The Unseen Cost of Our Digital World: Data Centers and the Looming Chemical Threat
In the relentless pursuit of technological advancement, particularly the booming field of artificial intelligence, the world is witnessing an unprecedented surge in the construction and expansion of data centers. These colossal facilities, the silent engines powering our digital lives, are becoming increasingly crucial. However, a recent shift in regulatory priorities by the Trump administration, aimed at accelerating this growth, is raising serious concerns among environmental experts and public health advocates. The core issue? A potential fast-track for the approval of new chemicals, including notorious ‘forever chemicals,’ with potentially limited scrutiny.
A Deregulatory Drive for Digital Dominance
The Trump administration has, in recent months, signaled a strong inclination towards deregulation, particularly in areas perceived to be bottlenecks for economic growth. This includes significant rollbacks of clean water regulations and increased access to public lands for resource extraction. Now, the focus has turned to the chemical industry, with a new policy that could dramatically alter the landscape of chemical approval in the United States.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced a new initiative to prioritize the review of chemicals intended for use in data centers and related infrastructure projects. This move is intrinsically linked to a broader White House agenda, articulated through several executive orders and an AI Action Plan released in July. The administration’s stated goal is to foster a "golden age for American manufacturing and technological dominance," a vision that has been shaped by substantial input from industry stakeholders.
The Backlog Blues and a Willing Ear
Greg Schweer, a former EPA chief of the new chemicals management branch, voices apprehension. "I think they want to impose as few restrictions as possible on chemicals," he states. "In previous administrations, political people stayed out of [chemical regulation]—they tried to let science win. Here, the industry has a willing set of ears that wants to listen to their opinions."
This new policy is part of a larger effort to address a substantial backlog of new chemical reviews at the EPA. This backlog, which has accumulated over years, has drawn criticism from both industry groups and bipartisan lawmakers, who argue it stifles innovation and economic progress. Clearing this backlog has been a key objective for the current EPA leadership, which notably includes former chemical industry executives, lobbyists, and legal professionals.
EPA administrator Lee Zeldin has publicly stated that the agency "inherited a massive backlog of new chemical reviews from the Biden Administration which is getting in the way of projects as it pertains to data center and artificial intelligence projects." He further elaborated that the "Trump EPA wants to get out of the way and help speed up progress on these critical developments, as opposed to gumming up the works."
What Constitutes a ‘Qualifying Project’?
The September announcement outlines a specific pathway for expedited review. Companies seeking faster approval must demonstrate that their chemical is part of a "qualifying project." This designation applies to data centers or "covered component projects" that contribute at least 100 megawatts to the electric grid, projects deemed critical for "national security," or any initiative deemed relevant by the secretaries of Defense, the Interior, Commerce, or Energy.
According to EPA press secretary Brigit Hirsch, chemicals meeting these criteria will be moved to the "front of the line" for review. She assures that "no part of the new chemicals review process will be skipped or bypassed," and that the "same high level of scientific integrity" will be maintained, with "the same thresholds for risk determinations."
Loopholes and the Specter of ‘Forever Chemicals’
Despite these assurances, experts like Greg Schweer remain concerned about potential loopholes. "There are some really big loopholes in here to get chemicals through," he warns. "If you’ve got some friend at the Department of Defense or the Department of Commerce, all you have to do is get that person to send a letter saying, ‘This is a qualifying project.’ There’s no proof involved."
Schweer also points to the risk of expediency leading to compromised scientific rigor. "If you have to do things quickly, you look for shortcuts, and you don’t always have time to look at all the data very well," he explains.
The Unsung Heroes and Hidden Villains of Data Center Cooling
While physical data center buildings themselves may not be the primary drivers of new chemical applications, certain technological advancements within them are drawing attention. One critical area is data center cooling. The immense amount of heat generated by servers requires sophisticated solutions, and immersion cooling has emerged as a promising, albeit potentially problematic, technique.
Immersion cooling involves submerging server racks in non-conductive liquids, significantly reducing the need for energy-intensive fans and pumps. A more advanced form, known as two-phase immersion cooling, utilizes a liquid that boils and vaporizes, then condenses back into liquid to recirculate. This method offers substantial energy savings, making it attractive to the industry.
The specialty cooling liquids used in these advanced systems often contain fluorine and carbon. These elements are precisely what form per- and polyfluoroalkyl chemicals (PFAS), commonly known as "forever chemicals." These substances are notorious for their extreme persistence in the environment and their association with a wide range of serious health issues, including increased cancer risk, reproductive problems, and compromised immune function.
The PFAS Predicament: A Growing Global Concern
The regulatory landscape for PFAS is rapidly evolving. The European Union is moving towards a stringent ban, and numerous U.S. states are implementing their own restrictions. Even the Trump administration has acknowledged PFAS regulation as a priority, though some existing Biden-era rules on certain PFAS have been rolled back.
Major players in the tech industry are increasingly aware of the risks associated with PFAS. Following significant legal challenges and substantial settlements for PFAS producers like 3M, which has pledged to phase out PFAS manufacturing, companies are reassessing their choices. A study co-authored by Microsoft researchers in April highlighted that "emerging PFAS regulations in the European Union and the United States" could "restrict" the use of two-phase immersion cooling.
While Microsoft states it is not currently using immersion cooling in its data centers, and companies like Exxon and Shell explicitly market their cooling liquids as "PFAS-free," the chemical industry continues to innovate in this space.
Chemours and the Next Generation of Cooling Fluids
Chemours, a chemical giant that spun off from DuPont, has recently introduced new products for two-phase immersion cooling that utilize fluids containing fluorine, hydrogen, and carbon – potentially leading to new types of PFAS. The company collaborated with Samsung earlier this year to test one such liquid and has indicated that "testing for subsequent generations will begin in the months ahead." While specific health effects haven’t been definitively linked to these particular compounds, scientists express concern about PFAS as a broader class.
Chemours highlights that these fluids could dramatically reduce the energy required for data center cooling, potentially by up to 90 percent. In public comments submitted on the Trump administration’s AI Action Plan, Chemours advocated for reforms to the new chemicals program to enable the "swift adoption of new technologies that can drive [the US’s] competitiveness globally."
This push for innovation is not without its controversies. Chemours, along with DuPont and other chemical companies, faces ongoing lawsuits over PFAS pollution. These legal battles have already resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements related to PFAS contamination.
Responding to inquiries about its two-phase cooling products and the possibility of seeking expedited review under the new EPA policy, Chemours spokesperson Cassie Olszewski stated that the company is "in the process of commercializing our two-phase immersion cooling fluid, which will require relevant regulatory approvals."
Olszewski emphasized Chemours’s commitment to "developing more sustainable and efficient cooling solutions that would allow data centers to consume less energy, water, and footprint while effectively managing the increasing amount of heat generated by the next generation of chips with higher processing power."
Beyond Data Centers: The Semiconductor Connection
The demand for more powerful chips, essential for AI, also points to another significant area where new chemicals might be fast-tracked. The semiconductor manufacturing process, crucial for producing the chips that power data centers, relies heavily on forever chemicals at various stages, particularly in photolithography – the process of transferring circuit patterns onto silicon wafers.
Both Greg Schweer and Jonathan Kalmuss-Katz, a lawyer at Earthjustice, agree that the semiconductor industry is poised to benefit significantly from this expedited review process. Kalmuss-Katz notes that semiconductor manufacturers are "a main driver of new chemicals."
"The administration has this kind of AI-at-all-costs mindset, where you’re rushing to build more and more data centers and chip fabs without any meaningful plan for dealing with their climate impacts, their natural resource impacts, and the toxic substances that are being used and released from these new facilities," he warns.
Lobbying efforts from the semiconductor industry underscore this point. Documents reveal that industry groups have been actively seeking changes to the EPA’s new chemicals program. Meetings have occurred between EPA officials and representatives from SEMI, a global semiconductor industry association, to discuss "PFAS and other chemicals that are essential to semiconductor manufacturing."
Emails obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request show that Nancy Beck, who leads the EPA office overseeing new chemical reviews, suggested SEMI submit public comments in support of changes to the program. SEMI subsequently submitted a letter advocating for a regulatory approach that "effectively balances risk-based controls with ensuring access to chemicals that are vital to the production of semiconductors."
A Broad Reach: Implications Beyond Direct Data Center Use
Crucially, the new EPA policy’s reach extends beyond chemicals used exclusively or primarily within data centers. The AI executive orders and the EPA’s new policy create an opening for a wide array of companies to seek expedited approval for new products by demonstrating a connection, however indirect, to data center construction or expansion.
As Schweer puts it, "If [a company has] planned a data center, they’re not gonna be waiting around for a new chemical to be approved by the agency. They should have everything they need ready to go. That doesn’t mean that somebody won’t use [the new policy] as an excuse to try to get some chemical through."
Balancing Progress with Precaution
While the desire to streamline the chemical review process and clear the existing backlog is understandable, the potential consequences of this new policy are significant. Walter Leclerc, an independent health and safety consultant to the data center industry, acknowledges that "making it quicker and easier for chemicals to go through the EPA is ‘a pro-growth move.’" However, he adds, "there’s definitely long-term safety implications."
The rapid expansion of our digital infrastructure, fueled by the promise of AI, carries an inherent responsibility to ensure that this progress does not come at the expense of environmental health and human well-being. The current regulatory shift raises critical questions about whether the pursuit of technological dominance is overshadowing the fundamental need for rigorous oversight and precaution when it comes to the chemicals that underpin our modern world.