The midterms are six weeks away and Republicans are walking a fine line between meeting constituents in opposition to data center growth and agreeing with the president who continues to advocate for them. Now there seems to be another wrinkle to the ongoing data center backlash: the release of “forever chemicals” into the air.
A new report from chemical watchdog ChemSec found that most of the world’s biggest PFAS producers are expanding their capacity thanks to AI infrastructure. PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals,” are being used to handle the enormous amounts of heat generated from data center equipment. The report found that major chemical producers—including Japanese conglomerate Daikin, French materials manufacturing company Arkema and American chemical company Chemours—are increasing PFAS production thanks to growing demand from semiconductor and data center industries. This stems from three main demand sources: data center cooling, semiconductor manufacturing and lithium-ion battery materials.
