{"id":412966,"date":"2025-11-12T19:33:21","date_gmt":"2025-11-12T18:33:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=412966"},"modified":"2025-11-12T19:33:23","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T18:33:23","slug":"rfk-jr-probes-health-dangers-of-offshore-wind-turbines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=412966","title":{"rendered":"RFK Jr. probes health dangers of offshore wind turbines"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From CFACT<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Bonner Cohen, Ph. D.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Offshore
Offshore Wind Farm<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Beset by soaring prices, an increasingly hostile regulatory climate, and growing public opposition in coastal communities, offshore wind faces a new challenge from a powerful public official and erstwhile booster of strict climate policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has ordered the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to investigate wind projects\u2019 effects on the health and safety of commercial fishermen, Bloomberg News reports<\/a>. Specifically, Kennedy in late summer quietly instructed CDC\u2019s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to prepare such research. The office of the U.S. Surgeon General is also involved in the assessment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Originally, the research was to be wrapped up within a couple of months, but its completion has been delayed by the government shutdown. \u201cWork on this report has been halted solely due to the Democrat-led shutdown,\u201d a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) told<\/a> Reuters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Human Health Effects<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To date, research on the human health effects of offshore wind turbines has been spotty, with a 2011 literature review finding \u201cno peer-reviewed articles demonstrate a direct causal link between people living in proximity to modern wind turbines, the noise they emit and resulting physiological health effects,\u201d according to<\/a> The Hill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But a study<\/a> released in January by the University of Portsmouth in the U.K. warned of potentially harmful levels of metals from turbine protection systems. \u201cThe materials used to protect wind turbines from corrosion leach into the surrounding water, which could pose risks to ecosystems, seafood safety, and human health,\u201d the study found. \u201cOffshore wind farms release thousands of [tons] of aluminum, zinc, and iridium each year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Professor Gordon Watson of the university\u2019s School of the Environment and Life Sciences supports wind farms because of their role in reducing carbon emissions but adds, \u201cThere is limited data on how these metals affect the environment near operational offshore wind farms, so it\u2019s hard to assess the full risks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other Research<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Green Oceans, a New England-based nonpartisan community group formed in 2023 \u201cto protect the ocean against industrialization,\u201d released a report<\/a> in January titled \u201cOffshore Wind and Human Health.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOffshore wind turbine blades erode over time, releasing harmful contaminants into the ocean, including microplastics and Bisphenol A,\u201d the report found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBlades fail more frequently than previously recognized. A collapsed blade can scatter over 50 tons of PVC foam, PET, epoxy resins, forever chemicals (PFAs), styrene, formaldehyde, and phthalates into the ocean. These chemicals are associated with an increased risk of cancer, endocrine disruption, and immune system alteration.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cStudies have found microplastics in marine mammal tissues and the human cardiovascular systems,\u201d the study adds. \u201cMicroplastics correlate with an increased risk of heart disease.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The concerns raised in these studies provide ample justification for the report Secretary Kennedy has ordered. While offshore wind farms\u2019 effect on marine life, including the endangered right whale along the Mid- and North Atlantic coasts, has garnered much attention, the human element has been largely neglected. Commercial fishermen who earn their living by entering waters where gigantic wind turbines, their platforms, and undersea cables are commonplace are exposed daily to any contaminants emanating from this \u201cclean\u201d source of energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump\u2019s Aversion and Bill Gates\u2019 Conversion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Donald Trump has made no secret of his hostility to offshore wind, which to him is a matter of both aesthetics and revulsion over the gobs of taxpayer money that have been lavished on these monstrosities. If the CDC concludes that commercial fishermen are at risk from offshore wind installations, investors will have another reason to think twice before providing capital for these projects \u2014 something businessman Trump understands only too well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kennedy\u2019s action on offshore wind coincides with the eye-popping statement<\/a> from longtime climate warrior Bill Gates that climate change \u201cwon\u2019t lead to humanity\u2019s demise.\u201d Gates is a shrewd enough operator to know when the winds are shifting. The sun is setting on wind and solar power, and the climate agenda he once championed is no longer in vogue. He\u2019s moving on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article originally appeared at The Federalist<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Beset by soaring prices, an increasingly hostile regulatory climate, and growing public opposition in coastal communities, offshore wind faces a new challenge from a powerful public official and erstwhile booster of strict climate policies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":412971,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"Explore the health risks posed by offshore wind turbines as RFK Jr. calls for CDC research amid growing public concerns and regulatory challenges.","jetpack_seo_html_title":"RFK Jr. Investigates Health Risks of Offshore Wind 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Except when they fail under\u00a0normal conditions\u2013or abnormal ones.","rel":"","context":"In \"Hurricane Risk\"","block_context":{"text":"Hurricane Risk","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=hurricane-risk"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/01725916049933.jpeg?fit=1024%2C512&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/01725916049933.jpeg?fit=1024%2C512&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/01725916049933.jpeg?fit=1024%2C512&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/01725916049933.jpeg?fit=1024%2C512&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":315851,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=315851","url_meta":{"origin":412966,"position":4},"title":"Can \u2018clean energy\u2019 schemes get any crazier?\u00a0","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"02\/04\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The US Interior Department\u2019s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management recently designated\u00a0two Wind Energy Areas\u00a0in deepwater areas off the Oregon coast. 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