Federal report finds short-term hydrogen sulfide spikes near Tijuana River pose public health hazard
A federal public health agency has for the first time found hydrogen sulfide in outdoor air near the Tijuana River reached levels that could harm people’s health, concluding in a draft report released Wednesday that short-term exposure to the gas at those levels is a public health hazard. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, which works alongside the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, based its findings on air monitoring at four sites. … Much of the shift followed research by UC San Diego atmospheric chemist Kimberly Prather. Her team, drawing on residents’ knowledge, identified the Saturn Boulevard crossing as a primary source of the gas. There, sewage and industrial waste spill from culverts onto rocks below, creating turbulence that releases hydrogen sulfide into the air.
Related:
- KPBS (San Diego): Feds confirm exposure to some levels of Tijuana River odors can lead to health effects
- Courthouse News Service: Feds find Tijuana River pollution poses public health hazard in San Diego
- UC San Diego: News release: New federal health assessment of Tijuana River valley air pollution builds on UC San Diego findings
