Bryan Maacks placed a sign protesting Bitcoin of America about the noises in its operation in Niagara Falls, New York.
In the US border town of Niagara Falls, residents accustomed to the gentle roar of famous waterfalls have recently discovered a far less pleasant sound: the “haunting humming” of the waterfalls. bitcoin mining farm.
“I can sleep for four hours, because of that continuously noiseElizabeth Lundy, an 80-year-old retired hairdresser.
On a sunny October morning, the sound of the cameras can be heard on the Lundy’s front porch. The noise became shrill as one walked two blocks toward Buffalo Avenue, where US bitcoin miners operate.
Bitcoin mining farms have multiplied in the United States since China shut this down in 2021. The United States is now emerging as a global leader in the industry.
Lured by the cheap hydroelectric power available in Niagara Falls, Blockfusion took up residence at an old coal plant there in 2019, followed by US Bitcoin in 2020, operating from a sodium plant. before.
Bitcoin of America has installed hundreds of noisy fans outside, needed to cool down thousands of computer graphics cards that are heating up as they solve the complex equations needed to earn the cryptocurrency.
‘Jet 747’
“Sounds like a 747 jet,” said Frank Peller, a 70-year-old resident who lives in a brownstone house more than a mile from the crypto mining operation.
US Bitcoin uses huge, noisy fans outside its operation in Niagara Falls, New York, on October 24, 2022.
“It’s loudest in the morning, at night, and if at all high humidity and a breeze,” he added.
Once he could sit in his backyard and hear the roar of Niagara Falls more than two miles away. But now, “you can’t hear it at all” and you can’t escape the “noise of bitcoin mining every day.”
Bryan Maacks, who lives near Buffalo Avenue, described a “haunting, vibrating humming”—a terrifying noise that has been running through his home day and night since last winter.
Maacks, 65, said: “It’s very frustrating mentally. It’s like having a toothache 24 hours a day.”
He said he wears headphones all the time and uses a fan to block out the noise to go to sleep.
Maacks launched a petition and made a “US Bitcoin Stop the Noise” sign on the back of his red pickup truck, which he parked a few weeks before the company.
Mayor Robert Restaino, Mayor of Niagara Falls, said: “The noise pollution of this industry is no different than it used to be there.”
Robert Restaino, the mayor of Niagara Falls in New York state, said he is willing to take bitcoin mining farms to court because of the noise they make.
That’s a pretty obvious statement in a city that has embraced heavy industry for decades.
Faced with a slew of complaints, mostly related to US Bitcoin, the mayor made the decision to suspend any new mining operations in December 2021, then in early September set an hourly limit on the number of new mining operations. Strict noise of 40 to 50 decibels near residential areas.
‘Sound insulation’
Bitcoin of America says it is taking steps to solve the problem.
“Immediately when these concerns were flagged, we erected a plastic barrier,” the company said in a statement to AFP.
“We have also conducted acoustic studies and have plans for a larger noise-reducing wall,” the company said, stymied by the building ban.
In the nearby town of North Tonawanda, Canadian mining company Digihost, also facing outrage from local residents, has built a soundproof wall more than six meters (20 feet) high. ), with an estimated cost of several hundred thousand. dollars, said Mayor Austin Tyler.
Huge fans cool off computer activities at US Bitcoin in Niagara Falls, New York, on October 24, 2022.
At Niagara Falls, City Hall ordered the closure of two bitcoin farms in early October until they comply with new local regulations.
While both companies have said they are partnering with the city, only Blockfusion shut down its processors at the end of October and reduced the number of active fans, while US Bitcoin remained active. operating at full capacity, an AFP reporter said.
“If they continue to refuse to comply with our stop order, then we will have to go to court,” Restaino said.
Such a legal battle has caused bitcoin Red Dog Technologies ranch against the local government in Tennessee. Other complaints about noise pollution in the vicinity of computer centers arose from North Carolina to Pennsylvania.
“I’m basically going to protest until the noise goes away, until I get the roar of the falls back because that’s what I’ve heard,” Maacks said.
© 2022 AFP
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