Laura Paddison and Rene Marsh for CNN:

Last summer, an abandoned factory in southwest Memphis got a new life courtesy of the world’s richest man. Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI moved in to transform this unprepossessing building into the “world’s largest supercomputer.”

Musk named it Colossus and said it was the “most powerful AI training system in the world.” It was sold locally as a source of jobs, tax dollars and a key addition to the “Digital Delta” — the move to make Memphis a hotspot for advanced technology.

“This is just the beginning,” xAI said on its website; the company already has plans for a second facility in the city.

But for some residents in nearby Boxtown, a majority Black, economically-disadvantaged community that has long endured industrial pollution, xAI’s facility represents yet another threat to their health.

As I’ve previously written, xAI has a permit to run 15 gas turbines at its first site, but more than 30 have been spotted running. Those additional turbines are operating under an emergency-use exemption that is good for one year, and were initially slated to provide backup power when the utility company couldn’t keep up. Our county Health Department will be weighing in on the matter later this summer, according to a press release:

The Shelby County Health Department’s Pollution Control Branch has received more than 1,700 public comments regarding the xAI CTC Property LLC application for an air pollution permit for natural gas turbines located at the company’s site at 3231 Paul R. Lowry Road, Memphis, TN.

Each comment will be addressed before any decision is made regarding the permit application. The SCHD Pollution Control Branch expects to complete the permit review process in approximately sixty (60) days.

Meanwhile, the story continues to garner national attention:

Desmond Nugent at ABC24:

In response to growing environmental concerns in South Memphis, the Shelby County Commission has proposed a resolution that would require the Shelby County Health Department to provide monthly — rather than quarterly — updates on local air quality in South Memphis.

The proposal stems from rising tensions surrounding emissions linked to xAI, the world’s largest supercomputer facility, which began operations in South Memphis last year. Community members and environmental groups say xAI and other related facilities have contributed to a noticeable decline in air quality.

KeShaun Pearson, president of Memphis Community Against Pollution (MCAP), told ABC24 the proposed resolution is long overdue.

“It’s a huge step forward because it brings us out of the dark,” Pearson said. “We continue to be closed out of the information that we are owed from our public institution, especially the folks who are supposed to protect us, like our Shelby County Health Department.”

Currently, air quality testing takes place some 20 miles away from the running xAI site, as Pearson pointed out to ABC24:

“This our everyday life growing up out here in South Memphis. So the air we breathing in, it’s definitely important because it’s causing people to get sick,” Mr. Bash said.

Pearson also highlighted the unequal distribution of air quality monitors across the county.

“It’s ridiculous when you have [a monitor] in Shelby Farms, but you don’t have one where the concentration of pollution is. And why is that?” he asked.

ABC24 reached out to Shelby County Health Director Dr. Michelle Taylor, who declined an on-camera interview but stated that the department will respond to questions about monthly reporting if and when the County Commission approves the resolution.

The vote is slated for Monday.