Occupational health hazards and risks in the wind industry

Energy Reports

Stephanie Steele¹  Kaitlyn Bruschi²  Joel Kass²  Calum MacFadyen²  Nektarios Karanikas³  Callum Robertson⁴  Aleksandar Popovich⁴ 

[1] School of Public Health &Social Work, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Australia;Correspondence to: Victoria Park Road, QUT, Block O, Kelvin Grove, 4059, Queensland, Australia.;;School of Public Health &

关键词: Occupational health;    Occupational safety;    Occupational risks;    Wind farms;    Wind turbines;   

DOI  :  

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

As the wind farm sector grows and becomes an established renewable energy source, it introduces new materials, technologies and processes that expose workers to increased and unique occupational risks. In this paper, we performed a generic review of scientific and industry literature on online scientific databases and search engines to identify the extent to which occupational health hazards and risks specific to wind farms have been considered. Our review revealed noise, electromagnetic fields, shadow flicker, epoxy and styrene and physical stress have been the focus of limited research, mainly including self-reported data from offshore wind farm employees. Factors such as vibration, welding fumes and other possibly harmful substances, weather conditions and biological hazards have not been addressed by studies, although their presence and combinations could be of concern. Therefore, there is a need for further research on unique and combined risks and hazards faced by workers across all lifecycle stages of wind energy production. This would improve knowledge and provide the opportunity to manage health hazards in current and newly constructed installations and inform future regulatory and other preventative measures.

【 授权许可】

Unknown