F-35 debate on noise grows louder as critics challenge: Guard comments Deadline for comment looms on basing proposal

A national expert on the health effects of noise says he told the Vermont Air National Guard that basing the F-35 aircraft at Burlington International Airport should not pose a health risk to nearby residents.

The expert’s comments were among several statements and responses that came Friday following a Guard meeting with reporters the day before and as F-35 opponents gear up for a major rally and march at 2 p.m. Saturday outside City Hall in Burlington.

Critics took issue with the Guard’s statements, politicians and political parties were pulled into the debate, and a deadline for public comments to be submitted to the Air Force is looming.

Meanwhile, Capt. William Murphy, a research scientist with National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health/Centers for Disease Control, focused his remarks on the potential for hearing loss, rather than on the cognitive impairment to children raised in some health studies and cited by F-35 opponents.

“The exposures to the community were not sufficient to present a risk of hearing loss and would not be expected to pose any increased health risk,” Murphy wrote in an email, responding to questions from the Burlington Free Press.

The newspaper questioned Murphy after Vermont Air National Guard Brig. Gen. Richard Harris told reporters Thursday he had just consulted a CDC expert and was told there was no conclusive evidence that excessive aircraft noise can have adverse health effects.

Harris later identified the CDC contact as Murphy.

Murphy said the national institute, known as NIOSH, has no official position on the overall health effects of excessive noise from aircraft or other sources.

“NIOSH is actively reviewing the scientific literature on the topic but has not drawn a conclusion about such effects,” Murphy wrote.

Noise concerns are a key part of a recent Air Force study regarding the environmental impact of the F-35s at various locations. Environmental impact is one of five factors in the review the Air Force is conducting to decide where to base the planes.

Burlington has been identified by the Air Force as the lead overall candidate for the aircraft. The planes would replace the Vermont Air Guard’s fleet of aging F-16s.

Also Friday, a leader of a group opposing the F-35s challenged claims made by Vermont Air National Guard officials a day earlier that the noise problem the planes present can be mitigated.

“I was shocked when I heard that,” said Chris Hurd, a South Burlington real estate agent. “The past is prelude. When the F-16s were brought in, we were told they would not be that loud, but then they started using the afterburners because of a redesign of the aircraft.”

Lt. Col. Dan Finnegan told reporters Thursday the Air Guard had been able to shrink the projected noise zone and would be able to do the same with the F-35s.

Hurd also disputed Air Guard claims that there was a lack of clear evidence that noise from the aircraft could cause health problems, particularly for young people.

“The Vermont Air National Guard is in very dangerous territory with the citizens of Vermont because of the evidence available today of the effects of noise on humans and children,” he said.

U.S. Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., also was drawn into the F-35 debate Friday when, during a Burlington news conference about domestic use of unmanned drone aircraft, reporters started asking him about the F-35 noise issue.

“I support the (environmental) assessment that’s now being done by the Air Force,” Welch said. Asked if he had read the document, Welch said he hadn’t.

He acknowledged he had not independently looked into the noise issue or the impact on the families and homes where noise levels are projected to be unsuitable.

“The bottom line is there is a community affected, there’s the Air Guard that’s affected, there’s an airport that’s affected, and there’s the jobs and the economy that’s affected,” Welch said.

Hurd, told of Welch’s remarks, said it was a “disgrace” that Welch, along with Gov. Peter Shumlin, Sens. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger, support basing the F-35s in Burlington.

“Do we care about the people here, or do we care about bringing in these planes?” Hurd asked.

Also Friday, the state Progressive Party urged its members to join Saturday’s rally against the F-35.

“The Air Force’s own studies say basing the F-35 in South Burlington could leave up to 3,000 homes and 7,000 people in a zone ‘generally not considered suitable for residential use,’” Progressive Party Chairman Martha Abbott said in a statement. “A disproportionate number of those affected would be low-income and immigrant Vermonters.”

The Air Force has set Monday as its deadline for public comment on the issue. A final decision on the basing question is expected in late fall.

Source:   http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com