EPA Urged to Reject Chemours PFAS for Datacenter Cooling
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- A coalition of 17 environmental groups, led by Earthjustice, submitted formal comments demanding the EPA reject Chemours' Opteon 2P50, a PFAS chemical being fast-tracked for use in cooling datacenters, and accused the company of using bad science to downplay toxicity and climate risks.
- Opteon 2P50 is the first chemical for which industry has asked the Trump EPA to fast-track approval under an executive order calling for expedited review of datacenter chemicals.
- Earthjustice's comments allege Chemours relied on a type of lab rat less impacted by PFAS toxic effects than humans, and cited occupational safety limits from the partially industry-funded science group Tera, which the group says has a long history of producing industry-friendly research.
- Two-phase datacenter cooling systems, promoted by Google as water-saving alternatives, typically use PFAS gas refrigerant circulated through copper tubing instead of water.
- The European Chemical Agency classified TFA — a breakdown compound of F-gas refrigerants — as hazardous this month, finding it likely disrupts thyroid function, reduces sperm quality, and is toxic to the liver.
- Earthjustice scientist Adriana Antezana warned that approval for datacenter use could more easily lead to approval for consumer products like refrigerators, and said the group could sue if the EPA approves the chemical without following the law.
Why it matters: For communities near planned US datacenters, this fight determines whether a new PFAS enters widespread commercial use — with Earthjustice warning approval could spill into consumer products like refrigerators. Earthjustice is preparing to litigate, making EPA's decision potentially the first legal test of Trump's datacenter-chemical executive order.
