New Jersey data center spills 5,000 gallons of diesel; mayor cites 'computer glitch'
A New Jersey data center spilled thousands of gallons of diesel fuel into a tributary of the Hackensack River. The incident occurred on September 11 and involved a reported 5,000 gallons from a storage tank. Equinix confirmed that two broken valves caused the release while the mayor attributed it to a computer glitch. Clean-up crews removed about 3,500 gallons during the operation, without…
On September 11, a data center operated by Equinix in Secaucus, New Jersey, experienced a diesel fuel spill, releasing approximately 5,000 gallons of fuel into a tributary of the Hackensack River. The company attributed the incident to "computer glitch" and subsequently hired Clean Harbors for cleanup efforts. However, Equinix later revealed that the leak was caused by two broken valves used during the facility's routine filtration process.
Secaucus Mayor Michael Gonnelli initially mentioned the "computer glitch" explanation. The cleanup operation removed around 3,500 gallons of fuel, and no significant impact on local wildlife or drinking water intakes was observed. This is not the first diesel spill involving a data center in New Jersey, with previous incidents occurring in Clifton (2017) and North Bergen (2022) involving smaller quantities of fuel.
Diesel fuel is commonly used to power backup generators at data centers, providing continuous operation during power outages. However, the increasing use of backup diesel generators and substantial cooling infrastructure can lead to environmental concerns when fuel or other materials escape from data centers.
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