Elon Musk’s xAI and its massive Memphis data center are accused of violating the Clean Air Act and “desecrating” local communities with "toxic pollutants" emanating from the illegal use of dozens of onsite gas turbines.
The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) lodged its accusations against the Musk-founded startup in a letter addressed to the director of the Tennessee state-run Shelby County Health Department on Wednesday.
The 13-page letter claims that xAI’s Southwest Memphis data center – the site housing Collusus, the world’s largest supercomputer since it was powered up last August – has been pumping hazardous pollutants into Memphis communities since last June.
At the center of the controversy are about three dozen gas turbines currently operating on the Southern Memphis site and the nitrogen oxide (NOx) and formaldehyde gases produced by them.
NOx – one of six “criteria pollutants,” or HAPs, regulated by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) – are known to contribute to smog and acid rain and is considered carcinogenic/toxic even in small quantities, the SELC explains.
According to the law center, the Grok-maker's gas turbines emit harmful pollution that worsens air quality throughout Memphis and increases risks for asthma and other respiratory illnesses, as well as harmful chemicals like formaldehyde, which is linked to certain types of cancers.
“Suffocating our community with formaldehyde and nitrogen oxide from these 35 dirty, unpermitted gas turbines shows the blatant disregard for the lives of the majority Black community in South Memphis," said KeShaun Pearson, Director of Memphis Community Against Pollution (MCAP).
“The rapid scaling of these dangerous toxic pollutants is reckless, irresponsible, and a threat to us all," the MCAP director said
The SELC, with dozens of local environmental and community groups, says that xAI is not only “illegally constructing a major source of criteria pollutants” but also failing to obtain the legal air permits to operate them.
The North Carolina-headquartered non-profit further provided about half a dozen aerial images to the health department, allegedly taken on March 31st, to show the xAI facility “flanked by dozens of gas-fired combustion turbines.”
“We already bear the brunt of environmental injustice, with our Black communities suffering from asthma and cancer risks that are among the highest in the nation,” said LaTricea Adams, CEO and President of Young, Gifted & Green.
“It is the moral obligation of our Health Department to use every tool at their disposal to protect us, not enable the exploitation of our neighborhoods for the profit of billionaire corporations,” Adams said.
xAI operating facility with no oversight
Even before xAI came to Memphis, the city had some of the worst air quality in the region, with levels of ozone above the federal standard and getting worse, the letter states.
Memphis officials have said xAI chose its city because of its reliable power grid, ability to create a wastewater facility, proximity to the Mississippi River, and ample land, but also say the company has been operating carte blanche with a “stunning lack of transparency that left impacted communities in the dark.”
“xAI has essentially built a power plant in South Memphis with no oversight, no permitting, and no regard for families living in nearby communities. These dozens of gas turbines are doing significant harm to the air Memphians breathe every day. We expect local health leaders to promptly act in order to hold xAI accountable for its clear violations of the Clean Air Act,” said SELC Senior Attorney Amanda Garcia.
Local communities and environmental groups began investigating xAI’s plans to apply for air permits ever since the company announced it was bringing its supercomputer to the area last June.
During the investigation, it was discovered that xAI had already begun operating up to 18 gas turbines in June and July of 2024, with that amount now doubled, the SELC said.
Musk announced plans to expand the supercomputer with the purchase of an additional 1 million square foot industrial park last month. xAI also leased 13 acres of land as part of a separate deal to build the Colossus Water Recycle Plant, an $80 million greywater facility.
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