An industry-funded study has concluded there is no evidence that wind turbines threaten human health, despite the complaints of those who live close to the rotors and claim they cause physical distress.

A group of international experts reviewed published research on the potential health impacts of wind turbines on behalf of the Canadian Wind Energy Association and the American Wind Energy Association, which financed the study.

The researchers concluded that although a minority of people find the noise emitted by spinning wind turbine blades to be annoying, there is "nothing unique" about it and no evidence that it could make people sick.

More specifically, the researchers found there was no evidence that the audible or sub-audible sound emitted by wind turbines had any direct adverse physiological effects. It also concluded that any ground-borne vibrations are too weak to be detected by, or to affect, humans.

They also found that such complainants may have a lower tolerance for annoying sounds of all sorts.

"A major cause of concern about wind turbine sound is its fluctuating nature. Some may find this sound annoying, a reaction that depends primarily on personal characteristics as opposed to the intensity of the sound level."

John Laforet, president of Wind Concerns Ontario, said the experts were talking in "weasel words."

"If someone's health is adversely effected, it doesn't have to be a disease ... These things have a devastating impact on people if they're built too close to homes," Laforet said.

Helen Fraser, a resident of Shelburne, Ont., about 110 kilometres northwest of Toronto, said she and her husband suffered headaches, anxiety and sleep disruption when wind turbines were built near their home. They moved away and noticed a marked improvement in their health.

"I am not against wind power but there is a place for it and it is not near people," Fraser wrote in an e-mail to CTV.ca.

Laforet claims that more than 100 Ontarians have complained about adverse effects from wind turbines.

Critics like Laforet have dismissed the results of the study, which was released Tuesday, citing the fact that it was funded by the wind energy industry.

But the doctors and scientists taking part in the study say the industry funding didn't pose a problem for the people doing the research.

Dr. David Colby, the acting medical officer of health in Ontario's Chatham-Kent region and one of the authors of the study, said the experts were given "an absolutely open mandate" and that their conclusions were not "tainted."

"None of us here have our opinions for sale," he said in an interview with The Canadian Press.

Laforet said more government-funded research is necessary to probe the health consequences of living near wind turbines.

But the study concludes the small number and unscientific nature of existing wind turbine complaints are "insufficient to advocate for funding for further studies."

With files from The Canadian Press