Mysterious outbreak of disturbing health conditions emerges inside a Texas Bitcoin mine
Residents of a small Texas town are asking for help to ‘save their lives’ after being hit by a wave of mysterious illnesses linked to a new Bitcoin mine.
Nurse Deanna Leakey, 55, has suffered from blackouts and nausea since the mine opened in Granbury, just outside Dallas. Her husband, Danny, has developed an irregular heartbeat that puts him at risk for strokes and heart attacks.
Across the street, a neighbor says she suffers from constant headaches, while one of her dogs became so tormented that he began pulling out his own fur. In another case, a child was taken to the hospital four times in four months with ear infections.
Many blame the nearly 100 illnesses on the nearby Bitcoin mine and the constant noise from the fans that cool the 30,000 computers.
Deanna Leakey, 55, a nurse who lives in Granbury, Texas, says she is asking for help to reduce the noise to save her life. She is pictured above with her husband Danny
Above you can see the mine, which is run by Marathon Digital Holdings Ltd. The fans make a constant humming noise as they keep the computers cool
The facility is equipped with tens of thousands of powerful computers that comb through code to find Bitcoins. Each Bitcoin is worth about $55,000.
The machines are housed in 163 large metal crates that resemble shipping containers and generate a lot of heat while operating.
The only way to prevent them from overheating is to install fans, but these can be extremely noisy – with ambient noise levels reaching up to 90 decibels (dB) — similar to a chainsaw, blender or hair dryer that runs continuously.
Recently, local residents reported that the noise from Marathon Digital Holdings Ltd’s mine was around 70 dB at night, about the same noise level as a washing machine.
Ms. Lakey told reporters through tears NBC News: ‘We are not complaining, we are not resisting, we are asking for help to save our lives.
‘[When] I got sick, I felt like I was going to die.’
Above you see the Bitcoin mine (left) and the Texas town of Granbury (right) about an hour’s drive from Fort Worth. Locals say they are being tortured by the noise
The map above shows the locations of 50 of America’s 137 crypto mines. Officials are now beginning to investigate how much electricity they use
She added: “We live very close to the Bitcoin farm and we are definitely bothered by the noises that are heard 24 hours a day.”
For comparison, in New York City, noise levels hover around 48 dB at night, but in some areas with heavy traffic, they can reach 70 dB.
However, this is not constant, meaning residents may be able to avoid negative health effects.
Her husband, Mr. Lakey, described the noise as so intense it sounded like “being hit in the chest with a baseball.”
Cheryl Shadden, who also lives near the mines, said: ‘It’s like sleeping with a vacuum cleaner under your bed.
“My ears are ringing 24/7. I have a headache. I’m dizzy. I had a dog that pulled out her fur in clumps last year.”
According to local doctors, there is little else that could be causing the sudden increase in illnesses than the recently installed Bitcoin mine in the city.
The mine was commissioned in the summer of 2022 and acquired by Marathon in December 2023.
Dr. Keith Darrow, an audiologist who treats local patients, said: ‘This summer we have probably seen a significant increase of 100 to 150 percent more patients complaining of noise exposure.’
According to the CDC, exposure to sounds at these levels for more than two hours a day can cause permanent damage to the eardrums.
It also says that in order to sleep, sounds should be below 30 dB, about the sound of a whisper.
Lack of sleep can lead to health problems, such as heart disease and infections, because the immune system is weakened.
Cheryl Shadden, who lives near the mine, says one of her dogs was so disturbed by the noise that he started pulling out his own fur
Marathon says they are making modifications to the mine to reduce the noise it produces
After the Granbury mine opened in the summer of 2022, residents retreated from their porches to their homes to escape the noise.
But soon they noticed that the sound was also reaching inside them. Many noticed that the windows were rattling and the beds were shaking.
Wild animals, including rabbits, coyotes and birds, fled the area, while chickens stopped laying eggs and dogs suffered spasms.
In addition to Granbury, cities in other parts of the US, including Bono, Arkansas, and Williston, North Dakota, are also affected by the constant noise from Bitcoin mining.
Their numbers in the US are growing, with 137 now in the country – after China asked the mines to leave, in part because they consumed a large amount of electricity, experts said.
The Granbury Bitcoin mine is operated by Marathon Digital Holdings Ltd. The local community has received repeated complaints about their activities.
The mine recently invested more than $1 million to reduce noise pollution at the facility, including the installation of a new noise barrier.
They also say there are plans to switch half of the computers there to immersion cooling, a less noisy method that immerses machines in a dielectric fluid to lower their temperature.
Marathon said in a statement: “[Marathon] adheres to the highest health and safety standards.
‘Since [Marathon] The data center has been operational since April 2024. With this, we have gone beyond what is expected of an established industrial zone. This allows us to guarantee that our facility is the best in the sector.’
They added: ‘There is no established link, medical or otherwise, between [Marathon]’s operations and the ailments alleged.’
The Texas Coalition Against Cryptomining is leading the local attack on these activities.
