Former EPA officials warn that data center buildout is putting public health at risk
Ex-regulators say more than 30 Trump-era rollbacks are letting data centers expand with weaker pollution oversight, with one study estimating roughly 1,300 additional deaths a year from AI-driven power buildout.
According to a piece published Sunday by Sophie Hurwitz on Grist, former Environmental Protection Agency officials now with the Environmental Protection Network say the Trump administration has weakened pollution safeguards through at least 30 actions since January 2025, even as more than 1,500 new data centers are planned across the United States. The officials argue developers are exploiting reduced oversight, including regulatory changes that let construction begin before air pollution permits are secured.
Some coal plants are being kept running past their planned shutdown dates specifically to power the new data centers, according to the report. A University of California study cited by the former officials estimates that pollution linked to the AI-driven buildout could cause roughly 1,300 additional deaths annually.
"Transforming the nation's energy system, while diminishing scientific capacity to understand impacts, makes no sense," said Dan Costa, a 35-year EPA air pollution researcher, according to the piece. Former EPA official Lynn Goldman added that health consequences ranging from heart attacks to cancer could take years to surface, arguing that communities "shouldn't have to pay for the AI boom with their health."
Sophie Hurwitz, Grist: https://grist.org/health/former-epa-officials-trump-is-letting-data-centers-make-people-sick/
This article was produced with the assistance of AI tools and reviewed by an editor before publication.
