A frequent contention among opponents of a proposed wind farm in the southern portion of the county is that wind turbines are noisy.

The website consumer.healthday.com reports on a 2018 Canadian government study of wind turbine noise.

The study shows that living near a wind turbine can be annoying, but “doesn’t answer questions about how their noise might affect human health.”

People who lived closer to wind turbines did report lower ratings for their environmental quality of life, the study reported.

Opponents contend wind turbines emit an average of 45 decibels of noise.

Marion County Record tested sound levels of a wind tower and other common

NOISE

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sounds using a decibel reader.

The newspaper’s findings are that a wind tower a half-mile away measured 30 decibels; wind blowing and birds singing measured 55 decibels; a dishwasher measured 47 decibels; normal conversation between two people measured 50 to 60 decibels; and a train going down tracks a half-mile away measured 46 to 50 decibels.

A reporter noticed cows in a field with a wind turbine mooed louder than the sound of the turbine.