This manuscript describes a range of technical deliberations undertaken by the authors during their work as members of the Australian Government’s Independent Scientific Committee on Wind Turbines. Central to these deliberations was the requirement upon the committee to improve understanding and monitoring of the potential impacts of sound from wind turbines (including low frequency and infrasound) on health and the environment. The paper examines existing wind turbine sound limits, possible perceptual and physiological effects of wind turbine noise, aspects of the effects of wind turbine sound on sleep health and quality of life, low-frequency noise limits, the concept of annoyance including alternative causes of it and the potential for it to be affected by low-frequency noise, the influence of amplitude modulation and tonality, sound measurement and analysis and management strategies. In so doing it provides an objective basis for harmonisation across Australia of provisions for siting and monitoring of wind turbines, which currently vary from state to state, contributing to contention and potential inequities between Australians, depending on their place of residence.

该手稿描述了作者在作为澳大利亚政府风力涡轮机独立科学委员会成员的工作期间进行的一系列技术审议。这些讨论的核心是要求委员会提高对风力涡轮机声音（包括低频和次声）对健康和环境的潜在影响的理解和监控。本文研究了现有的风力涡轮机声音限值，风力涡轮机噪声的可能感知和生理影响，风力涡轮机声音对睡眠健康和生活质量的影响方面，低频噪声限值，烦恼的概念（包括其引起的其他原因）并可能受到低频噪声，调幅和音调的影响，合理的测量，分析和管理策略。这样做为在澳大利亚各地协调风力涡轮机的选址和监控提供了客观的依据，目前，风力涡轮机的情况因州而异，这取决于澳大利亚人的居住地，导致澳大利亚人之间的争论和潜在的不平等。