Explainer

Are data centers bad for your health?

Q: Are data centers bad for your health?

The buildings themselves emit little; the engines do. EPA says diesel engine pollutants are known or suspected of causing cancer and other serious health effects, and IARC classifies diesel exhaust as carcinogenic to humans. In practice exposure depends on how often engines run: Virginia’s auditors put data center generators at under 4% of regional nitrogen oxide emissions in Northern Virginia.

Q: Do data centers cause air pollution?

Backup diesel generators and, increasingly, on-site gas turbines emit nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, particulates and volatile organic compounds, according to EPA emissions-factor guidance. Virginia DEQ is running an EPA-funded air monitoring project in Northern Virginia in response to resident concerns.

Q: Can living near a data center make you sick?

There is no measurement-based finding that living near a typical data center causes illness. Research estimates a national public health burden from data center air pollution, and Virginia’s auditors found noise is rarely loud enough to violate ordinances but its constant nature has been a problem near some homes.

Q: Are the power lines near data centers dangerous?

WHO describes a consistent statistical pattern linking higher residential magnetic fields to childhood leukaemia but concluded the evidence is not strong enough to be considered causal, and says there is no evidence that low-level electromagnetic fields are harmful. The National Cancer Institute reports no consistent evidence of an association with cancer.

25 cited sources, newest dated Sep 14, 2026 · Census figures as of Sep 23, 2026

Short answer

A data center itself does not emit much; its engines do. EPA says the primary pollutants from internal combustion engines are nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons and other organic compounds, carbon monoxide and particulates[4], and that diesel engine pollutants are known or suspected of causing cancer and other serious health effects[5]. Those engines normally run only for testing and emergencies: Virginia’s auditors calculated data center diesel generators make up less than 4% of regional nitrogen oxide emissions in Northern Virginia[1]. Researchers estimate a national public health burden anyway, and regulators are now monitoring the question directly[2][6].

of Northern Virginia nitrogen oxide emissions from data center generators, per JLARC[1]: <4%
premature deaths a year by 2030 estimated in a Caltech-reported study[2]: ~1,300
IARC classification of diesel engine exhaust (carcinogenic to humans)[3]: Group 1

Air: what the engines emit

Most data centers keep diesel generators for backup. EPA’s AP-42 emissions-factor guidance says the primary pollutants from internal combustion engines are nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons and other organic compounds, carbon monoxide and particulates[4], and for gas turbines, nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide, and to a lesser extent volatile organic compounds[7]. An EPA fact sheet on stationary engine standards says pollutants emitted from diesel engines are known or suspected of causing cancer and other serious health effects, including aggravation of respiratory and cardiovascular disease[5]. In June 2012 the World Health Organization’s cancer agency classified diesel engine exhaust as carcinogenic to humans, based on sufficient evidence of increased lung cancer risk[3].

What those emissions do at ordinary exposure levels is well documented. EPA says numerous studies link particle pollution to premature death in people with heart or lung disease, nonfatal heart attacks, irregular heartbeat and aggravated asthma[8], with children, older adults, people with heart or lung disease, minority populations and low-income populations most likely to be affected[8]. Nitrogen dioxide, which comes primarily from burning fuel, can irritate airways[9].

The exposure question is how often the engines run. Virginia’s JLARC reported nearly all current data centers use Tier 2 diesel generators, which the state allows to run only in emergencies or for testing[1], and calculated their share of regional nitrogen oxide emissions at under 4%[1]. That boundary has been tested: EPA issued a clarification in May 2025 that certain engines can run up to 50 hours a year in non-emergency conditions to supply power to the grid[10], engine hours run under DOE emergency orders do not count toward that 50[11], and Data Center Knowledge reported in May 2026 that Virginia DEQ concluded generators permitted as emergency units will be operated for extended periods[12]. Virginia has since begun requiring Tier 4-equivalent standards for new or modified data center generators[13].

What researchers estimate

In a December 2024 piece titled “Air Pollution and the Public Health Costs of AI,” Caltech reported estimates of as many as 1,300 premature deaths a year in the U.S. by 2030, with total public health costs approaching an estimated $20 billion a year[2]. The same piece says backup generators create regional public health costs of some $190 million to $260 million a year, rising tenfold to $1.9 billion to $2.6 billion if they emitted at their maximum permitted level[2]. A later version of that work, now titled “Health-Informed Computing” and listed as accepted by Communications of the ACM (June 2026), projects the total annual public health burden of U.S. data centers[14].

These are modeled estimates of a national total, not measurements at any one site. Virginia DEQ is running a data center air monitoring project, funded by an EPA grant, in response to data center growth in Northern Virginia and citizen concerns about emissions from backup generators and natural gas turbines[6].

On-site gas turbines

Some AI campuses now generate their own power on site, which changes the emissions picture from occasional testing to continuous operation. EPA says stationary combustion turbines and engines, common primary and backup power sources for data centers, are subject to federal standards[11], and that state and local air agencies issue most air permits for data centers under EPA-approved programs[11].

The clearest example is Memphis. Action News 5 reported in July 2025 that the Shelby County Health Department’s approval of xAI’s natural gas-fired turbines includes caps on the facility[15]; Tennessee Lookout reported the NAACP and another group appealed that air permit for 15 gas turbines[16], and that according to the appeal the campus had up to 35 gas turbines on site capable of more than 420 MW before it sought the permit[16]. The Southern Environmental Law Center, which opposed the permit, says methane gas turbines release smog-forming pollution and chemicals like formaldehyde, which it ties to asthma, respiratory illness, heart problems and some cancers[17] (an advocacy claim).

Noise

WHO/Europe said when releasing its 2018 environmental noise guidelines that noise is one of the top environmental hazards to physical and mental health and well-being in the European Region[18] — though those guidelines cover transportation, wind turbine and leisure noise, not data centers[19]. EPA says studies have shown direct links between noise and health, including stress-related illnesses, high blood pressure, speech interference, hearing loss and sleep disruption[20]; since 1981, primary responsibility for noise has sat with state and local governments after EPA’s noise office was closed[20].

For data centers specifically, JLARC found the noise is not loud enough to damage hearing and rarely loud enough to violate ordinances, but that its constant nature has sometimes been a problem near homes[1]. Our noise guide has the decibel limits localities have adopted.

Power lines and EMF

Concerns about electromagnetic fields usually attach to the transmission lines built to serve a campus rather than the building. WHO’s 2007 backgrounder describes a consistent pattern of a two-fold increase in childhood leukaemia associated with average residential power-frequency magnetic field exposure above 0.3 to 0.4 microtesla[21], while concluding that, on balance, the evidence related to childhood leukaemia is not strong enough to be considered causal[21]. WHO said in 2016 that despite extensive research there is no evidence to conclude that exposure to low-level electromagnetic fields is harmful to human health[22], and the National Cancer Institute says no consistent evidence for an association between any source of non-ionizing EMF and cancer has been found[23].

Fire and battery safety

The most serious recent incident was a battery fire, not an emissions event. The Korea Herald reported that a fire at South Korea’s National Information Resources Service data center in Daejeon started when lithium-ion batteries in its uninterruptible power supply caught fire[24], and Uptime Institute said the fire began when one of the basement battery packs entered thermal runaway, resulting in an uncontrolled fire[25].

What the Census record shows

In the Census, 25 projects publish what backup generation they plan, 21 have a documented air permit, and 11 record how close the nearest homes or schools are. See the power and generation tracker.

Common questions