Native regulators ought to instantly cease Elon Musk’s supercomputer challenge from working in South Memphis as a result of it is out of compliance with environmental guidelines, the NAACP wrote in a letter despatched Thursday to Shelby County officers.
The civil rights group addressed the request to Dr. Michelle Taylor, director of the Shelby County Well being Division and to the commissioners of Memphis Gentle Gasoline and Water. The well being division is chargeable for implementing federal air laws in Shelby County, which encompasses Memphis.
“Being the world’s richest man doesn’t provide the proper to pollute Black communities and jeopardize the well being of its residents,” NAACP president and CEO Derrick Johnson mentioned in a press release to NBC Information. “We urge the well being division to step in instantly.”
When contacted, a spokesperson for Memphis Gentle Gasoline and Water mentioned it had not obtained the NAACP letter and couldn’t touch upon it. Neither the well being division nor xAI instantly responded to questions on the letter, which was additionally signed by the presidents of the Tennessee and Memphis chapters of the NAACP.
In a earlier assertion to NBC Information, xAI mentioned its “operations adjust to all relevant legal guidelines” and that it “works collaboratively with County and Metropolis officers, EPA personnel, and neighborhood leaders concerning all issues that have an effect on Memphis.”
xAI has come beneath scrutiny in latest months for working methane gasoline generators at its Memphis facility to satisfy the electrical energy wants of the supercomputer Colossus. The generators emit pollution, together with nitrogen oxides and formaldehyde, based on their producer.
Environmental teams and the NAACP consider the generators required permits beneath the Clear Air Act; town’s well being division, the mayor and the Chamber of Commerce have mentioned permits weren’t required for the generators’ first 12 months of use. xAI, which is now in search of a allow for 15 everlasting generators, mentioned these can be outfitted with air pollution controls and solely be used as backup as soon as different power choices can be found.
Earlier this month, NBC Information reported on a South Memphis neighborhood known as Boxtown, about two miles from xAI’s facility, the place residents are involved that Musk’s challenge will hurt the realm’s already poor air high quality.
“They obtained cash. And so they can do what they need to do, , with out consulting us,” mentioned Easter Knox, who has lived within the space since 1977. Knox advised NBC Information she and her husband each battle with continual obstructive pulmonary illness, which might be exacerbated by air pollution.
Well being division officers have been restricted of their feedback in regards to the challenge. On Friday, information broke that Taylor, the division head, can be leaving Shelby County to supervise the Baltimore Metropolis Well being Division.
Colossus, which xAI calls the world’s largest supercomputer, got here on-line in September 2024 to coach Grok, the corporate’s chatbot. However critics say the challenge’s potential financial profit to the neighborhood is outweighed by environmental considerations.
“Whereas we applaud analysis and innovation,” the NAACP letter states, “there have to be limits that be certain that communities are wholesome and alive to get pleasure from the advantages of any potential innovation.”
Shelby County well being officers are anticipated to decide on xAI’s software within the coming weeks.
Memphis Mayor Paul Younger beforehand advised NBC’s “Nightly Information” that town plans to work with a researcher to implement air monitoring within the months forward.
