As data centers continue to expand, Professor Chunrong Jia researches its impact
University of Memphis environmental health professor Chunrong Jia is studying air quality and thermal conditions around data centers in Memphis, including xAI's facility. He says further community-level monitoring and greater company transparency about emissions, power, water, wastewater and noise are needed to assess the facilities' broader impacts.
University of Memphis environmental health professor Chunrong Jia has examined air quality and thermal conditions around data centers in Memphis, including the xAI facility. His work uses satellite observations because detailed ground-level monitoring is limited, but he cautioned that the research is not a comprehensive assessment of cumulative environmental effects.
Jia said communities need regulatory air monitoring to measure actual exposure and capture pollution peaks that satellite data may miss. He also urged data center companies to disclose equipment and power plans, emissions inventories, neighborhood air assessments, water and wastewater budgets, noise studies and ongoing operational measurements.