Impact of AI Boom on Local Air Quality
A new data center campus is being constructed in Elyria-Swansea, a north Denver neighborhood already struggling with pollution from highways and an oil refinery.
Pam Valenza, chief health officer at Tepeyac Community Health Center, was initially unaware of the construction's purpose, assuming it was part of a redevelopment project for affordable housing.
Until last summer, Valenza assumed the excavators were at work on the final phase of the project: a long-planned affordable senior living facility.
However, she discovered through social media that the construction was actually for a future data center, raising concerns about the potential impact on local air quality.
The neighborhood is already heavily affected by pollution, and the addition of a data center may exacerbate the issue.
Author's Summary
New data center in Denver sparks air quality concerns.