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The NAACP is calling on local officials to halt operations at Colossus, the \u201csupercomputer\u201d facility operated by Elon Musk\u2019s xAI in South Memphis.<\/p>\n
As reported in NBC News<\/a>, leaders from the civil rights group sent a letter Thursday<\/a> to the Shelby County Health Department and Memphis Light Gas and Water criticizing the organizations\u2019 \u201clackadaisical approach to the operation of this dirty data center\u201d and calling on them to \u201cissue an emergency order for xAI to stop operations completely\u201d \u2014 or if there\u2019s no order, to at least cite and stop the company from allegedly violating clean air laws.<\/p>\n The letter expressed particular concerns around the gas turbines that xAI runs to power Colossus. The company has applied for a permit to continue operating 15 gas turbines<\/a> at the facility, although the NAACP said authorities have \u201callowed xAI to operate at least 35 gas turbines without any permitting\u201d over the past year. City officials have previously said xAI did not need permits for the turbines\u2019 first year of use.<\/p>\n These turbines reportedly emit hazardous air pollutants<\/a>, including formaldehyde, at levels exceeding EPA limits. The NAACP\u2019s letter also pointed to the turbines\u2019 nitrogen-oxide emissions.<\/p>\n Noting that the Colossus facility is located near South Memphis\u2019 Boxtown neighborhood, which the letter described as a \u201chistorically Black community,\u201d the NAACP said the location perpetuates \u201cthe trend of industries adding pollution to communities who do not cause the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cInstead of [the Shelby County Health Department] working to reduce health issues known in the area including that cancer risks are already four times the national average, it has allowed xAI to operate above the law,\u201d the NAACP added.<\/p>\n The NAACP\u2019s letter is addressed to Shelby County Health Department Director Michelle Taylor, as well as Memphis Light Gas and Water\u2019s commissioners; Taylor is leaving her role<\/a> in Shelby County to become the commissioner of the Baltimore City Health Department.<\/p>\n TechCrunch has reached out to the NAACP and xAI for comment. A spokesperson for Memphis Light Gas and Water told NBC News that it had not yet received the NAACP letter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n