{"id":444782,"date":"2025-12-13T16:28:17","date_gmt":"2025-12-13T16:28:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/444782\/"},"modified":"2025-12-13T16:28:17","modified_gmt":"2025-12-13T16:28:17","slug":"south-bay-households-to-receive-more-air-purifiers-as-sewage-crisis-persists-san-diego-union-tribune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/444782\/","title":{"rendered":"South Bay households to receive more air purifiers as sewage crisis persists \u2013 San Diego Union-Tribune"},"content":{"rendered":"

The San Diego County Air Pollution Control District\u2019s<\/a> (APCD) governing board voted unanimously Thursday to expand its air purifier distribution program for South County residents<\/a> affected by cross-border pollution from the Tijuana River sewage crisis.<\/p>\n

The board approved up to an additional $1 million for the Air Improvement Relief Effort Program<\/a>\u00a0(AIRE), with plans to seek funding sources to increase the number of air purifiers per household from one to three units.<\/p>\n

At an APCD distribution event Monday in Imperial Beach, resident Camille Bernard picked up a second purifier for herself and her two small children. She said having more than one unit for her home is essential.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do have an air purifier in the bedroom we sleep in, but we have three levels to the place that we live in,\u201d Bernard said as volunteers loaded a purifier and two filters into the trunk of her car. \u201cHaving the chance to have another one in our space just seemed like something that I wanted to utilize.\u201d<\/p>\n

County Supervisor Paloma Aguirre, a member of the APCD governing board, spearheaded the effort.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know that while we celebrate our accomplishments so far, it is equally important to be clear that our work isn\u2019t finished,\u201d Aguirre said during the meeting. \u201cTo effectively safeguard public health, far more air purifiers must be delivered to meet the scale of need in the communities impacted.\u201d<\/p>\n

A stopgap solution while broader infrastructure changes are being made in the long-term, the AIRE program was launched earlier this year with $2.7 million in funding for 10,000 purifier units to be distributed among residents of Imperial Beach, Nestor and San Ysidro.<\/p>\n

Neighborhoods bordering the Tijuana River Valley face ongoing environmental challenges from cross-border sewage flows that create air and water quality issues. The sewage exposes residents to unpleasant odors and harmful airborne substances like hydrogen sulfide, which can cause breathing difficulties, headaches, nausea and irritation.<\/p>\n

The air purifiers use carbon filters to remove hydrogen sulfide and other gases, plus potassium permanganate filters to clear pathogens. Each unit covers 400 to 500 square feet and lasts about 15 years with annual filter replacement.<\/p>\n

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, a member of the governing board, said during the meeting that while air purifiers only treat symptoms and comprehensive solutions may take years, \u201cthat is not an acceptable answer to the residents of South San Diego.\u201d He said officials must address the crisis \u201cwith the seriousness that it deserves.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI would argue that our partners at the federal level, on both the U.S. and Mexican sides, have a primary responsibility for addressing this issue,\u201d said Gloria. \u201cBut we have not allowed that to be an excuse for us to not engage \u2014 quite the opposite.\u201d<\/p>\n

The expansion plan allocates $1 million to provide purifiers to additional South Bay households using funds from Assembly Bill 617. A state law, AB 617 requires air districts to implement air monitoring systems and emissions reduction programs in communities with high pollution burdens, with air districts receiving grants and state allocations to fund these programs.<\/p>\n

The district will also seek broader funding sources for roughly $10 million to expand the program long-term, aiming to provide three units per household for approximately 30,000 units total. Potential funding named by the board included federal, state and philanthropic sources.<\/p>\n

Marcus Bush, chair of the APCD board, raised concerns during the meeting about allocating more resources to the AIRE program, noting that other district programs have already been affected by AIRE\u2019s extensive resource demands.<\/p>\n

During the meeting, APCD staff said allocating additional resources to AIRE would cause further delays to the Portside Air Quality and Improvement Relief Program. The two-year PAIR program provides air purifiers to homes in Barrio Logan, Logan Heights, Sherman Heights and National City \u2014 neighborhoods adjacent to heavy industrial, freight and freeway activities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a concern for me,\u201d said Bush, who also serves as National City vice mayor. \u201cI\u2019m not opposed to (the AIRE expansion plan), but that is a concern.\u201d<\/p>\n

The decision follows APCD survey results showing the air purifiers are helping South Bay residents breathe easier, with users reporting fewer asthma symptoms and improved respiratory comfort. Other benefits reported included better sleep, less coughing and throat irritation, and fewer headaches.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe survey results clearly confirm that the distribution of air purifiers provides real and essential relief for families who\u2019ve been suffering far too long,\u201d Aguirre said in an email prior to the meeting. \u201cThey\u2019re not the solution but they are a necessary lifeline for South Bay residents who continue to suffer from the impacts of the Tijuana River sewage crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of the 1,207 residents who responded to the survey between Sept. 9 and Oct. 3, nearly 80% reported the devices reduced odors in their homes, with a third saying odors were significantly reduced. About 35% of users reported fewer allergy or asthma symptoms, while 33% experienced improved breathing comfort.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am one of the many people impacted by the air pollution who has benefited from the initial purifiers,\u201d said San Ysidro resident Christina Green, adding, \u201cbeing able to wake up without a dry or sore throat, without my eyes being dry, or without massive headaches when I\u2019m sleeping in my own room, has been phenomenal.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The San Diego County Air Pollution Control District\u2019s (APCD) governing board voted unanimously Thursday to expand its air…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":444783,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5134],"tags":[5229,42364,1582,276,22717,1370,728,50,3549,3550,7264,34159,55993,7289,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-444782","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-diego","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-baja-california","10":"tag-ca","11":"tag-california","12":"tag-imperial-beach","13":"tag-latest-headlines","14":"tag-local-news","15":"tag-news","16":"tag-san-diego","17":"tag-san-diego-county","18":"tag-sandiego","19":"tag-south-county","20":"tag-tijuana","21":"tag-top-stories-sdut","22":"tag-united-states","23":"tag-united-states-of-america","24":"tag-unitedstates","25":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","26":"tag-us","27":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115713206297104051","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/444782","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=444782"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/444782\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/444783"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=444782"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=444782"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=444782"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}