Former EPA officials: Trump is letting data centers make people sick

Former Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials, now affiliated with the Environmental Protection Network, are warning that Donald Trump's EPA has weakened pollution safeguards since January 2025, resulting in at least 30 actions that could increase health risks associated with the booming data center industry. There are approximately 3,000 data centers in the United States, with over 1,500 more in the planning stages.

As developers expand this energy-intensive infrastructure, essential government regulatory safeguards are being lost, according to ex-EPA officials. Dan Costa, an EPA veteran who spent 35 years studying air pollution, noted the significant loss of EPA's research workforce and shift in priorities away from strict enforcement of pollution standards.

President Trump has positioned the nation as the global leader in AI, with the EPA aiming to support this goal by reducing regulations and facilitating data center construction, even if it means extending the operational lifespan of coal-fired plants or easing regulations on onsite fossil fuel-powered turbines. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin supports these efforts, emphasizing the importance of building and powering data centers for America's AI dominance.

The former EPA researchers assert that pollution from the AI boom could lead to 1,300 additional annual deaths, with some health impacts potentially emerging within years. Lynn Goldman, a physician and former EPA administrative official, emphasized that the AI industry's pursuit of advantage should not come at the cost of public health, stating that families should not have to suffer health consequences due to the AI boom.