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A 99-acre, $1.7 billion data center development is currently proposed for South Annville Township, Pa., in the heart of Central Pennsylvania.
Read More:
- South Annville Township takes first step toward potential data center development
- South Annville supervisors hear from residents regarding proposed data center
- LebTown Exclusive: S. Annville Twp. data center developer reveals project details
- S. Annville Twp. residents voice opposition to proposed data center
If the project comes to fruition, it will have major public health and environmental implications that are not well-known to the community. Data centers generate noise, light, air, and soil pollution.
While the noise we can hear can be mitigated, infrasound (noise we cannot hear) and light pollution cannot. John Toon, Senior Technical Research Writer for the Georgia Tech Research Institute, states that infrasound is generally defined as frequencies below 20 Hertz, cannot be heard by humans, is largely unaffected by obstacles, and can travel hundreds of miles. The Environmental Protection Agency has long known of the negative effects noise pollution has on health.
As stated by the developer, 1235 Martina Drive Owner LLC, the proposed data center in South Annville Township will be 120 feet from the Carmany Place Apartments, 0.65 miles from the elementary school, and 0.94 miles from the high school. Data centers are lit up like prisons for security. Imagine living 120 feet from a prison, only louder and bombarding you with infrasound 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Most of South Annville Township’s estimated 3,500 residents, elementary and high schools, and Lebanon Valley College are within a mile of the proposed location and will suffer the negative health effects of infrasound, light, and air pollution.
Scientific peer-reviewed research indicates that infrasound exposure negatively affects nerves, heart muscle, human psychology, and is even being used to augment chemotherapy in cancer treatments. Whether the effect is positive, as in cancer therapy, or negative, as in killing nerve cells, the point is that it affects human and animal physiology, and we should not willingly or unwillingly expose ourselves, children, and animals to any more infrasound pollution than is already present. It is a poor argument to state that it is okay to be subjected to more harmful infrasound because we are already exposed to some.
As an epidemiologist, I can tell you that you want less, not more, exposure to chronic disease-causing factors.
Take ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun: We know the more we are exposed to UV radiation, the more likely we are to get skin cancer. The same is true for smoking and lung cancer. The data center developers are using the same tactics the smoking industry used to downplay concerns about cancer.
For example, the developers will say there is no epidemiological evidence that data centers cause health harm, and that is true—because population-based research has not yet been done with the rapid rise of AI and the data center infrastructure. Also, many people will move away from the area after a data center is built, making it difficult to track health effects over many years. Just as with exposure to UV radiation or cigarette smoke, it could take decades before enough data is collected. Do we want to take that risk so close to our community, children, and most vulnerable citizens?
Please contact your South Annville Township Supervisors and the Lebanon County Commissioners and share your concerns about the negative impact of data centers on our community’s health and well-being.
Thomas P. Dompier, Ph.D., LAT, ATC, is an epidemiologist and Associate Professor of Athletic Training at Lebanon Valley College. The views expressed in this commentary are solely the views of Dr. Dompier and not written on behalf of the College.
