How we help protect community health and safety
Our approach to building and operating datacenters starts with people. When a new datacenter is proposed, we understand you may have questions about health, safety, and environmental impacts. We take those questions seriously. That’s why we design our facilities to meet strict health, safety, and environmental standards at every stage—from construction to daily operations. These standards are grounded in science, enforced through regulation, and designed to help protect you and your community.
Frequently asked questions
We are committed to providing clear, factual information about how our datacenters are designed, built, and operated. Below are answers to some of the most common health and safety questions we hear from communities.
Will Microsoft datacenters negatively impact my health?
No, there is no evidence that datacenters built to local codes and ordinances present health risks. During all phases of the datacenter lifecycle—from construction to operations—Microsoft meets, or exceeds, local, state, and federal health, safety, and environmental regulations.
Are datacenters linked to increased cancer rates or miscarriages?
There is no evidence that living near a datacenter causes or increases the risk of cancer, miscarriages, or other health issues. Datacenters primarily consist of electrical systems and cooling equipment, and during normal operation they do not produce toxic emissions or hazardous radiation that would pose a health risk. In rare emergency situations when backup generators are in use, emissions levels are closely monitored to ensure that we comply with all federal, state, and local air quality regulations.
Will hosting a datacenter pollute our water supply?
Datacenters carefully manage their cooling water to help protect local water quality and public health. Federal, state, and local governments have established regulations that apply to water discharges. We manage and monitor our operations and discharges to meet these requirements, and we work with local utilities to help ensure compliance. Microsoft also designs its cooling water systems and datacenters to prevent chemicals from being released to the environment or local sewers. Microsoft does not add PFAS (so-called “forever”) chemicals to its datacenter cooling operations. Together, these measures provide multiple layers of water quality protection designed to prevent harmful pollutants from entering community waters.
What will you do with water when the closed-loop system is flushed?
During initial commissioning, the closed-loop system is filled and flushed using standard municipal water—a one-time activity coordinated directly with the local utility to help ensure any discharge to the sewer system is planned, permitted, and in accordance with local regulations and ordinances. Once the system is placed into service, the water remains sealed within the closed loop.
What happens to the propylene glycol (PG) from the closed-loop system if there is a pipe leak or spill?
Modern liquid-cooled computing systems use multiple layers of protection to quickly identify and respond to liquid leaks to prevent or minimize potential releases, helping protect people, equipment, and the surrounding environment. Leak detection and automatic shutdown systems are a key part of responsible liquid cooling design, supporting safe, reliable, and resilient operation in high-performance computing environments. In the unlikely event of a leak or spill, datacenters have established spill response and cleanup procedures in place, including trained personnel, readily available spill kits, and planned disposal procedures to help ensure liquids are contained, cleaned up promptly, and managed in an environmentally responsible way.
Are there health risks associated with groundwater near datacenters?
Datacenters are subject to environmental protections that require the safe handling of water and chemicals, along with routine monitoring. Microsoft takes measures to ensure compliance with applicable regulatory standards related to groundwater. Based on how Microsoft closed-loop cooled datacenters are designed, there are no releases from datacenter operations that enter groundwater.
Why does Microsoft use diesel generators instead of natural gas or other fuels?
Backup generators are for rare emergencies, testing is much less than 24 hours per year, and diesel is currently the most practical fuel option at required scale because of size needs and limited natural gas availability.
Do the generators create air pollution, and how is that regulated?
Microsoft receives air permits for stationary backup generators as required by the Clean Air Act and corresponding state implementation plans. Generator use is very infrequent, intended for emergencies rather than primary power, and testing/maintenance runs are much less than 24 hours per year.
Microsoft reduces potential health risks by limiting generator use and applying permit-based controls. Generators are permitted and regulated, use modern engines with emission controls, and are managed through setback distances and operating limits.
How often are generators tested, and when does testing occur?
Testing/maintenance runs are much less than 24 hours per year and are typically scheduled during daytime hours. Generators are enclosed in sound-attenuating housings and shielded where needed.
Do cooling systems create a heat-island effect?
Microsoft manages and dissipates heat generated from cooling datacenter servers and adopts cutting-edge solutions to minimize waste heat. Whether any particular facility measurably affects nearby outdoor temperatures depends on site-specific factors such as facility design, cooling technology, scale, and local environmental conditions.
Do Microsoft datacenters create light pollution that poses health risks?
Microsoft datacenters use carefully designed exterior lighting that prioritizes worker safety without causing light pollution. We are mindful that community members value dark night skies and minimal intrusion from bright lights at night. Our approach to lighting helps ensure the datacenter’s presence at night is unobtrusive and does not affect health.
What happens if substation equipment fails?
If substation equipment fails, protective systems automatically shut off or isolate the affected equipment to prevent damage and help keep people safe. Substations are designed with multiple layers of protection and redundancy. They are engineered so that credible equipment failures do not pose a health or safety risk to surrounding communities. Electrical protection systems, physical separation, and emergency response procedures are intended to prevent off-site impacts.
Do datacenters produce infrasound that can affect people’s health?
Datacenters do not generate any unique or unusual sound frequencies compared to other commercial or industrial facilities with electrical and HVAC (heating, ventilation, and cooling) equipment. The primary noise sources are standard components such as fans, air handlers, pumps, and electrical systems, which produce broadband and tonal noise typical of these systems.
Like all mechanical and electrical equipment, datacenter infrastructure can generate some low-frequency sound, including frequencies below the typical range of human hearing (also known as infrasound, generally defined as below 20 Hz). These levels are generally very low, consistent with common background environmental sources (e.g., wind, traffic, or building systems), and are typically not perceptible to the human ear or body under normal conditions.
While humans cannot hear these frequencies, it is important to note that the mere presence of infrasound does not imply a health risk. Levels associated with typical building operations, including datacenters, are well below those shown to cause physiological effects.
There are many examples of infrasound (<20 Hz) all around us. Natural and common sources such as wind, ocean waves, and weather systems continuously generate low-frequency sound below the range of human hearing. Even some animals, like elephants and whales, communicate using very low-frequency sound that is completely inaudible to humans.
To learn more about low-frequency sound and infrasound, please review these sources.
- Systematic review (Science of the Total Environment) https://postprint.nivel.nl/PPpp6138.pdf
- European / RIVM systematic review https://conforg.fr/euronoise2015/proceedings/data/articles/000558.pdf
Will hosting a datacenter increase security or attack risks?
Ensuring safety is a top concern for Microsoft. Our datacenters are designed and operated to be safe and secure for the communities where they’re located. We work closely with local officials to help ensure our facilities meet regulatory and safety requirements, and we’re thoughtful about what details we share publicly due to security and compliance considerations.