Data centre health worries animate midterm campaigns

Stephanie Armour and Amanda Seitz, Tribune News Service

Doug Herrera still lives in the house his father built, though his dad died some time ago from cancer. Herrera wonders if that illness could have been linked to pollutants from nearby uranium mining. Now, he worries that a possible new neighbour — a proposed $10 billion mega data centre — could imperil his health. “I’m a patriot, but I’m highly against the data centre,” Herrera, 64, said from his front porch near a yard sign that reads “No Data Centres.”

“There is light pollution, sound pollution. The temperature is going to rise,” he said.

Page is a gateway to iconic Southwestern landscapes of arid desert studded with Joshua trees and towering red-rock formations. While the City Council approved the sale of land for a data centre, the developer needs zoning and other approvals. Residents concerned about possible health effects have signed petitions and mobilised to oppose construction. The boom in data centres is dividing communities such as Page and turning future construction into a flash point in the midterm elections. The leading candidates in the close race for Arizona’s 1st Congressional District are at odds over any new centres there, and the state’s attorney general has called for a pause on new approvals and building.

Emerging research into data centres’ possible health effects is adding grist to the various state fights, giving ammunition to Democrats and some Republicans who’ve broken party ranks to oppose the sprawling complexes. It has also put some incumbent politicians who have supported data centre expansion in unexpectedly vulnerable positions in reliably red states like Ohio and Texas, where the megabuildings now operate by the hundreds. “Two years ago, a lot of these data centres went up and there was not an organised, watchful opposition,” said Lee Hannah, a political science professor at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio.

“That opposition has come up in a grassroots way so quickly that decisions made a year ago by local officials or state governments to get behind a data centre are suddenly career-ending.” The hyperscale centres house infrastructure to power AI, with servers that sprawl over tens of thousands of square feet or more. The city of Page approved the sale of 500 acres for the proposed data centre, though the location within that acreage hasn’t been decided. The area sits on open land studded with blackbrush and native grasses near Horseshoe Bend, an iconic curve of the Colorado River that has long been popular with tourists.

Data centres gobble up electricity and rely on backup gas generators during times of peak energy demand. The resulting air pollution has been linked to heart conditions, respiratory issues, and elevated cancer risks, according to a number of environmental studies. Emissions from the centres could cause nearly 1,300 deaths annually by 2030 and an annual public health burden of more than $20 billion in 2028, based on modeling led by researchers at the University of California-Riverside.

Cooling components can contain what are called forever chemicals, synthetic substances that accumulate in human tissue, according to advocacy and environmental groups. And the hum and whir of generators and heating and air conditioning systems can exceed 90 decibels, which can harm hearing. Data centres are lit up for operations and security, creating light pollution that can increase the risk of chronic disease, the groups say. The megafacilities also create what are known as data heat islands, which are higher-temperature zones caused by intense energy demands.

“We’re just starting to see the very early edge of the wave of the research into health impacts of data centres,” said Alison Steele, executive director of the Environmental Health Project, a nonprofit public health organisation. “By the time we have a substantial volume of research it’s going to be too late, because the decisions are being made now.” A trade group for the data centre industry said a review of the largest data centre market — Virginia — found that use of backup power sources, including diesel generators, is minimal, and that existing state and federal regulations limit potential emissions or impacts.

“Data centres are committed to being responsible partners where they operate,” said Dan Diorio, executive vice president of state policy and government affairs at the Data Center Coalition.

Mounting concerns about data centres are dividing candidates and pitting some GOP contenders against President Donald Trump, who supports the facilities’ construction as vital for economic growth. Two in 3 Americans oppose the construction of new data centres in the US, according to an October Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll.

Hannah said the uptick in construction has put Trump’s coalition at particular risk because data centres are often built in rural areas, where the president has often enjoyed insurmountable margins of support. “This is where most of the data centres go,” Hannah said. “They go into red states, because Republicans are less critical of economic opportunity. If it promises jobs and money, they’re all in.” In Page, signs opposing construction pepper front yards.

The opposition to more data centres in the state could pose political risks for GOP House candidate Jay Feely, who won his primary with an endorsement from Trump. He says they are key to keeping up with China. Democratic opponent Amish Shah wants a pause on new construction in their district.

The House seat they’re vying for is considered competitive, and the contest could be pivotal in determining which party gains House control after the Nov. 3 midterms.