Noise & More

Many individuals agree that if you try and negotiate with these big corporations and they get their foot in the door, you will have difficulty controlling them. They will submit variance after variance and sue the town until they get what they want. This is why they prey on small towns.
In other words, we want to avoid negotiating with these predators.
They hope the Council and Planning Commission and the Town Lawyer are incompetent and will fall for their tricks. I have faith that this will not happen in our town and that you will do all it takes to protect this town. Chesterton was smart and protected their residents.

In the meantime, I also wanted to highlight some concerning quotes from the article below.

According to former NASA Scientist Dr. John Lyver, residents, students, and teachers as far as 2.5 miles could be affected.
---
• Former NASA Scientist Dr. John Lyver and Heritage Hunt resident believe this would be a mistake. He conducted a noise study on the proposed and existing data centers, analyzing the way noise travels through the air and over the topography.

• Last week, Lyver released an updated version of his study and findings. It shows sound radiating from data centers would reach sound levels that would violate the county sound ordinance of 55-60 decibels, thus disrupting the peace. However, HVAC systems are currently exempt from such ordinances in Prince William County.

• Among multitudes of concerns surrounding data centers, noise pollution has emerged as the most concerning. Data center HVAC systems produce a low hum, which the brain has difficulty filtering out. Lyver contends that so many large data buildings all within close proximity would amplify the sound. That level of sound could travel as far as 2.5 miles.

• People living near data centers, such as those in Chandler, Arizona claim to experience health problems, stress, and difficulty sleeping. Constant noise has negative effects on the body even in other forms such as construction sound, which could go on for 10-20 years as data centers are being built in the area.

• Containing sound is not an easy or inexpensive fix (which is the reason data centers are reluctant to handle the problem on their end.) Protecting classrooms at Chris Yung Elementary School could cost an estimated $20 million, according to Dr. Lyver's research.

• These levels of noise will impact student learning in three ways:
• excessive noise in the classroom will disrupt the quality of learning,
• a vital part of a rounded education is for students to play, learn, and interact outside the school building in learning and physical activities,
• and stress-induced health issues in children and school staff personnel.

View the full story