# Hammond Infrasound Field Experiment — Active

### First real-world Anthrocybernetics test · https://zo.pub/tenchi/hammond-findings/

*Anthrocybernetics Wuxing classification: 【木】Wood / Ecological (primary) · 【水】Water / Somative (symptoms) · 【土】Earth / Historical (precedent)*

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## Quick Summary

**Hypothesis:** Industrial infrasound (1–20 Hz) near the Unilever/Cargill industrial corridor in Hammond, IN is stimulating vestibular and cochlear outer hair cells, causing the symptom cluster (sleep disturbance, annoyance, cortisol elevation). Phase-inverted active noise cancellation (ANC) can reduce it.

**Status:** Measurement required — Tier 1 sensor deployment is the first move.

**Falsifiable:** Yes — five explicit falsification conditions stated upfront.

**Why it matters for Anthrocybernetics:**
- Demonstrates empirical field methodology (not just theoretical framework)
- Potential Purdue NW Engineering / Environmental Health collaboration
- First data point for the nine-domain diagnostic cross-validation
- Even a null result is publishable as an upper bound

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## Measurement Tiers

| Tier | Cost | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 1 — Baseline | ~$200–500 | Raspberry Pi + DPS310 barometric sensor; logs 0–20 Hz pressure fluctuations; correlate with industrial shift schedules |
| 2 — Characterization | ~$1,000–5,000 | Calibrated infrasound mic (Earthworks M30 / B&K 4193); establishes frequency + amplitude; tunes any ANC system |
| 3 — ANC Pilot | ~$500–3,000 | Adaptive feedforward ANC; measures dB reduction at error mic; blinded symptom reporting as outcome |

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## Key References

- Salt & Hullar 2010 *Hearing Research* — OHC responds to infrasound ~40 dB below conscious hearing threshold
- Hensel et al. 2007 *Hearing Research* — infrasound at 6 Hz alters cochlear processing (DPOAEs) in humans
- Baliatsas et al. 2016 *Science of the Total Environment* — systematic review; wind turbine + industrial LFN associated with annoyance, sleep disturbance, headaches, dizziness
- Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience 2026 — near-threshold infrasound elevated salivary cortisol and negative affect in controlled trial
- Baliatsas et al. 2018 *Nonlinear Engineering* — active infrasound cancellation proposed for wind turbines (transfer function equations provided)
- NIOSH HHE Report 2019-0119-3362 — 95 dB at 5 Hz and 16 Hz affected body sway; vestibular disruption confirmed
- NWI Times Feb 2024 — Cargill plant put "on notice" by Hammond Mayor McDermott after resident complaints of loud midnight industrial noise; documented precedent

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## Purdue NW Connection

**Target departments:** Engineering (acoustic instrumentation, signal processing), Environmental Health / Chemistry (air quality co-exposure), Carolyn Boiarsky (environmental health communication).

**Angle:** Tier 1 is a student research project. Tier 2 is a capstone. Tier 3 is a published finding. All three build the Purdue relationship independently of the SBDC pitch.

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## Geology Note

Hammond sits on soft lacustrine sediment (former Lake Chicago bed) — sandy, permeable. Low-frequency ground-borne vibration transmits more efficiently here than through bedrock, which may amplify the coupling of industrial machinery vibration into residential structures.

*Note: The original claim that Glacial Isostatic Adjustment stress amplifies infrasound is not supported by the literature and has been dropped from the hypothesis.*

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*Linked from SBDC_Pitch/10-Hammond-Experiment.md · Generated 2026-05-17*