Ontario's Medical Officer of Health Arlene King doesn't see any scientific evidence that links wind turbines with adverse health effects. When contacted yesterday, Ministry of Health and Long- Term Care spokesperson David Jensen said it is King's position that there is no link between the noise turbines make and adverse health effects people claim to be experiencing, such as severe headaches and joint and muscle aches.

"The Green Energy Act, 2009 and its regulations clearly do not appear to meet the requirements of law in the province of Ontario," said lawyer Eric Gillespie today in a news conference at Queen's Park. On behalf of his client Ian Hanna, Gillespie explained that a court application was filed earlier today for judicial review of the Green Energy Act, 2009 based on the Precautionary Principle as it applies to industrial wind turbine installations.

It's too late to stop the surge of wind-farm development in Ontario, even by arguing the turbines cause illness, says Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound MPP Bill Murdoch. "As far as what they can do about it, there really isn't a heck of a lot," he said yesterday. ...Emotions ran high at Thursday's public meeting, which the health unit organized to provide wind turbine information to residents.

Medical officer of health Dr. Hazel Lynn told a crowd of angry citizens opposed to wind farms last night that she also has concerns about health effects of the giant turbines, but lacks the power to alter green-energy legislation. "I certainly appreciate the fact that people are suffering and I want to know why and what to do about it," she said during an information meeting at the Grey Bruce Health Unit. However Lynn told the crowd of about 120 that their anger and frustration is aimed at the wrong people.

A Blenheim woman claims her family is still suffering effects from a nearby wind farm. Kruger Energy's 44-turbine Port Alma project became operational last year. Nikki Horton, who filed a complaint with the Montreal-based company, said the wind farm is impacting her family's quality of life, with symptoms such as headaches and fatigue.

The province of P.E.I. has confirmed that it will increase the distance wind turbines must be from homes, but not by as much as some were looking for. The setback distance will now be four times the height of the turbine, as measured from the ground to the top of the blade. For the biggest turbines, the V90s, that would mean increasing the setback to 500 metres. Currently it is 375 metres. Noise was the biggest concern.

Researchers at nearby Queen's University have embarked on the first study to probe whether wind turbines built over communities can cause adverse health effects. The study measures residents' health and well-being before the turbines arrived on the island, again when the turbines were built but not yet operational and again after they'd been operating for a few months.

By now, the residents of Wolfe Island, Ont., are getting used to the whirr and thump of wind turbines overhead. By next year, they'll get a glimpse of whether those whirrs and thumps could be damaging their health. Researchers at nearby Queen's University have embarked on the first study to probe whether wind turbines built over communities can cause adverse health effects.

The managing director of the company behind two Oxford County wind farm proposals suggested the speakers at a recent "Wind Energy Information Night" overstated the alleged health risks of industrial wind turbines. Bart Geleynse of Prowind Canada Inc. said the speakers at the Hickson Central Public School meeting were claiming a causal relationship between wind turbines and health risks without any compelling evidence. ...Both David Colling, an electrical pollution consultant, and retired pharmacist Carmen Krogh were adamant about the link between wind turbines and a number of adverse symptoms, including dizziness, nausea, headaches and tinnitus.

Two Ripley families say they've moved out of their homes because of what they say is the negative health effects of living too close to wind turbines. "We can't live in our house anymore. We bought a house and moved to Kincardine. My son and daughter-in-law and two-year-old who live on a different farm . . . the wind company is paying for them to stay in Kincardine," said Glen Wild.

Wind turbines located too close to homes and humans can pose a health hazard, a Mars Hill area resident warned New Denmark homeowners during a REACT (Reacts Efforts Against Construction of Turbines in New Denmark) sponsored meeting held in the community recently. ...Todd said if wind turbines setbacks were increased, the negative effects on nearby landowners would be greatly reduced, if not eliminated.

Ontario officials aren't receptive to a councillor's call for the province to halt new wind farms for 18 months until a study can assess whether the green-energy installations pose health risks. Rideau-Goulbourn Councillor Glenn Brooks was going to ask council to direct the city's chief medical officer of health to do the study, but the officer says it would be too expensive and time-consuming for his office.

Under the proposed regulations, noise levels also would need to fall to 40 decibels at receptors, such as dwellings or businesses. The ministry said a turbine with a sound power level of 106 decibels would have to meet a setback of 950 meters, or about 3,100 feet, from the nearest house or business.

New rules proposed by the Ontario government would forbid the placement of large wind turbines closer than 550 metres to a residence, a distance that could affect the economic viability of many wind projects across the province. The province-wide regulation would create for the first time a minimum setback distance for wind turbines from dwellings, roads, railway lines, wetlands and other environmentally sensitive lands or airspace.

The Ontario government is proposing new regulations that would keep wind turbines at least 550 metres away from any house. The province wants that minimum distance, or "setback," to be mandatory for wind developers who install one to five turbines emitting the lowest allowable noise level.

P.E.I.'s environment minister says he plans to eventually introduce new laws to limit nuisance noise. The move comes after the provincial department received complaints from people who live near wind turbines and a motocross park. Environment Minister Richard Brown said he's a strong believer in people being able to enjoy the peace and quiet of their homes.

But as wind farms proliferate, so do complaints about them. While some people experience no negative effects whatsoever, others have even resorted to leaving their homes to get away from the windmills they claim are making them sick. While research into the problem is lacking, some who live near the big turbines cite a raft of adverse health effects, including severe headaches, insomnia, dizziness, ringing in the ears, exhaustion, and even blood pressure and heart problems.

High-school teacher Sandy MacLeod is near tears as she reaches into her coat pocket and pulls out a plastic bag filled with a dozen or so orange earplugs. "I wear these every single night," she says, though occasionally she'll "switch to headphones" to muffle the sound of the wind turbine near her home. "But it doesn't matter. The noise still gets into your ears." And, she insists, it's making her sick.

For Sandy MacLeod and a group of 11 neighbours living in the Ripley industrial wind turbine project, it's been a very long 18 months. They just want the healthy home environment they had enjoyed for some three to 32 years returned. "We just want it to be over," said MacLeod. The simple request goes out to the companies Acciona and Suncor that own the project and to the provincial Liberal government who approved the operating standards.

The fight to keep wind farms out of southern Lambton County gathered ammunition this week with the release of a survey that found some people who live near the big turbines suffer serious health problems. ...The survey should grab the attention of government lawmakers, says Ann Towell, a resident in Dawn-Euphemia opposing a 35-turbine wind farm proposed for her township.