AI boom fuels PFAS use in data centers, risking environment
Artificial intelligence is booming, but there's a catch: the data centers powering all that tech rely on PFAS, or "forever chemicals," in their cooling systems and chips.
These chemicals stick around in nature and are tough to get rid of.
As more data centers pop up, PFAS production is set to rise, and so is the risk to our environment.
Experts warn PFAS pollution spreads regionally
Experts warn that pollution from these chemicals doesn't just stay local: it can spread across entire regions.
Climate Revolution Action Network executive director Ben Dziobek puts it simply: Data centers create problems that don't stop at municipal boundaries, whether it's pollution or straining the grid and driving up everyone's electric bills.
After a recent spill at a New Jersey center that contaminated local waterways, Ben Dziobek said the problems don't stop at municipal boundaries.
Anne-Sofie Backar, executive director of Swedish chemical watchdog ChemSec, says "These companies' expansion plans show that unless governments and regulators insist on a rapid phaseout, we will face a new tidal wave of forever chemicals."