Editor,
Over the past months I’ve attended the Island County Board of Health Meetings. Along with others, I was there to inform them about the health emergency caused by the Navy’s low-flying Growler.
Many citizens testified about the degrees to which they have been injured. Suggestions to board members were made for education, forums on noise, and monitoring like that being done in San Juan County. Most urgently needed and requested were warning signs in areas where jet noise is a real danger to human health.
The hope was to begin a serious dialogue.
Instead, the public’s concern about Growler jet noise was met with systemic stonewalling, hostility and shocking disregard for the harms people suffer.
Openly hostile board members have canceled a meeting with no public notice and attempted to relegate citizen input to the end of the meeting, instead of at the beginning, as has always been the practice.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Chairwoman Jill Johnson, with support from Commissioner Rick Hannold, made a motion to effectively prevent citizens from making comments about jet noise and health. Except for Commissioner Helen Price Johnson’s challenge and support from Grethe Cammermeyer, Ph.D., this motion might have carried. The intent to silence fellow board members and public with this use or abuse of power is chilling.
Many people are being subjected to low-level noise that rises and falls from 85 to 130 decibels — day or night — while Growlers fly 250 to 500 feet over schools, roadways, playgrounds, businesses and homes.
The low-level sound profile of the Growler travels further, which is why people in Langley now hear the Growlers.
Science has established safety standards for air, water and noise. When standards are exceeded, people are injured.
Our health Board is charged to protect our public health, and low-level Growler noise surpasses any World Health, OSHA, or State of Washington noise standards.
Just because the Navy is currently exempt from civilian authority does not absolve the civilian leaders’ responsibility for protecting the health of its citizens.
Island County’s Environmental Health Officer Dr. Brad Thomas is on the record for stating that “noise is a problem here” and is supported in this view by members Cammermeyer and Price Johnson.
The health officer has regulatory authority to take action, even without the Board of Health’s approval.
Hannold and Oak Harbor’s Jill Johnson, who have no background in health, ignore science in favor of military jingoism.
If they can’t see pathogens or sound waves –– they don’t believe harm can be done.
In a world that banned above-ground nuclear testing where we couldn’t see the radiation harming us or where water quality is being monitored for unseen pathogens, we need to accept scientific facts about sound waves that can’t be seen.
They are causing us health harms, medical professionals agree, and community action is required.
Maryon Attwood
Coupeville
