AUDIBLE noise emitted by turbines at Waubra wind farm rises no louder than street traffic, a Ballarat scientist said this week.
But University of Ballarat engineering lecturer Graeme Hood said the Victorian Government should commission a comprehensive independent investigation to determine exact levels of inaudible sound produced, after his own study proved inconclusive.
Mr Hood commenced the research last month in response to complaints from a number of Waubra residents who reported experiencing nausea, headaches and sleep deprivation after the turbines were switched on in June.
Anti-wind farm campaigners have touted infrasound as a possible cause of health complaints.
"There really needs to be a complete survey done, this was fairly small, but it shows there is some doubt there," he said.
"We are trying to get these questions answered and have the study done properly before any more are built."
Mr Hood said his research found that an audible swishing noise emitted by the turbines ranged between 60dB, or the equivalent of conversational speech, and 80dB, or the equivalent of average street traffic.
"If you lived in a city street you would be living something comparable to it," he said.
"The sounds are more audible in the city but would be less constant. As far as the sound goes, there are some loudish noises but certainly no sounds so loud they would knock your socks off."
But while tests of the levels of audible noise produced by the turbines proved conclusive, the measurement of infrasound needs further investigation, he said.
"There is definitely infrasound and the dominant frequencies are between 2Hz and 8Hz," he said.
Infrasound is sound undetectable by the human ear that measures less than 20Hz.
"We did get peaks but you can get that anywhere too," Mr Hood said.
"What we have got certainly shows (low frequency) noise but I don't think it's overly loud.
"But whether it causes problems or not, we don't know.
A spokesman for Victorian Health Minister Daniel Andrews said no investigation was planned.
"The chief health officer is of the view a considerable amount of international research exists and the conclusions of the validated and peer reviewed research consistently demonstrates that health issues associated with wind farms are negligible," he said.