“The San Diego County Board of Supervisors has declared this an emergency 22 times and sent a letter to our governor asking him to follow suit,” Aguirre said on Instagram. “Governor [Gavin Newsom] it is time. We can’t keep passing the buck to another country even if they’re the source.”
“You understand when environmental disasters rise to the level that demands urgent statewide action,” she stated.
What was originally thought to be a water pollution problem has additionally had a significant impact on air high quality that far exceeded state requirements. In a study revealed final yr, researchers on the University of California San Diego Airborne Institute discovered that the toxic hydrogen sulfide gasoline in San Diego’s South Bay area had peaked at 4,500 elements per billion for a minimum of one minute and had averaged 2,100 elements per billion over an hour — the latter being effectively over the state-regulated one-hour normal of 30 parts per billion.
Kimberly Prather, lead scientist and researcher on the research, referred to as the issue a “serious environmental justice issue” for residents dwelling close to the Tijuana River Valley for the reason that residents who dwell there are nearly totally Hispanic and live in poverty. She blamed the air pollution on U.S. firms which have arrange factories throughout the border to skirt U.S. laws and dump toxic waste.
“People are really sick. They have migraines, respiratory problems, heart problems, neurological problems,” Prather stated. “The biggest one I hear the most about is lack of sleep, migraines, depression. I mean, it’s just crushing this community. And there’s not one fish that’s alive in the river — it’s a complete dead zone.”
In her publish, Aguirre stated not solely has the river been inflicting well being issues, but it surely’s additionally inflicting small companies to shut their doorways and households to transfer out of the neighborhood, forsaking properties that actual property brokers can’t promote. She additionally expressed concern for Navy SEALs who’ve to prepare in polluted water and Border Patrol brokers who work in toxic air.
“What may once have been a wastewater infrastructure issue has become a full-blown environmental and public health crisis,” Aguirre stated.
This will not be the primary time the realm has seen air pollution ranges this excessive. Prather stated the degrees of air pollution have ebbed and flowed since her workforce began measuring them in September 2024. Due to the continuing drawback, Aguirre has invited a number of gubernatorial candidates, together with Katie Porter, Tom Steyer, Matt Mahan and Betty Yee, to go to the realm — all of whom have agreed to declare a state of emergency.
“All the ones that have visited the site, by the time they were done visiting, were so appalled. It was just like, how can this be happening?” Prather stated.
“If you’re going to go be president of the United States, you should be helping the people in your own backyard,” Prather stated.
SFGATE reached out to Newsom’s workplace for remark. It didn’t reply to a direct request for remark.
