Memphis has had air-quality issues for years. Town persistently ranks on the annual “bronchial asthma capitals” listing compiled by the Bronchial asthma and Allergy Basis of America — together with 2024’s report, which put it because the fifteenth “most difficult” place to reside with bronchial asthma. Shelby County, the place Memphis is situated, earned an F from the American Lung Affiliation’s most up-to-date State of the Air report, and for the final two years, 4 out of the 5 air high quality check websites within the metropolis have proven ozone ranges above the federal normal.
And all of this was earlier than Colossus, the supercomputer that powers Elon Musk’s xAI chatbot Grok, got here to city.
With the supercomputer — which has been working off of as much as 35 unpermitted gas-powered turbines – now possible the most important supply of ozone emissions within the area, native environmental teams are more and more involved about runaway air pollution.
“There actually isn’t something as egregious as what’s taking place in Memphis with the ozone downside,” Southern Environmental Regulation Heart senior legal professional Caroline Cress instructed the native Fox station.
That’s why final week the SELC made a proper request to the Environmental Safety Company to declare the higher Memphis space a “nonattainment” zone for ozone air pollution, which might pressure native regulators to behave.
The SELC petition was filed on June 5 and was executed so on behalf of Memphis Group In opposition to Air pollution, Younger Gifted and Inexperienced, and the Sierra Membership. In accordance with the submitting, native public well being officers have “demonstrated an entire lack of dedication to taking well timed and significant motion crucial to make sure that residents of the realm are not uncovered to unhealthy ranges of ozone air pollution.”
The NAACP Weighs In
A Might 29 letter from the NAACP to Shelby County officers known as for the shutdown of the Colossus facility, framing it as a part of Memphis’s long-standing air pollution disaster. The letter criticized the native well being division for failing to handle well-documented pollution-related well being dangers within the space — together with most cancers charges which can be already 4 instances the nationwide common — and mentioned officers are permitting xAI to function above the regulation.
And it’s not only a Memphis downside. “Black communities bear the brunt of those points as a consequence of centuries of disinvestment, siting of commercial air pollution, and intentional choices to sacrifice their well being,” the NAACP wrote.
“It’s superb while you develop up and understand how redlining has allowed these industries to kill your loved ones,” KeShaun Pearson, head of Memphis Group In opposition to Air pollution, instructed Politico in Might — and he introduced the problem again to what’s taking place in his hometown. “Elon Musk is a illustration of the oligarchy we already knew was working below Jim Crow. It’s a well-recognized evil,” Pearson mentioned.
What’s within the Air?
The fuel generators used to energy Colossus spew out three main pollution: nitrogen oxides, formaldehyde, and tremendous particulate matter. Nitrogen oxides are significantly regarding as a result of they react with different pollution within the air to type ground-level ozone, which is thought to set off and worsen respiratory circumstances like bronchial asthma and Power Obstructive Pulmonary Illness, or COPD.
Memphis resident Alexis Humphreys lately instructed Extra Excellent Union how her grandfather, who was out and in of the hospital for respiratory remedies, died final 12 months from COPD. The progressive lung illness, which makes it tougher to breathe over time, is commonly linked to cigarette smoking — however Humphreys mentioned her grandfather by no means smoked.
She has seen firsthand how respiratory points are prevalent in the neighborhood. Humphreys has bronchial asthma and bronchitis, and each her mom and grandmother have bronchitis. “You possibly can’t hardly breathe,” Humphreys mentioned. “It’s like your entire world is collapsing down on you—and it’s scary.”
A Push for Accountability
The federal normal for ozone air pollution was lowered to 70 elements per billion (ppb) in 2015. In 2023, the higher Memphis space entered a voluntary EPA program designed to assist convey down air pollution known as Ozone Advance. As a part of that program, native businesses are required to draft a Path Ahead doc detailing the plans for decreasing air pollution ranges. Not solely does Memphis’s Path Ahead plan stay incomplete, however the SELC petition says that the draft comprises no point out of Colossus. And Ozone ranges have continued to pattern upward since Memphis joined this system.
“Redesignating the Memphis metro space as in nonattainment for smog would lastly pressure our regulators to do their jobs: tighten industrial permits, scale back dangerous emissions, and shield our well being,” Rep. Justin Pearson, whose predominantly Black district the Colossus facility sits in, mentioned in an announcement. “4 out of 5 native screens have recorded smog ranges that exceed the federal security normal. The fifth isn’t far behind.”
