During grading work on the western edge of Digital Realty's $3 billion Georgia data-center campus, crews hit material that reacted the moment it touched air, smoking so heavily that local police sent a bomb squad to inspect it.
The substance was white phosphorus, buried on a 97-acre parcel the company bought for $120 million in 2025, a former Army disposal ground used from 1941 to around 1980 for gas masks, solvents, and sewage sludge. Hunterbrook, an investigative research outlet, reports that the find sits alongside a documented history of lead contamination, chlorinated-solvent plumes, and a 2023 Army warning about buried ordnance on the same property. Digital Realty says it stopped work immediately, removed the material, and found no further munitions.
Ticker: DLR (Digital Realty Trust, Inc.)
Research Firm: Hunterbrook
Report URL: https://hntrbrk.com/investigations/digital-realty?ref=shortreport.fyi
Position Disclosure: Not specified in the source report.
Thesis
Hunterbrook's investigation argues that Digital Realty's $3 billion Fort Gillem data-center project is being built on a former Army disposal site carrying contamination, munitions, and transparency risks, based on company filings, regulatory correspondence, and resident accounts.
- $100 Million Remediation Bill: Digital Realty's own project website says it expects to spend more than $100 million on stream mitigation, methane remediation, and soil and bedrock stabilization; the site's history includes a 2000 burn pit with lead up to 25,000 mg/kg, 2009 drums labeled "Trichloroethylene Tech," and detection of the chemical-warfare-clothing compound XXCC3.
- White Phosphorus Discovery: A December 2025 letter from Digital Realty's environmental consultant to Georgia EPD confirms combustible white phosphorus was found in the area planned for the data center, smoked on air exposure, and triggered a bomb-squad inspection; five 30-gallon drums were ultimately removed to a hazardous-waste facility.
- Vapor and Methane Mitigation: Chlorinated-solvent and landfill-methane contamination on the site, which in 2014 drove the Army to install a daycare ventilation system and carbon filters in 22 nearby homes, is now prompting Digital Realty's consultant to design vapor-mitigation systems for the planned data-center buildings.
- Buried Ordnance Warning: The Army's 2023 property-transfer report warned of buried expended ordnance on the parcel, a warning the report ties directly to the white-phosphorus find and resulting work stoppage.
- Disputed Blasting Damage: Forest Park resident Pamela Felder alleges 67 days of scheduled rock blasting, plus 38 "overblast" days, cracked her home and neighbors' homes; Digital Realty says pre-blast surveys and geotechnical monitoring found the claimed damage was not caused by site activity.
- Undisclosed Tax Incentives: Digital Realty has requested tax abatements of undisclosed size from Forest Park's Downtown Development Authority, Clayton County, and Clayton County Public Schools, while negotiating a community-benefits agreement initially valued around $5 million over 10 years.
- Closed-Door Approval: Residents say the project stayed confidential under an NDA until June 2025, two months after the April 2025 land sale closed, and the URA chair confirmed an NDA restricting disclosure of Digital Realty's identity; one resident was quoted a $14,763 records fee and another says roughly 1,900 identified emails have not been produced.
Catalysts
- Further excavation across the 97-acre site, ongoing: additional contamination, waste, or ordnance finds would extend remediation scope.
- Georgia EPD oversight of the white-phosphorus cleanup, following its February site visit: regulatory sign-off or further findings would resolve or escalate the issue.
- Installation and performance testing of vapor- and methane-mitigation systems in the planned buildings, no date given: results would determine ongoing mitigation costs.
- Tax-abatement decisions by Forest Park's Downtown Development Authority, Clayton County, and Clayton County Public Schools, pending: approval or denial affects project economics.
- Finalization of the community-benefits agreement, currently under negotiation and expected to exceed $5 million: terms will set the company's local cost and goodwill position.
- Opening of the project's first phase, expected early 2028: the first operational milestone for the $3 billion campus.
Company Response
Digital Realty responded to Hunterbrook through a spokesperson. The company said it stopped work immediately after discovering white phosphorus, reported no injuries, excavated the affected 100-foot by 100-foot by 8-foot area, and removed five 30-gallon drums to a permitted hazardous-waste facility, with no further munitions found since. It said future buildings will include vapor-mitigation systems for chlorinated compounds and, where warranted, methane, and that blasting-damage claims were evaluated through pre-blast surveys and geotechnical monitoring and found not to be caused by site activity. The company denied signing an NDA with the City of Forest Park and said community-benefits agreement terms remain under negotiation but are expected to exceed the initially requested $5 million. Precision Blasting LLC and the City of Forest Park did not respond to Hunterbrook's requests for comment.
Notable Details
- Digital Realty's proposed remedy, per a filing, was to encapsulate the white-phosphorus area beneath a concrete data-center foundation after estimating it could run as large as 100 feet by 100 feet by 8 feet deep.
- Digital Realty paid $120 million for the 97-acre former Army parcel, on land the Army used from 1941 to around 1980 to dump gas masks, medical waste, solvents, and sewage sludge.
- A Forest Park resident seeking project records was quoted a $14,763 fee, while the city's IT department reportedly identified roughly 1,900 potentially relevant emails that had not been released as of August.
- Resident Pamela Felder described the blasting as feeling like someone "picked her home up and dropped it back down," and said a prepaid legal service denied her damage claim twice.
"Tons and tons and tons, physical tons, of trash and environmental hazards."
A Digital Realty asset manager used this description in a 2025 meeting with county officials to characterize the former Army disposal site being redeveloped into the data-center campus.
FAQs
What is DLR building at the Fort Gillem site?
Digital Realty Trust (DLR) is developing a $3 billion data-center campus on a 97-acre former Army parcel in Forest Park, Georgia, bought for $120 million in 2025. The first phase is expected to open in early 2028, with the company's own website citing more than $100 million in planned remediation spending.
What has Digital Realty Trust said about the white phosphorus discovery at its Georgia site?
A spokesperson said the company stopped work immediately after the December 2025 discovery, reported no injuries, excavated the affected area, and removed five 30-gallon drums of material to a permitted hazardous-waste facility. The company said no further munitions or explosives of concern have been found since.
What did Hunterbrook find about the Fort Gillem site's environmental history?
Hunterbrook's investigation documents a 2000 burn pit with lead concentrations up to 25,000 mg/kg, 2009 drums labeled for the solvent TCE, detection of the chemical-warfare-clothing compound XXCC3, and a 2014 incident where toxic vapors entered nearby homes. It also cites the Army's 2023 property-transfer report warning of buried expended ordnance on the site.
What is white phosphorus and why does it matter at this site?
White phosphorus is a combustible material that ignites and smokes on contact with air; the report notes Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International consider its use against civilian areas in warfare a potential crime. At Fort Gillem, its discovery in an area planned for a data-center building triggered a bomb-squad response and a temporary work stoppage confirmed by Georgia EPD.
Do Forest Park residents allege the blasting damaged their homes?
Yes. Resident Pamela Felder says blasting tied to the construction site cracked her home and neighboring homes, and a contractor schedule obtained through open-records requests shows 67 days of planned rock blasting plus 38 additional "overblast" days. Digital Realty says its own pre-blast surveys and geotechnical monitoring found the damage was not caused by site activities.
Is Digital Realty getting tax breaks for the Fort Gillem project?
The company has requested tax abatements of undisclosed size from the City of Forest Park Downtown Development Authority, Clayton County, and Clayton County Public Schools, according to meeting minutes reviewed by Hunterbrook. It is separately negotiating a community-benefits agreement initially valued around $5 million over 10 years, which Digital Realty says is expected to grow.
Why do residents say the project was kept secret?
Residents say the project remained confidential under an NDA until June 2025, more than two months after the April 2025 land sale closed, and that the Urban Redevelopment Agency could complete the transaction without a city-council vote. The URA's chair confirmed the agency entered an NDA restricting disclosure of Digital Realty's identity, though Digital Realty denied signing an NDA with the city itself.
When will the first phase of the Fort Gillem data center open?
The report states the first phase is expected to open in early 2028, following ongoing remediation, vapor- and methane-mitigation system installation, and resolution of the white-phosphorus cleanup overseen by Georgia EPD.
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