Safety

1) Chane Ferreira (9O)
Components are designed to last app. 20 years. (120 000 operating hours)
Some large WT have safety features:
Vibration sensors:Ball on chain which falls off on over vibration and switches off the WT.
Overspeed protection:Stops the WT if any main component fails.

2) Nicole Milne (9A)
WT's has to work in all weather conditions.
Countries have varying regulations. i.e.
In Denmark rotorblades are tested by 5million revolutions (dynamic forces)
They are also tested against static forces.
WT's must be able to stop automatically incase they overheat or disconnect.
Independant Failsafe Breaking mechanism.
Different rules apply for High and low voltage WT's.
BWEA Specialized wind turbine training facility. (Common industry approach)
Operators need a WTSR qualification. (Wind Turbine Safety Rules)

3) Sarah Kew-Simpson (9W)
Any energy generation affects the environment.
Death of birds and bats a concern with environmental agencies which would look at migratory patterns in the EIA which would determine site location.
EIA (Environmental Impact Assesment) is compulsory before approval from NERSA.
WT affects the aesthetic value of the property.
Industrial equipment and moving blades are a harzard which needs to be made safe in terms of special conditions relating to a school environment.

4) Vincent Van Vuuren (9A)
Noise: Earlier models were noiser than modern ones.
Sound made by the blades are often masked by the wind.
Later are more efficient by converting more wind into torque.
Propeller noise can be reduced by different materials and settings.

5) Chante De Klerk (9A)
A robust system is required to survive lightning strikes.

6) Daniel Patrick (9R)
Negative affects on Fauna and Flora need to be assesed via EIA .
Main concerns are birds and plant species.
Conflicts could be resolved through agencies such as Greenpeace or WWF.

7) Teran Neveling (9R)
Noise pollution is one of the biggest disadvantages of a WT
Noise can extend for more than a mile.
There is very little noise directly under the WT
Modern technology increases the efficiency of the WT but it fails to decrease the noise output levels

8) Jaco Louw (90)
WT construction requires large foundations and can disrupt water flow above and below ground.
Industrial liquids used at the WT site can cause contamination.
WT's can cause debris scatter of flames and ice.
Fires can be caused by welding splatter during maintenance, electrical short circuits.
High fires is difficult to extinguish.
Sleep maladies such as nausea and headaches can occur due to what doctors call "Wind Turbine Syndromme"

9)Tamsin Tustin (9R)
The most noticeable impact of a wind turbine is noise pollution.
Modern technologies are increasing the efficiency of wind turbines, yet they fail to decrease the noise output by significant levels.
The noise pollution can greatly depend on the average annual wind speed (i.e. the higher the wind speed, the greater the noise output will be) and the size of the blades. Two types of noises are generated by a wind turbine: aerodynamic (from the blades) and mechanical (from the rotating machinery).
The site, careful design, insulating materials and operation should ensure that wind turbine noise is not a nuisance.

10) Amy Kirby (9W)
WT should have vibration sensors, if the WT starts shaking it automatically switches off.
WT should have electronics thermometers which checks the temperature of the oil in the gear box and the temperature of the generator
If the generator overheats or is disconnected from the electronical grid, the WT will start accelerating rapidly. Therefore we should have a over speed protection system
Aerodynamic braking system – primary braking system.
Mechanical braking system – back up for the Aerodynamic braking system and has a parking brake.
Conical tubular steel towers are preferred over a lattice tower because is safer and far more comfortable for the service to access the wind turbine fro repair and maintenance. The disadvantage – cost.

11) Isabel Muller (9C)
Nina Pierpont, a pediatrician based in New York, studied 10 families who lived close to wind farms, and says eight out of the 10 ended up moving away from their homes because of WTS-related illnesses. That’s a small survey sample, but it’s a continuation of research done by other scientists in the field. Pierpont recommends that wind turbines should be built at least 2 kilometers (a little over a mile) away from people’s homes, and she tells the Independent that: “It is irresponsible of the wind turbine companies — and governments — to continue building wind turbines so close to where people live until there has been a proper epidemiological investigation of the full impact on human health.”

The problem, according to Pierpont, is that the wind farms emit a constant low-frequency vibration and noise, which human beings are sensitive to (not unlike fish’s sensitivity to noise in the water) and the wind farm vibrations can disrupt the inner ear’s vestibular system (responsible for balance and spatial orientation). Over a sustained period of time, people living too close to the wind farms can develop a disorder related to the inner ear disruption, WTS (wind turbine syndrome), which can cause nervousness, heart disorders, nightmares, problems and even cognitive development issues in small children.

Symptoms
Three doctors have been studying the Wind Turbine Syndrome: one in the US, one in England, and one in Australia. They note the same sets of symptoms. The symptoms start when local turbines go into operation and resolve when the turbines are off or when the person is out of the area. The symptoms include:
1) Sleep problems: noise or physical sensations of pulsation or pressure make it hard to go to sleep and cause frequent awakening.
2) Headaches which are increased in frequency or severity.
3) Dizziness, unsteadiness, and nausea.
4) Exhaustion, anxiety, anger, irritability, and depression.
5) Problems with concentration and learning.
6) Tinnitus (ringing in the ears).

Not everyone near turbines has these symptoms. This does not mean people are making them up; it means there are differences among people in susceptibility. These differences are known as risk factors. Defining risk factors and the proportion of people who get symptoms is the role of epidemiologic studies. These studies are under way. Chronic sleep disturbance is the most common symptom. Exhaustion, mood problems, and problems with concentration and learning are natural outcomes of poor sleep.

12) VB (9W)
Large turbine is noise similar to, but lower than a revving jet engine. motion of rotorblades and cogwheels can be minimised with a damping system. Property values could drop in radius of turbine.