r/SouthJersey • u/Kevscansw • Mar 13 '26
Cumberland County Residents raise concerns about humming noise near South Jersey data center
https://6abc.com/post/vineland-nj-residents-raise-concerns-humming-noise-data-center-south-lincoln-avenue/18707437/30
u/TJ_McWeaksauce Mar 13 '26
It often takes years, if not decades, for experts to realize that something we're doing on a mass scale is messing people up, and then years after that for the public to become aware of it.
Look at plastics and microplastics. The history of plastic goes back to around the 1850s. But it wasn't until around the 1960s or 1970s that scientists started finding microplastics contaminating animals and the environment. It wasn't until 2004 that the term "microplastics" was coined. And it wasn't until kind of recently that the public became aware of the fact that there are microplastics everywhere, from the land, the ocean, in our bodies, and even in the bodies of newly born children.
And what harm is caused by microplastics? Our experts are still figuring it out.
Research on the health impacts of microplastics in humans is just beginning. The particles have been found in multiple organs and tissues, including the brain, testicles, heart, stomach, lymph nodes and placenta. They've also been detected in urine, breastmilk, semen and meconium, which is a newborn's first stool. "We're born pre-polluted," LaBeaud said.
Evidence is growing that this exposure could be harmful. Studies show that microplastics make fish and birds more vulnerable to infections. Animal and cellular studies have linked microplastics to biological changes including inflammation, an impaired immune system, deteriorated tissues, altered metabolic function, abnormal organ development, cell damage and more. A recent large-scale review of existing research by scholars at the University of California, San Francisco, concluded that exposure to microplastics is suspected to harm reproductive, digestive and respiratory health and suggested a link to colon and lung cancer.
It took scientists about 100 years to first notice that the world was contaminated by microplastics, it took over 150 years for the public to become aware of it, and who knows how much longer it'll take for us to fully realize just how much damage these little particles are doing to us and the environment.
I'm guessing something similar will happen with these data centers. 100+ years from now, scientists will report new findings about how pollution - including noise pollution - from these data centers is fucking up people's minds and bodies in unexpected and horrible ways.
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u/CardFall Mar 13 '26
I know somebody that lives in this area and they told me they were hearing the hum. Seems...not great.
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u/R3N3G6D3 Mar 13 '26
I mean, glass bottles, rags, Styrofoam, and some type of concentrated solvent solves the problem pretty quickly.
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u/WindWalkerWalking Mar 13 '26
I’ve said it before, eco-terrorism is going to go be a major issue in the 2030s. Data centers will be major targets. They will invest heavy in security and the whole thing is going to feel cyberpunky
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u/cvc4455 Mar 13 '26
They are working on autonomous drones for security! They won't even be hiring people for security guards and instead it'll be some drones from Andruil or some other shitty company.
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u/RGBlaster Mar 13 '26
Is this data center for AI? Are you speaking of data centers for AI being targets? Or do you mean any data center?
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u/jkholmes89 Mar 13 '26
Yes, all data centers are used by AI as training data. The recent explosion in new data centers is a direct result of AI becoming mainstream and how much more power it gives the wealthy over the lives of ordinary citizens. It's not about being against technological progress, but against those in control whose goals are clearly to oppress the have-nots. If that sounds like an arrogant bond villain, yea that's what they are.
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u/RGBlaster Mar 13 '26
There are plenty of data centers that still operate in a traditional manner. We need better systems to power and cool AI data centers because there is no stopping the AI tech wave at this point. It’s been adopted and integrated into just about everything at this point. Trying to tear it all down isn’t going to work and it’s going to happen. The economic shock would be catastrophic and the have-nots would be the hardest hit. Personally I’m not a fan of AI it just seems to make people lazy, especially HR departments.
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u/Diabolikjn Mar 13 '26
Go to YouTube and look up news reports of data centers in other areas. This is a known issue among others.
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u/MentalTelephone5080 Mar 13 '26
Crazy thing is that it is a known and often reported issue. However, the data centers have experts that report how the new data center fixes that issue with baffles and won't be an issue.
Then post construction it's an issue and nothing is done to fix it
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u/Lower_Bar5210 Mar 14 '26
Virginia neighborhoods are surrounded by these things; it's really a shame what we are doing to each other.
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u/musicfuels_me44 BOOTLICKER Mar 13 '26
It’s well known that all data centers around the country have this same feedback. Someone even shared they have water pressure issues so bad they can barely shower not east coast i think.
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u/kitchnwitch Mar 14 '26
As someone who lives 5 miles from this monstrosity, I personally thank data center guy for making sure our water source becomes unstable, our electricity bills go up even further, and my neighbors can’t sleep due to noise and light pollution. A real boon for the community!
Seriously, city council meetings are the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of every month and every meeting has had people stand up during public comment to tell the council how much we hate this thing…it seems to matter not. Also, they have a tax abatement and the city also gave them a loan for cranes which were already on site. NEAT!
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u/bouncypinata Mar 13 '26
A lot of ignorant people in here are obviously unaware of the job they bring to the community.
not a typo
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u/Glittering-Cherry-99 Mar 19 '26
I’d go plant bamboo shoots all over the data property. Get em back with nature!!!!!
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u/Jeromz Mar 13 '26
I called the data center owner and they were so kind, they gave me three sets of 2009 M3 ear plugs to help with the humming. So thankful for these data centers.
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Mar 13 '26 edited Mar 13 '26
[deleted]
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u/WindWalkerWalking Mar 13 '26
This whole comment is dumb but feel the need to point out that India is not a major player in the AI sector at all.
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u/jkholmes89 Mar 13 '26
Except the same people claiming windmills are bad are the ones building the data centers. Nobody who thought about it for 10 seconds equates the inherent ecological violence of data centers to windmills.
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u/g_ppetto Mar 13 '26
I saw the story on the news this evening. If I had to guess, it sounded like generators were running at the construction site, maybe construction equipment? It also looked like the building was still under construction. It didn't look good that the complaining neighbors were looking to get paid because of the noise from the construction site.
Maybe someone can explain to me how they are stealing water and power when they are not on the grid yet, never mind that they are running their own generators... I dunno, just asking.
Are the generators running all night? Is their a noise ordinance? Again, I dunno.
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u/djspacebunny Mod Salem County Xennial Mar 13 '26
Assuming you're not trolling and instead are really just living under a rock: They are using natural gas powered turbines on the property right now, that doesn't require them hooked up to the grid. They plan to continue using those natural gas turbines. Look at other AI datacenters and the folks complaining about the same exact problems in their communities. Additionally, they are drilling into the aquifer for their water needs, which depletes the groundwater at an ALARMING rate in a region that relies on farming and those underground reservoirs. THIS IS BAD.
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u/the-Whey-itis Mar 13 '26
I've worked in many data centers, and a 2.4 million square ft data center is an absolutely massive facility. 2.4 million square ft is around 30 Walmarts, but this building will be packed full of equipment that draws power and needs to be cooled. They'll need to have their own power plant on site and it'll never stop running, loud or not.
Just to be clear, I agree that this thing is a nightmare that should have never been allowed
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u/g_ppetto Mar 13 '26
Thanks! No, I'm not trolling. I said I thought it sounded like generators. I would have guessed diesel, but can see where NG would be a better choice as it is easier to get it piped in. Is the building finished and populated with computers yet? I couldn't tell. It appeared in the brief video I saw, the building was still under construction. Regarding the cooling for the data center - I've worked in and visited quite a few data centers. Some of the computers had liquid helium cooling under the skins, and the helium needed to be cooled away from the computer. Some sites had huge water towers on their properties that were part of the data center cooling systems. The water tower at the former Bell Labs building in Holmdel, NJ, is shaped like the first transistor 'can' . Most of the cooling systems were closed loop where you fill them once, recycle the water, and top them off occasionally. You are not pumping water through the system, cooling whatever needs to be cooled, passing it through a heat exchanger, and flushing the water like a nuke plant. If the data center does not have a closed loop, then it has a bad design that never should have made it through the building permit phase.
Thanks for the info!
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u/djspacebunny Mod Salem County Xennial Mar 13 '26
They have failed to file a number of permits with the state... and decided to build anyway without approval. That should tell you a lot about the folks building this mess.
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u/g_ppetto Mar 13 '26
Then get them shut down. If the permits were not filed and approved, whatever was constructed needs to be removed.
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u/beren12 Mar 13 '26
Why guess? You afraid of facts or something?
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u/g_ppetto Mar 13 '26
I heard a sound on a news report.
I'm not close enough, or even care enough to determine how it is being generated. (like what I did there??)
I guessed it was coming from a generator. Apparently, I guessed correctly.
The more we pave, and the more we build, the less lantern flies we will have.
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u/SirVicSmasher Mar 13 '26
You should do a little research into something called "infrasound"
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u/g_ppetto Mar 13 '26
I am familiar with the term "infrasound". It is low frequency ~ 20Hz sound, which would have been inaudible on the news report and was not mentioned.
How is "infrasound" related to the news report??
Did you just feel the need to post something??
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u/Lower_Bar5210 Mar 13 '26
This is one of my favorite parts of enshitification.
They said F your feelings, your ears, your health. They are stealing your power and water and making you poorer. These things don't offer local sustainable jobs. They are a leech.
These people will not get financial restitution.
They already answered the complaint. They are complying with local laws.