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ToowongDC,QLD4066Phone/Fax(07)31222605
13February,2013
MichelleGunn
Editor,TheWeekendAustralian
[email protected]
GPOBox4245
SYDNEYNSW2001
DearEditor,
LETTERTOTHEEDITORREGRAHAMLLOYDSARTICLEWORLDSEYESWILLBEON
WATERLOOASWINDTURBINESGOONTRIAL
TheAustralianAcousticalSocietyaimstopromoteandadvancethescienceandpracticeof
acousticsinallitsbranchestothewidercommunity.
WerefertoGrahamLloydsarticleintheWeekendAustralian(9/2/13)inwhichhequotes
statementsaboutaninfrasoundstudyauthoredbytheSouthAustralianEPAandacoustic
consultingfirmResonateAcoustics.
IntheinterestofadvancingtheaboveSocietyaimswewishtomakethefollowing
commentsonthearticle:
ThearticlestatesthattheuseofthedB(G)weightingtomeasurewindturbineinfrasoundisinappropriateandmisleading.ThedB(G)weightingisanaccepted
assessmentmethodforinfrasound.Ofthemeasurescurrentlyavailable,thedB(G)
weightingbestcorrespondstohumanperceptionofinfrasound,asdescribedin
InternationalStandardISO7196:1995,Acoustics-Frequency-weighting
characteristicforinfrasoundmeasurements.
Thearticlereportsthattheuseofa10-secondaverageremovedtheacousticsignatureoftheturbines.TheISO7196standardmethodrequiresthataminimum
10-secondaverageisrequiredforverylowfrequencynoise.Wenotethatthe
developmentofthisISOstandardmethodhasbeenthecollaborativeworkofmany
industryexperts.
ThearticlepresentsselectedoutcomesoftheWisconsin(Shirley)infrasoundreport.WenotethatseveraloftheconclusionsoftheWisconsinstudyareinconsistentwith
currentresearch.TheauthorsoftheWisconsinreportidentifiedshortfallsintheir
study.TherecommendationsoftheWisconsinstudywereaddressedintherecent
studyreleasedbytheSAEPA.
Australian Acoustical Society ACN 000 712 658ABN 28 000 712
658
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[email protected]
WewelcomeGrahamLloydscontactwiththeAustralianAcousticalSocietyviathegeneral
secretary.Ourmembershipbasewouldbeabletodiscussandprovideabroaderviewon
thecurrentstatusofthescienceofwindfarmacoustics.Weinvitetheauthortosolicitthe
viewsofotherprofessionalsbeforepublishingtoensurethedisseminationoffactandnot
opinionportrayedassuch.WealsoreferyoutorecentdiscussionsintheSocietysAcoustics
Australiajournalonthismatter,availableonourwebsiteathttp://www.acoustics.asn.au/joomla/australian-acoustics-journal-december-2012.html.
Yourssincerely,
AustralianAcousticalSociety
FederalCouncil
