Residents of a Texas city have said they are suffering from headaches, hearing loss and vertigo after a cryptocurrency mine opened nearby.
Those who live near the Marathon Digital Holdings plant in Granbury have said steps need to be taken to reduce noise pollution.
Large amounts of electricity are needed to run the computers that create the cryptocurrency and the noise generated has driven residents to despair.
Neighbor Cheryl Shadden said NBC 5 which has been bombarded by noise from the plant for the past two years.
Speaking to the outlet, Shadden said: “It feels like you’re on a runway with planes taking off 24/7 non-stop.” You hear it in your house, it penetrates the walls, it shakes your windows.’
Neighbor Cheryl Shadden told NBC 5 she has been bombarded by noise from the plant for the past two years.
Those who live near the Marathon Digital Holdings plant in Granbury, seen here, have said steps need to be taken to reduce noise pollution.
Shadden added: “Almost all of us have headaches, hearing loss, vertigo, nausea and sleep disturbances. It’s like being a prisoner and having interrogation tactics applied to you.
‘Having a radio on doesn’t help, having sleep sounds on doesn’t help. None of us can sleep at night.
On Wednesday, other people who live in the area protested their concerns and held signs outside the facility, one of which read “bitcoin is not going to fix the grid.”
Nanette Samuelson, county commissioner for district two, shared with the outlet the reports her office had received since last March.
According to Samuelson, action can only be taken in the county when the sound produced by the plant exceeds 85 decibels.
Jackie Sawicky, founder of the Texas Coalition Against Cryptomining, said: “They are extraordinarily exploitative.” They come to places like rural Texas, where there are almost no restrictions.
In response, the company said: ‘Marathon Digital Holdings deeply values our relationships with the communities in which we live and work, and we appreciate the candid feedback that has been shared with us in recent weeks.
“In the long term, we hope to foster a positive and mutually beneficial relationship with our neighbors.”
On Wednesday, other people who live in the area protested their concerns and held signs outside the facility, one of which read “bitcoin is not going to fix the grid.”
The large fans installed to keep the computers that mine cryptocurrency cool are said to sound like jet engines.
Large amounts of electricity are needed to run the computers that create the cryptocurrency and the noise generated has driven residents to despair. Here you can see a satellite shot of the facilities.
The statement continues: ‘Prior to the purchase and commissioning, the company was not aware of the noise problems.
‘Now that we operate the site and have team members on site, we are working to gather information and address the situation.
We have been in close communication with Hood County residents and officials to learn more about this matter.
“We have also commissioned a third party to conduct a robust study, which we hope will provide us with more information to remedy any impacts experienced by nearby residents.”
In December last year, residents of a Pennsylvania town spoke of similar problems after a local bitcoin mine kept them awake.
Locals said the walls inside their home were vibrating due to the nearby Terawulf facility in Salem Township and addressed the issue with the head of the facility.
Ernest Ashbridge III, vice president of the Salem Township board of supervisors, told a local panel: “The gentleman’s house is the last house on Confers Lane, you could literally walk into his house, put your hand on the wall and feel the vibration “. From the fans’ point of view, it was that bad.’
The Terawulf facility in Salem Township is the first Bitcoin mine in the country to run solely on nuclear power, generated by the nearby Susquehanna plant.
‘It’s awful. The buzzing doesn’t let you sleep at night, it wakes you up,” said Stephen Bodnar, who lives about a mile from the operation.
“I have a small pond in front of my house where I used to sit and drink my coffee,” he added.
‘I can’t even enjoy that because I can’t even hear the water over Bitcoin. It’s louder than the waterfall.’
Early last year, residents of an Appalachian town said they had been forced to leave their homes due to a cryptocurrency mine.
The facility in Murphy, one of two in Cherokee County, has constantly made a sound that resident Mike Lugiewicz describes as “a little plane that never goes away.”
Sound level meters used by Lugiewicz in his garden showed the incessant noise of stacks of computer servers and cooling fans scoring between 55 and 85 decibels.