Make Ohio Healthy Again

Make Ohio Healthy Again

What Data Centers Mean for Ohio’s Water, Air, and Health

The Cleanup That Just Finished

•  Ohio has 37 EPA Superfund sites. The cleanup of the Ashtabula River — contaminated with PCBs, heavy metals, uranium, radium, and thorium from decades of industrial operations — only finished in 2021. That cleanup began in the 1990s. Some sites in Northeast Ohio are still ongoing today.

•  Between 2006 and 2013, crews removed 620,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment — containing 14,000 pounds of PCBs and low-level radioactive materials — from the Ashtabula River before it could flow into Lake Erie.

•  At Fields Brook — a Superfund site since 1983 — recovery wells are still extracting toxic liquid from the ground. About 30,000 gallons removed so far.

•  Now the Ohio EPA is proposing a permit that would allow data centers to discharge untreated wastewater into Ohio rivers and Lake Erie — with no baseline water quality testing required and no PFAS limits.

PFAS — Forever Chemicals and Your Hormones

•  Data centers use PFAS — per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — in their cooling systems. These chemicals do not break down. They accumulate in water, soil, and the human body.

•  PFAS are endocrine disruptors. Research from Michigan State University published in 2024 showed that mid- to long-chain PFAS directly stop the production of thyroxine — the thyroid hormone that regulates metabolism, heart rate, body temperature, and development.

•  A December 2025 study published in JAMA Network Open found associations between specific PFAS compounds and endocrine disruption in U.S. women — with PFAS interfering with hormone-binding proteins in thyroid hormone transport.

•  PFAS can cross the placental barrier — raising concerns about effects on developing fetuses and future generations.

•  The proposed Ohio EPA permit does not mention PFAS once.

Air Pollution — The Diesel Generator Problem

•  Data centers rely on diesel backup generators that are regularly tested — meaning the emissions are not emergencies. They are routine. A single data center can pose health risks for residents living at least 0.6 miles away.

•  Diesel generators emit nitrogen oxides and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) linked to respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease, asthma, and premature death. Emergency diesel generators emit 200 to 600 times more nitrogen oxides than natural gas plants.

•  A Piedmont Environmental Council study found one Virginia data center's generators could cause up to 200 premature deaths over 30 years. Ohio has no requirement for health impact studies before data centers are built.

Noise Pollution — The Hum You Can’t Escape

•  Data centers run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Cooling systems and gas turbines emit constant low-frequency noise — including infrasound below the human hearing threshold that cannot be blocked by earplugs or noise-cancelling headphones.

•  Residents near data centers have reported headaches, vertigo, nausea, sleep disruption, ear pain, and hypertension. The WHO links chronic noise exposure to cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and anxiety.

•  Because low-frequency noise is difficult to measure with standard decibel meters, it is nearly impossible to enforce local noise ordinances — even when residents are clearly being harmed.

Ohio spent decades cleaning up the last industrial boom’s mess.

We are not obligated to create the next one.

Make Ohio Healthy Again. 🌽👁️

Ohio First. Ohio Eyes Open. 👁️

Read sourced facts at www.ohioeyesopen.com and decide for yourself.

Key Sources

•  International Joint Commission — Ashtabula River Delisted 2021

•  EPA Fields Brook Superfund — Ongoing Cleanup

•  Circle of Blue — Ohio EPA Wastewater Permit & PFAS

•  Michigan State University — PFAS Disrupts Thyroid Hormone Synthesis (2024)

•  JAMA Network Open — PFAS & Endocrine Disruption in Women (2025)

•  The Hill / WCMH Columbus — Data Center Air Pollution & Lung Issues

•  EESI — Data Center Noise Pollution & Health Effects

•  Save Ohio Parks — Tell Ohio EPA No General Wastewater Permits

•  Conserve Ohio — Sign the Petition