Potential Occupational Safety and Health Hazards and Control Measures in Data Center Operations and Maintenance: A Narrative Review

Background: Data centers combine electrical, battery, cooling, and fire-protection systems with 24-hour operations.Objectives: This review examined potential related occupational safety and health hazards and proposed controls for operations and maintenance.Methods: PubMed, Google Scholar, selected Korean databases, South Korean statutes and standards, and official guidance were applied for a targeted narrative review of sources published through July 28, 2026.Evidence was classified by directness and applicability.Formal risk-of-bias assessment was not performed.Results: The 43 cited sources comprised four direct data-center studies (three field-measurement studies and one qualitative worker study), four general occupational studies or reviews, eight battery or fire experiments, two other indirect studies, 24 legal or institutional documents, and one background report.Direct studies addressed noise, electromagnetic fields, and work organization.The verified material did not establish quantitative worker health risks.Analogous evidence suggested potential hazards related to electric shock, arc flash and arc blast events, noise, shift work, fatigue, lone work, batteries, diesel exhaust, and maintenance chemicals.Experimental gas emissions and residue detections did not establish worker exposure.Task-and work-state-based assessment and control measures were proposed.Conclusions: Direct occupational evidence on data centers remains limited.The proposed controls largely draw on analogous evidence and general guidance and have not been validated in data centers.Field studies are needed before relative risks or data-center-specific exposure criteria can be determined.