Khaberni - Scientific warnings that thousands of data centers in the United States may turn into environmental bombs threatening the lives of citizens due to toxic diesel emissions.
A recent scientific report revealed a growing network comprising at least 5,000 data centers in the United States, posing a hidden health risk to citizens. These centers, which are the backbone of artificial intelligence and cloud computing technologies, release dangerous pollutants that can cause asthma, cancer, and other deadly diseases.
Researchers caution that the rapid expansion in the use of artificial intelligence could make air pollution from backup diesel generators in these centers comparable to emissions from entire industrial sectors. Estimates from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) indicate that these emissions cause about 1,300 premature deaths annually.
According to the British "Daily Mail," diesel generators are used to ensure data centers continue operating during power outages, but they release fine particles that spread across various states, costing the U.S. economy around $20 billion annually due to illnesses and lost productivity.
Studies have also shown that the energy required to train a single language model by “Meta” is equivalent to 10,000 car journeys from Los Angeles to New York, while a single data center consumes energy comparable to that of a small city.
Professor Francesca Dominici from Harvard University warned against ignoring these health impacts, stating to the "Daily Mail": "As the number of highly capable data centers increases, we must start seriously looking at their environmental and health effects on the surrounding communities, an issue currently missing from the public debate."
Diesel exhaust is a major source of fine particles causing heart and lung diseases and cancer. The concentration of these pollutants is higher in areas with dense data centers like Northern Virginia and West Virginia.
During the recent heatwave, dozens of centers operated their generators simultaneously to relieve pressure on the electrical grids, resulting in massive emissions of nitrogen oxides that cause severe respiratory problems.
Dominici added that the direct health effects are concentrated in areas with a large number of centers, such as Northern Virginia, while other regions are indirectly affected, such as counties in West Virginia that supply these centers with electricity from coal plants but do not economically benefit from their presence.
Researchers from “Caltech” revealed that the pollution from diesel generators travels across counties and states, making emissions from Northern Virginia affect neighboring states like Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Washington, D.C.
Research estimates that the public health costs resulting from these emissions range from $190 to $260 million annually and could rise tenfold if emissions reach their legal limits.
Studies from Harvard and Caltech have shown that, in 2023, data centers consumed about 4% of the total electricity in the United States, generating 105 million tons of carbon dioxide, with 56% of this energy dependent on fossil fuels.
The Kapoor Foundation clarified that technology areas in California, which host 32 of the largest 50 artificial intelligence companies in the world, intersects with areas already suffering from poor public health, noting the presence of over 300 data centers in the state, most concentrated in Santa Clara.
Researcher Cecilia Merriman from the foundation emphasized that the correlation between data centers and poor health does not necessarily imply a direct cause but reflects the concentration of these facilities in already polluted areas.
Projections indicate that by 2030, the negative health impact of the data center industry could double, surpassing the impact of the steel industry, and equating to the emissions from all vehicles in California, due to nitrogen oxides and fine particles.
Professor Amin Habiba from Nottingham Trent University in the UK mentioned that the risks are not limited to air only but extend to the aquatic and thermal environment. He explained that the heat from computer servers needs continuous cooling, often using water in open cooling systems, leading to significant water consumption.
He noted that closed cooling systems, similar to those used in cars, consume less water, adding that using rainwater or greywater could reduce the environmental impact of data centers.
