this post was submitted on 04 Oct 2025
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Advocates raise alarm over Pfas pollution from datacenters amid AI boom (www.theguardian.com)
submitted 1 week ago by flango@lemmy.eco.br to c/technology@lemmy.world
13 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Tech companies’ use of Pfas gas at facilities may mean datacenters’ climate impact is worse than previously thought

Two kinds of cooling systems are used to prevent the semiconductors and other electronic equipment stored in datacenters from overheating. Water cooling systems require huge volumes of water, and chemicals like nitrates, disinfectants, azoles and other compounds are potentially added and discharged in the environment.

Many centers are now switching to a “two phase” system that uses f-gas as a refrigerant coolant that is run through copper tubing. In this scenario, f-gas is not intentionally released during use, though there may be leaks, and it must be disposed of at the end of its life.

The datacenter industry has claimed that f-gas that escapes is not a threat because, once in the air, it turns into a compound called Tfa. Tfa is considered a Pfas in most of the world, but not the US. Recent research has found it is more toxic than previously thought, and may impact reproductive systems similar to other Pfas.

Researchers in recent years have been alarmed by the ever-growing level of Tfa in the air, water, human blood and elsewhere in the environment. Meanwhile, some f-gases are potent greenhouse gases that can remain in the atmosphere for thousands of years. But f-gasses are lucrative for industry: about 60% of all Pfas manufactured from 2019 to 2022 were f-gas

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[–] dragonfly4933@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 6 days ago

You seem reasonable and don't deserve the downvotes.

Evaporative cooling is mostly used in hyperscale facilities, so most places you would ever visit would usually be cooled the typical way.

It's cheaper because running a compressor costs quite a lot of power, even modern efficient systems still cost more to operate than pumping water out of the ground at near zero cost.

It is also difficult to find information on this topic since these large companies want to keep this information on the down low, that they are consuming a disproportionate amount of ground water.

In a lot of the US, individuals depend on ground water for their needs with their own pumps. It has started occurring that large facilities are built and it starts affecting nearby residents. Sometimes it causes a significant drop in water quality. Over time, they might not be able to get water from their existing well because millions of gallons were extracted for cooling a data center.

The public would be probably be extra pissed if they found out about this.