The Loud Fight Over Inaudible Data Center Noise

Local governments across the United States are grappling with a new wave of complaints regarding "infrasound" – inaudible, low-frequency vibrations that some residents believe are emitted by data centers and pose health risks. This phenomenon, which can arise from large computational machines, cooling fans, and on-site power generation like natural gas turbines, is causing local officials to consider revising existing noise ordinances. Examples of this growing concern include Adrian Shelley of Public Citizen urging the city of Red Rock, Texas, to study infrasound's impact on health and amend its noise rules. Similarly, in Calvert County, Maryland, environmental commission member Janette Wysocki called for infrasound to be factored into future data center planning, citing potential impacts on the region's ecosystem. Concerns were also raised by associate professor Thomas Dompier at a Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, commission hearing, and Loudoun County, Virginia, is reportedly looking to rethink its noise ordinance to address low-frequency hums from data centers. The debate has gained wider attention, with audio engineer Benn Jordan's viral video claiming data centers operate like "acoustic weapons," though this has been critically challenged. The issue has even reached the federal level, with HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra telling a U.S. Senate Committee that he is asking the Surgeon General’s office to conduct studies on noise pollution and electromagnetic fields (EMFs) from data centers, following a request from Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri. Experts like acoustician Ethan Bourdeau suggest that cities and counties could adjust how decibels are weighted in noise measurements, using systems like C-weighting or G-weighting instead of the common A-weighting, which filters out sub-hearing frequencies, to address these concerns.