AI data centers require a variety of chemicals. The chemicals are used for cooling systems, fire suppression, water treatment, maintenance, and fuel for backup generators.
Improper storage and handling of these hazardous substances can lead to toxic exposures, fires/explosions, chemical reactions, and environmental contamination, posing acute and chronic health risks to workers and nearby communities as well as regulatory liabilities.
Hazardous materials (e.g., coolants, solvents, fuels) must be properly stored and managed to prevent leaks, incompatible mixing, and toxic releases. The risks are well-documented across industrial safety guidance and data center audits.
Key Facts
- Data centers store diesel fuel, coolants, solvents, acids, and chemicals for water treatment, which require compliant storage areas, labeling, and inventory controls.
- Common audit findings include improper chemical storage, inadequate labeling, and poor Safety Data Sheet (SDS) management.
- Incompatible chemical storage can lead to fires, explosions, or the release of toxic gases for example, mixing water treatment reagents such as acids with bleach can produce chlorine gas.
- Internal policies in some data centers limit hazardous materials on raised floors, require fire-resistant containers and daily removal of waste chemicals to reduce risk.
- Cooling water treatment chemicals can include corrosives (sulphuric acid), oxidizers (sodium hypochlorite), and other hazardous reagents.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- Q: Why is chemical storage a safety issue in data centers?
A: Data centers use and store a range of hazardous chemicals (coolants, solvents, fuels) for operation and maintenance. If these materials are not properly segregated, contained, and labeled, they can react, spill, emit toxic vapors, or catch fire, endangering workers and neighbors.
- Q: What kinds of health risks can result from poor chemical storage?
A: Acute effects include respiratory irritation, burns, poisoning, and exposure to toxic gases. Chronic exposure or environmental contamination can contribute to organ damage and long-term illness.
- Q: How do incompatible chemicals make incidents worse?
A: If flammables are stored near oxidizers, or acids mix with bleach solutions, violent reactions, fires, explosions, or toxic gas releases can occur, posing major health and emergency response challenges.
- Q: Are there regulatory requirements for hazardous chemical storage?
A: Yes. Data center chemical storage must comply with permitting, inventory control, SDS management, fire codes, and hazard communication standards (e.g., GHS) to protect workers and the public.
- Q: How can leaks and spills be prevented?
A: Proper containment design, routine monitoring, storage segregation, spill kits, secondary containment, daily waste removal, and real-time leak detection systems help prevent environmental release and health hazards.
- Q: Who is most at risk from storage-related hazards?
A: Facility workers, emergency responders, and nearby communities are most at risk from acute chemical exposure events, with vulnerable populations (children, elderly, people with respiratory conditions) more susceptible.
Resources/ Sources
- Chemical Storage & Environmental Hazards
- The Guardian — Advocates Raise Alarm Over PFAS Pollution From Data Centers — chemical pollution concerns associated with PFAS used in data center systems.
- Antea Group — Top Environmental Findings from Data Center Audits — audit findings on chemical management and storage compliance.
- IAFC — Risks of Improper Storage of Hazardous Chemicals — general hazardous storage public health implications.
- Engineers Ireland — Safety Issues in Data Centres: Chemical Risks — overview of chemical hazards related to storage and incompatibilities.
- CenterSquare Work Rules — internal guidance on hazardous material handling and storage.
- Umbrex — Safety Incidents & Chemical Reactions in Data Centers — examples of reactive chemical hazards.
- Atlenv — AI Data Center Safety & Chemical Exposure Risks — outline of chemical exposure pathways.
- Atlenv — AI Data Centers: Safety, Health Risks & Evaluation Standards
- arXiv — Leak Detection for Liquid Cooling in AI Data Centers — applicable to mitigating chemical leaks.
- arXiv — Quantifying the Public Health Impact of AI — environmental and health burden from data center emissions.
- Bad Data Centers- Chemicals
- Bad Data Centers- Environment
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Title V Air Permits. Explains how large industrial sources, including data centers, may be required to report and limit air pollution.
- Move Past Plastic: Data Center Toxins Infographic. Visual overview of chemicals used in data centers and their potential health impacts.
- Minnesota Legislature: Omnibus Energy, Utilities, Environment and Climate Policy. Legislation addressing environmental oversight for large infrastructure projects, including data centers.
- Charlie Berens: Coming to a Town Near You. Instagram post highlighting how data centers impact local communities.
- Clean Water Action: Data Centers: A Threat to Minnesota's Water. Fact sheet detailing water contamination risks from cooling systems and chemical discharge.
- Food & Water Watch: National Data Center Moratorium Now. Advocacy resource calling for pauses on new data centers until environmental impacts are addressed.
- Kristie Ellickson, Union of Concerned Scientists: Community Guide to Cumulative Impacts. Tool for understanding how multiple pollution sources compound health risks.
- New York State DEC: Environmental Justice Siting Law. Explains protections for communities disproportionately affected by industrial development.
- Alex de Vries-Gao: Carbon and Water Footprints of Data Centers. Examines how AI facilities intensify pollution and chemical use through energy and cooling demands.
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Tools and Resources. Public tools for tracking pollution, permits, and environmental violations.
- Move Past Plastic: Data Center Toxins Brief. Detailed report on chemical exposure pathways linked to data center operations.
- NAACP: Resolution on Data Centers and Energy Demand. Highlights civil rights and environmental justice concerns tied to industrial expansion.
- Ganesh Hegde: Closed-Loop Cooling: Water Saver or Chemical Time Bomb? Explains how closed-loop cooling can still create chemical concentration risks.
- Friends of the Earth Organization: AI Threats to Climate Change. Connects chemical use, pollution, and fossil fuel dependence in AI infrastructure.
- Midwest Environmental Advocates, Sierra Club Wisconsin: Hyperscale Data Centers Toolkit. Community action guide addressing chemical, water, and air pollution risks.
- Minnesota Legislature: AI Environmental Impact Study Requirement. Mandates further study of AI infrastructure's environmental effects.
- RMI: Flaring Risk Map Webinar. Shows how data centers intersect with oil and gas pollution risks.
- Robert Barnes: Top 5 largest data centers with over 1GW capacity under construction. Construction Review Online highlights several megascale data center projects showing how global demand for AI and cloud computing is driving record-breaking digital infrastructure builds.