Plymouth
75. Provincetown
76. Revere
77. Richmond
78. Rowe
79. Sandwich
80. Savoy
81. Sheffield
82. Shelburne
83. South Hadley
84. Stockbridge
85. Sunderland
86. Tewksbury
87. Tisbury
88. Uxbridge
89. Wakefield
90. Wareham
91. Washington
92. Watertown
93. Wayland
94. Webster
95. Wellfleet
96. West Stockbridge
97. West Tisbury
98. Westport
99. Westwood
100. Winchester
101. Williamsburg
102. Williamstown
103. Winchester
104. Windsor
105. Worcester
106. Yarmouth