Data center health worries animate midterm campaigns

Opposition to the rapid emergence of data centers in states such as Ohio and Arizona has ginned up activism and unified voters. A range of public health issues have played into the resistance.

Page, Arizona — Doug Herrera still lives in the house his father built, though his dad died some time ago from cancer. Herrera wonders if that illness could have been linked to pollutants from nearby uranium mining. Now, he worries that a possible new neighbor — a proposed $10 billion mega data center — could imperil his health."I'm a patriot, but I'm highly against the data center," Herrera, 64, said from his front porch near a yard sign that reads "No Data Centers.""There is light pollution, sound pollution. The temperature is going to rise," he said.Page is a gateway to iconic Southwestern landscapes of arid desert studded with Joshua trees and towering red-rock formations.

While the City Council approved the sale of land for a data center, the developer needs zoning and other approvals. Residents concerned about possible health effects have signed petitions and mobilized to oppose construction.The boom in data centers is dividing communities such as Page and turning future construction into a flash point in the midterm elections. The leading candidates in the close race for Arizona's 1st Congressional District are at odds over any new centers there, and the state's attorney general has called for a pause on new approvals and building.Emerging research into data centers' possible health effects is adding grist to the various state fights,