San Diego County Supervisor Nora Vargas Tuesday said the air quality near the border does not pose a public health threat.
That’s despite foul odors emanating from the Tijuana River Valley, assertions about elevated levels of potentially toxic gasses and a renewed call Monday by local Congressional representatives to declare a state of emergency.
“I want to reassure everyone that this is not an imminent threat, and it’s safe to be outside and attend school,” said Vargas, chairwoman of the county Board of Supervisors. “Our county experts are actively gathering public health data and conducting research to provide the most accurate information.”
She concluded that, “for now, you can trust the data – we’ve got your back.”
The Congressional contingent again sought the emergency declaration due to high levels of hydrogen sulfide and hydrogen cyanide – which can have a rotten egg smell – that were reported by researchers in the watershed.
In response, the San Diego County Hazardous Incident Response Team and researchers from San Diego State University tested the gas levels on Monday, after which they determined “the data does not indicate any immediate public safety concerns,” Vargas’ statement read.
On Friday, according to media reports, researchers studying impacts of the ongoing sewage pollution crisis pulled their teams back from the border. Kim Prather, UC San Diego’s director of the Center for Aerosol Impacts on Chemistry of the Environment, told her team studying the border watershed to leave the South Bay.
“As you know, I feel strongly about solving this problem, but cannot in good conscience continue to put my own people at this level of risk,” she wrote in an email to colleagues.
According to Prather’s team, the levels of gasses are being trapped by the heat wave in the region. As a result, despite lower river flows, the odors and gases are significantly worse than usual.
The county found “while hydrogen sulfide levels varied in some areas, they remain within safe limits. Additionally, no significant hydrogen cyanide levels were detected that would threaten public health,” the supervisor’s statement read.
On Thursday, Vargas will work with the San Diego County Air Pollution Control District and California Air Resources Board to attempt to create real-time dashboards the public can use to monitor air quality. She said she also will ask the Environmental Protection Agency for funding to expand the distribution of air purifiers to impacted residents.
San Diego’s Congressional delegation ncudes Juan Vargas, who represented the affected area, Sara Jacobs and Scott Peters, all D-San Diego, and Mike Levin, D-Dana Point, whose district includes parts of San Diego County.
Last week, both local and federal governments took action to contain the pollution.
Sen. Alex Padilla, D-California, was joined by San Diego elected leaders to announce a bill intended to consolidate all infrastructure project efforts in the Tijuana River watershed under the EPA.
In another recent effort, in May elected officials called on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to look into the contaminants in the water, soil and air from the sewage and the connection to reported increases in illnesses and other symptoms.
The CDC has agreed to begin an investigation into the public health impacts of the Tijuana River sewage pollution. That survey will involve several hundred households near the border.
– City News Service
