TORONTO - Premier Dalton McGuinty said Friday he'll consider setting certain standards to address health concerns regarding wind turbines as long as such guidelines are feasible.
There is no definitive research into the possible health risks of living near a wind farm, but the province must take all concerns into account as it looks to set up more turbines, McGuinty said.
"We do have a responsibility in Ontario to make sure that we take advantage of all the experiences out there and the very best medical advice," McGuinty said.
"That might involve, for example, us being the first jurisdiction to have a standard in place for low-level sound waves."
McGuinty has spoken with a prominent doctor who took his concerns to the legislature this week to raise the issue of low-level sound waves.
Robert McMurtry, a former dean of medicine at the University of Western Ontario, did a survey of people living near giant turbines and found the majority suffered from headaches, sleep disturbances and depression.
He's asking the government to do a formal study into the health effects of wind turbines to get a definitive answer.
While McGuinty is willing to consider standards, he admitted he didn't know what those might be and didn't have plans to conduct any additional research.
"We'll take advantage of the very best information that's out there to make sure that we're doing something that's intelligent," McGuinty said.
"But you have to talk to the manufacturers of these darn things.
"They might say, `If you put that kind of a standard in here, you can't have wind turbines in Ontario."'
The province is currently holding committee meetings to debate its proposed Green Energy Act, a bill that pushes for more renewable energy projects.
