Breaking down the race for the District 1 county supervisor seat

S1: It's time for KPBS Midday Edition. Voting is underway for district one. S county supervisor seat. We're talking about the candidates and the big issues facing the South Bay. I'm Jade Hindman with conversations that keep you informed , inspired , and make you think. The weight of voters decision.

S2: Voters in the South Bay are really making a very important decision for who's going to represent them at the county level , but also who is going to represent the entire county of San Diego in terms of what the Board of Supervisors is going to look like.

S1: Then we'll hear about the latest study on pollution coming from cross-border sewage. That's ahead on midday Edition. Early voting for district one special election is now underway. The race will decide who fills the county supervisor seat for much of San Diego's South Bay. And the candidates in this summer's runoff are two South Bay mayors. Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre and Chula Vista mayor John McCann. Midday edition producer and roundtable host Andrew Bracken sat down with Cory Suzuki , our South Bay reporter , to break down this race and some of the top issues facing the district. Here's that conversation.

S3: Before diving into the race , can you set the scene for us ? Which areas does district one include and what sets it apart from other districts in the county ? Yeah.

S2: So district one , this is mostly what we're talking about is the South Bay. So the major cities Chula Vista , National City , Imperial Beach , Coronado is not included in district one. That's a separate supervisor district. But for the most part it's the South Bay cities , San Isidro , Nestor neighborhoods of the city of San Diego , and unincorporated areas that are part of the broader county , like Spring Valley , and then also some neighborhoods further north like Barrio Logan. Parts of South Park too. That's the that's the region we're talking about. And then just as the district , I mean , I think the South Bay , it's a really special part of the county. It's sort of at the heart of the binational relationship , the San Diego Tijuana binational relationship. And when it comes to sort of the political demographics of the district , voters do tend to lean pretty heavily Democratic here. Um , there were more than 167,000 registered Democrats during the last election and just 82,000 registered Republicans. But the last two elections in the South Bay have also seen Democrats casting their ballots at sort of lower rates than Republicans. So it could make for an interesting result in the special election.

S3: You know , I want to talk a little bit more about kind of the politics and how that plays a larger role here. But first , can you remind us , you know , what does the county supervisor do ? I think a lot of us , we may have a clear connection to a mayor , which both of these candidates are mayors. But , you know , tell us more about the job of a county supervisor and what they're responsible for.

S2: Yeah , definitely. Well , county supervisors , they're a really important role. I mean , they oversee a really massive budget in San Diego County. That budget rivals the city of San Diego. In other counties , that budget is the largest in the region and Imperial County. For example , the budget there of the county government is much larger than any city. And in San Diego County , there are five supervisors who make up that board the board that oversees the county government , the board of supervisors. That board is officially nonpartisan. But in reality , party politics do play a significant role in how the board votes on different decisions like immigration policy or homelessness , or even something like the Tijuana River Valley sewage crisis , which is also something that the county has some jurisdiction over because the county government oversees different aspects of life in the region , like public health monitoring , for example. They played a really big role during the pandemic , and then they also oversee really large federal programs in how they reach residents in San Diego County , including health care and including food assistance , Snap and and Medi-Cal in California. Snap cow fresh. And then in terms of other decisions that they make , they they oversee a lot of a lot of different programs when it comes to different areas of the county , different issues around the the , the sewage crisis around immigration policy. Uh , they they make major decisions on housing and homelessness and where the county's the large amounts of funding that the county oversees goes. So they have a lot of influence over how life looks in San Diego County and especially how it looks in the South Bay , is what this role. The district one supervisor will have a big part to play in.

S3: Yeah , and you mentioned just some of the just a few of the key issues that seem to be at play here in this election. I want to get into that. So let's dive into the final two candidates here. Some of the names are , you know , pretty prominent players in San Diego politics. Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre is the Democratic candidate. Tell us about her. Yeah.

S2: Yeah. Aguirre is the mayor of Imperial Beach. Like you said , she's really best known for spearheading the fight against the sewage crisis , the cross-border sewage crisis that has been polluting the Tijuana River valley for decades at this point. Aguirre was an environmental advocate. She worked for the environmental advocacy group and conservation group Environmental Justice Group called Wild Coast , which was then based in Imperial Beach at the time. She worked there for more than a decade. And when she was elected to the city council and then became mayor in 2022. In that time , since since joining the city government , she has really become probably the leading voice on the sewage crisis in the South Bay. On raising awareness of what exactly residents are experiencing. It was at her request that the centers for Disease Control came to the South Bay to to visit the region , to talk to residents , to understand better and survey really what people in Imperial Beach and Nestor and San Isidro have been talking about for a long time. What sort of symptoms they're experiencing ? What trends they see in terms of the , um , what the the sewage flows that are coming across the border from Tijuana mean for daily life down there. And one thing that Aguirre has really played a prominent role on there is just pushing for more attention to the public health aspect of this , not just the idea of sewage kind of closing beaches and , you know , creating , creating hazards in the water , potentially. But she has really just drawn a strong focus on the fact that , um , there are a lot of unanswered questions about the sewage crisis and what it that kind of water pollution. And what we now know is , is air pollution , too. What that really means for people to be living with that in these neighborhoods around the Valley. So that's kind of been the role that she is best known for.

S3: So , you know , as you mentioned there , Aguirre has been really a leading voice on the South Bay sewage crisis , as you know , has been getting a lot of national attention. Will dig more into that in just a couple of minutes. But first , you know , tell us more about John McCann. He's the Republican candidate. Like we said , the mayor of Chula Vista.

S2: He is also a really big presence in the South Bay. I have to say. McCann has been a city council member in Chula Vista for more than two decades now. And I think that level of kind of a presence in local government , that level of experience , is something that really makes him stand out to a lot of people , a lot of voters. I think a lot of people in Chula Vista know him. They know his name. They kind of know him as a as a steady presence in the city. That was sort of how he pitched himself to voters. When he was also elected mayor in 2022. He and Aguirre were both elected to that high office at the same time. And McCann , he has really pushed for several different things as mayor. One one project that he has really put a lot of of his time behind is trying to draw more higher education opportunities to Chula Vista. He's put a focus on trying to build out partnerships at Southwestern College and this longer , larger goal of bringing more four year degree programs to Chula Vista and to the South Bay broadly. And then McCann has also been a big champion of the Gaylord Resort and Convention Center , which just opened recently opened. Yeah , yeah , which which just just opened last month. And so that is is also something that I think he has really seen as , as something that would that would be a game changer in different ways for Chula Vista. That would really be be an economic driver for the region. I should also note McCann is also a reservist in the US Navy. He is a veteran. He was deployed to Iraq in 2009.

S3: So , you know , on to the issues. You spoke with both of the candidates last month about some of the issues facing residents there. And I want to start with housing. That's always a big topic. We have a clip from from Aguirre about like some of her takes on housing. Here's that clip.

S4: What we need is working class housing. We need low and very low and moderate level income housing.

S3: So , Cory , tell us more about where she stands on housing policy and how she , you know , what she's proposing to help alleviate housing issues that South Bay folks are dealing with. Yeah.

S2: Yeah. Aguirre has been a pretty forceful advocate for renters and for low income households. That's what she has talked about in her campaign materials and in the interviews that she's given. And that does come through to in her record as mayor in Imperial Beach last year , she pushed for a new housing law that added protections for tenants while also trying to balance some of the priorities of small landlords. And if elected , a supervisor , she has said that her focus would really be on that housing and homes for those families , for low income and middle income and very low income households. She points out that in district one , there's a there's a really strong need for that kind of housing for homes that are affordable to people who are making below the area median income. So that's that's what she says would be her priority if elected to the district.

S3: Emphasis on affordable housing there. So , you know , to contrast that with John McCann here is , you know , some of what he told you when you spoke to him about what he is looking for from housing policy.

S5: I support the American dream. I want people who work in Chula Vista actually to own in Chula Vista.

S3: So , you know , with that , how is he intending to do that ? Yeah.

S2: McCann. Certainly his focus is much more on home ownership. This idea of that , if you buy a home and you own a home , that you have a greater stake in the community. And that's kind of what he has said that he would put a focus on if elected to the district one seat , that he would focus more on trying to create opportunities for people to buy homes instead of necessarily supporting more constructions of housing that's more geared towards renters , for example. And that's not to say that , you know , he doesn't support having housing across income categories. I don't think that's necessarily true. But what he does put this really strong focus on is home ownership. And that's that's a big difference from Aguirre , who I think , in her view , sees renting as much more attainable for a lot of a lot of families , much more realistic for a lot of people who are living in district one at the time. Whereas home ownership is really something that I think is becoming quite a daunting and intimidating idea for a lot of people who live in not just district one , but San Diego County as a whole. Absolutely.

S3: Absolutely.

S2: I think they both agree that the county should be taking a greater role when it comes to the homelessness crisis , and they both have emphasized their records as mayor when it comes to the different steps that they've taken. Now , both cities , Chula Vista and Imperial Beach , have passed laws that restrict camping or setting up tents in public areas. Imperial beach passed theirs a while ago , it was back in 2019 and Chula Vista came more recently. That was last year. So there are some differences there in how they think about those policies. McCann strongly supported Chula Vista encampment ban. He feels that to really be able to effectively address the homelessness crisis in Chula Vista , that they needed to take some harsher measures in some situations to be able to to bring to bear punishment. In some ways , if people express any kind of resistance to , to moving into , into housing. And for Aguirre's part , she said that it was a difficult decision , um , voting to support that encampment ban in 2019. She said that that was something that she thought a lot about and that it wasn't an easy decision , but she did end up supporting that , too. In both cities , there has been kind of a similar trajectory in that this past year we have seen across San Diego County , most of San Diego County. A drop in homelessness. Kind of the number of people who are falling into homelessness , sort of leveling off after the surge that we saw after the pandemic and in the middle of the pandemic. And so Imperial Beach and Chula Vista have sort of seen that in both cities. Imperial Beach homelessness has fallen by 15%. And Chula Vista , the number of unsheltered homeless people in the city fell by around 6.5% last year. So there has been kind of this this decline that seems to show that some of the steps they've taken are working. One thing to to note about just both of those cities is that Chula Vista is much larger than Imperial Beach. So along those lines , the number of unhoused people that the city governments are trying to support and help are very different to. Imperial beach has a much smaller unhoused community.

S1: Still to come. We continue the conversation with South Bay reporter Cory Suzuki about where the candidates stand on other issues like immigration policy. When Midday Edition returns after the break. Welcome back. You're listening to KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Jade Hindman. We're continuing our breakdown of the district one runoff between Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre and Chula Vista mayor John McCann. That race will determine who fills the remaining seat on the county Board of Supervisors. Here's Midday edition producer and roundtable host Andrew Bracken with South Bay reporter Cory Suzuki. Suki again talking about where the candidates stand on other issues like the Tijuana River sewage crisis and immigration. Here's the rest of that conversation.

S3: You know , one issue that keeps coming up in both of those cities , you know , across the South Bay , as you've talked about , is the Tijuana River sewage crisis and what's been going on there. It's been getting a lot of national attention recently , some visits from , you know , some prominent , you know , politicians. Democratic Senator Cory Booker recently visited earlier this year. I think you covered this. The EPA administrator , Lee Zeldin , visited , as well as mayor of Imperial Beach. You talked about Paloma Geary's kind of role , how this has been just such a central issue for her.

S2: I mean , for Aguirre , this has been kind of just front and center of the Everything that she. She's working on. Um , she's been , uh , such an outspoken voice on the on the sewage crisis , um , since she was elected mayor. McCann. Uh , you know , he since Chula Vista is not right next to the Tijuana River estuary. And , um , he has had these , um , these really significant other priorities of , you know , um , focused on , uh , bringing higher education to the South Bay and , um , the , the Gaylord Resort and Convention Center. Um , it's only really been recently that he has started speaking out more about the sewage crisis. Um , now , this doesn't just date to during the the race for the district one supervisor he has last year , he and a guy , um , both traveled with other local elected leaders from San Diego to Washington , D.C. , to kind of lobby Congress and meet with elected officials and meet with officials in D.C. to to sort of push for more federal action on the sewage crisis. So this is something that he has certainly been involved in. It's just I think much more now that we're seeing him kind of speak up and , and make visits down to the the Tijuana River Valley , um , which he , uh , he did recently and posted a video kind of , of himself talking about the , the crisis. That's , that's been , I would say , a more recent development.

S3: So , you know , more to come there. That just seems to be sort of a defining issue here. Another one. You know , immigration is top of mind for for many voters. Can you talk a little bit about how you know , what each candidate has had to say about immigration and immigration policy in South Bay.

S2: When it comes to immigration policy ? That is a place where their views are very different. The county of San Diego has sort of several different kind of ways that it weighs in on immigration policy. The Board of Supervisors vote on sanctuary policies , for example , on how much county officials and county agencies should be interacting with federal law enforcement. Of course , within the bounds of state law. And then the county Board of Supervisors has also recently been looking at whether to continue a program that they have called the Immigrant Legal Defense Program , which my colleague , our colleague Gustavo Solis , has reported on a number of times recently. And that program provides free legal assistance to people who are facing deportation in San Diego County. So when it comes to programs and decisions on sanctuary policies and on legal aid for people facing deportation , Paloma Aguirre has been pretty strongly in support of both of those things. When it comes to the sanctuary policy , she does say she has had some criticism of the county's overall sanctuary policies. As they stand now , she does think that the sheriff should have been maybe a little bit more involved when it came to the discussions around developing those , just to make sure that I think she cares a lot about , you know , she has this working relationship with the sheriff and Imperial Beach , and I think she cares about having that the policies that the Board of Supervisors passes be achievable. But she at the same time has been very outspoken in her support for continuing funding for the immigrant legal defense program. I think one thing that she has talked about is the need for due process for people to have access to , to an attorney , to someone who's able to help them navigate a legal system that is incredibly complex and confusing , and to have someone who is there to advocate for them when they are facing the full weight of the federal government. So I think that that is one place where she has been very clear that she would vote to continue the county's immigrant legal defense program. McCann , on the other hand , sort of has spoken out against both of these decisions by the Board of Supervisors against the immigrant legal defense program and against the Board of Supervisors decision to strengthen the county's sanctuary policies. He thinks that county agencies should be cooperating with federal immigration authorities and should be. You know , as much as possible within the bounds of state law , should be not barred from sharing information with them. And he also has said that he thinks that if the county is is continuing to face kind of financial challenges like they are right now , that the immigrant legal defense program is one area that might be potentially a place to cut some of the spending that the county is doing. And he said specifically , um , when I spoke to him last month , he said he thinks that the county should be spending more of its funds on helping citizens than non-citizens. So that's sort of where he stands. They are coming from very different places on those policies.

S3: So , Corey , you know , we've covered a few of the key issues at , you know , in this election. I'm curious what other concerns you're hearing from voters as folks start voting in this election.

S2: You know , I think the growing national spotlight that you mentioned on the Tijuana River Valley sewage crisis , I think that's one thing that's on a lot of voters minds. I mean , that is something that I think in some ways , you know , could be making some people optimistic about the kind of the idea that Lee Zeldin , like you said , the US EPA administrator , was recently in town and promised to restore service or to to retrofit the South Bay wastewater treatment plant within 100 days , something that was slated to to take much longer. So there is sort of a sense that this growing federal attention on the sewage crisis may lead to some change , at least , I think , although I'm sure a lot of folks who are watching this are kind of also cautious about being too optimistic. And then I think another thing too , that is really playing. That's really playing a big role in this race. Is also just sort of the the federal government's approach to immigration policy , the Trump administration. I mean , we saw just on Friday , armed Department of Homeland Security officers raiding a restaurant in South Park , which again , South Park is a neighborhood where part of the neighborhood is is in district one. So I think that that is something that is on a lot of people's minds , too , and sort of raises questions about what the district one supervisor who is elected at the end of this race , how they will approach immigration policy and how they will be thinking about that on the board , and especially because this election is going to decide whether or not the Board of Supervisors leans left or right , leans conservative or liberal Liberal , which , um , immigration is one of the issues where party politics do play a big role. And then There has been a lot of outside spending in this race too. I think that's probably the third thing that I would point to , just that in the primary election , outside groups put more than $2 million into the race , and this was before it came down to just McCain and a guy. This was the primary election that took place a couple of months ago. And in that race , we saw all this outside money going to campaign mailers and yard signs and digital ads and all of these different things that are trying to put out different messages about the candidates for and against and to try and influence voters. So that kind of level of , of spending could really play a big role in the race. And who's on people's minds too. So now we're sort of seeing spending kind of continue to to ramp up again ahead of the beginning of next month , which is when voting will end. So that's kind of another another example of how the amount of money that flows into county supervisor races has grown over recent years and that that is also who has money and who doesn't is also playing a playing a big role in the race.

S3: And kind of supports this argument that this is an important race and it has probably some significant impacts to it , or else folks would , you know , groups wouldn't be spending as much money for it. Right ? Yeah. So ballots are out. Can you paint a picture where we are now ? Ballots are in voters hands now.

S2: We also at KPBS have our Voter Hub , which has information about how to vote. If you have , you know , unusual circumstances , if you're trying to vote from from jail or prison , if there are different ways that your different challenges that you're running into while you're trying to cast your ballot , I would suggest going to our website that's KPBS. And in terms of the next few weeks , ballots , like you said , are going out this week. So if you've requested a mail in ballot that should be coming to you very soon , and then voting will be continuing kind of throughout the month. And then the final day to cast your ballot will be on July 1st , the very beginning of next month.

S1: That was South Bay reporter Corey Suzuki , speaking with Midday Edition producer and roundtable host Andrew Bracken. To read the rest of Cory's coverage and learn more about the district one election , check out KPBS. The final day to cast your ballot is July 1st. Still ahead , A recent study shows pollution in the Tijuana River is airborne.

S6: This has broad implications not just an air quality , but also water quality at different locations and affects other industries like the fishing industry.

S1: Hear more about those implications when KPBS Midday Edition returns. Welcome back. You're listening to KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Jade Hindman. Let's turn now to an ongoing issue affecting the health of South Bay residents. And that's the Tijuana River sewage crisis. A new study from UC San Diego finds that pollution from the Tijuana River doesn't just contaminate the water. It also makes its way into the air. Air that residents like Doreen Edge breathe in every day. She's lived in Imperial Beach for the past 35 years. Here's what she had to say about the findings.

S7: It's important that people know exactly what they're breathing. We know there's something wrong. We just didn't know what it was.

S1: Well , now I'm joined by two of the scientists behind the study to talk about the findings. Jonathan Slade is an assistant professor of chemistry at UCSD. He's also a lead researcher on the study. Jonathan. Hi.

S6: Hi , Jade. Nice to be here.

S1: Great to have you. Also with us is Adam Cooper , the lead author on the paper. He also he's also a science and technology policy fellow at the California Council on Science and Technology. Adam , welcome. Hey.

S8: Hey. Great to be here.

S1: Great to have you both here. So , Jonathan , I'll start with you. How does pollution from wastewater make its way into the air ? Right.

S6: So there are many different routes by which wastewater can get into the air. And one thing that we discovered in this study is that the oceans are a source of airborne wastewater pollution. So when wastewater accumulates in the ocean , crashing waves and wind can churn the ocean , forming bubbles at the interface that rupture , and they inject these non-volatile components into the atmosphere , including many wastewater chemicals.

S1: And Adam well , South Bay residents have have for a long time been reporting respiratory illnesses and headaches that they say are connected to the air and the pollution in there. This study builds on previous ones. Can you talk about how that is ? Yeah.

S8: So previous studies have used , um , a pink dye in order to simulate pollution transferring from the Tijuana River into the ocean and into the air. And so we had some preliminary evidence that this route was viable. Our study really builds on that one by looking at which particular chemical pollutants , thinking things like personal care products , illicit drugs , pharmaceuticals , tire wear particles , herbicides , pesticides. Which of those specific chemicals are we observing ? Um , also releasing from the river into the ocean and from the ocean into the air.

S1: Well , so back in 2020 , you were out in the field collecting air and water samples for this study.

S8: We had a big team going down every day to the US-Mexico border , and then we also sampled north along the coast right at Imperial Beaches Pier , as well as Silver Strand State Park as far north as the Scripps Institution of Oceanography on UC San Diego's campus. We grabbed water directly from the Tijuana River itself , the ocean water , and then we collected air samples , um , onto filters where we collected the particles in the air. We took all that back to the lab to analyze them for those chemical pollutants. Mhm.

S1: Mhm.

S8: And we were very careful , especially on days where the smell was overwhelming. We wore respirators. We wore these waders to cover our clothes , and especially after sampling directly from the Tijuana River , we'd even wash ourselves down with bleach in order to kill any of the pathogens that we might have been exposed to. When we're collecting those samples.

S1:

S8: You can tell by the color you can see sometimes there were whole tires floating down the river. Toys , other pieces of trash. Um , and just the smell. You can't really get over it once you once you experience that. Wow.

S1: Wow. Well , the samples are from 2020.

S8: I mean , the city of Tijuana continues to grow , and we continue to see , you know , tens of millions of gallons of this lawsuit. sewage , um , each day.

S1: And , Adam , you led much of the lab analysis on the pollutants. And , Jonathan , you worked on that , too.

S6: So we used a tracer molecule that's a metabolite of of cocaine. So it's a residue of cocaine. When cocaine is used in the body , it gets processed. And what comes out of the body through urine is this metabolite of cocaine. And so we know it comes from it's in the wastewater itself and it has no other known environmental source. So once we could detect that in the atmosphere in aerosols , we know that wastewater is in the air. And so we were able to use that as a tracer for other wastewater chemicals , including these illicit drugs , personal care products and industrial chemicals like tire wear , chemicals.

S1: You know , you. So you found cocaine in some of these samples ? That's pretty shocking. Right.

S6: Right. So we found we found a variety of wastewater chemicals that we could connect to the wastewater stream in aerosols at the coast , including illicit drugs like cocaine , methamphetamine , heroin and cocaine residues. Um , their levels in the atmosphere , however , are , we think , are too low to cause any adverse acute health effects. But the really key message we're trying to get across here is that a mixture of these chemicals , a soup of these chemicals mixed with bacteria and viruses and other things in the air are something that that should be considered in terms of chronic exposure and health effects related to chronic exposure.

S1: So so how can exposure to these compounds really impact health ? I know there's been , um , you know , respiratory illnesses reported , but what are some of the other ways ? Right.

S6: So yeah respiratory illnesses. You know , people in South Bay have complained of headaches , um , gastrointestinal issues , uh , which may be related more to the biological components that get airborne from the Tijuana River. Um , but there are other unique ways that other chemicals , like the sunscreens that we detected. Octinoxate is this compound that's used as a UV filter in sunscreens. And when it's exposed to light , which was what happens when it gets into the air , in the atmosphere , it can degrade into even more toxic products that have been shown to damage DNA. And so if we're breathing this stuff in , that's a direct pathway to our bloodstream that can lead to possible effects on human health that we really don't know yet.

S1: So to be clear on the sunscreen chemicals that are in the air , um , does that happen when it's applied topically , though ? Could it affect DNA at that. Right.

S6: Right. So that so it's the FDA , um , sees it as acceptable to use when you apply it topically because it there's it doesn't penetrate the skin very well. Um , so that's the big difference here is , you know , and it's the same it's kind of an analogy. You know , they close the beaches because they don't want water contact to these , uh , to , to chemicals in the water or bacteria in the water. Um , however , how do you control what you inhale , what you breathe ? Um , and so , you know , this is something that's , you know , hasn't really been thought of before. And so you get sunscreens in aerosols. Those are things that you inhale. And they can deposit deep into your lungs where they can pass over to the bloodstream and potentially even get into the brain. Wow.

S1: Wow. Well , Adam , do we know how much of these aerosols South Bay residents are actually breathing in ? Yeah.

S8: So if you look at the levels of some of our more concentrated pollutants , that's that sunscreen chemical octinoxate as well as methamphetamine , uh , those levels , it's tens of nanograms per meter cubed. To kind of put that in perspective. Those are levels of these compounds that are detected directly above a wastewater treatment plant. That's where you have raw sewage. And so there's comparable levels to workers at a wastewater treatment plant for South Bay residents. But they it's not just their 9 to 5. They're there 24 hours a day being exposed to a lot of this pollution.

S1: Jonathan , do we have any sense of whether San Diegans in other parts of the county may be impacted if the air spreads further north ? Right.

S6: So our results point to dispersion of these wastewater chemicals in the atmosphere and in the water. Um , there are gradients. What I mean by that is concentrations of these wastewater chemicals are greater in the South Bay region , in both water and in the air at the coast , and they tend to tail off as you move more towards towards the north , towards Scripps Pier at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. And that tells us that , um , the South Bay region is likely a source , and air moves and it moves rapidly and it spreads everywhere. Um , so certainly , um , folks in La Jolla and in these northern and northern counties of San Diego are likely to be exposed to some degree to the pollution from the South Bay region.

S8: I would say think of it like a wildfire. That's another type of aerosol as the wildfire smoke. And just as you can see that from miles away and how that affects air quality , this pollution can also spread in similar ways.

S1: That's a good analogy there.

S8: We need less of this pollution entering the environment in the first place. That means investments on both sides of the border and wastewater treatment infrastructure , and ultimately a robust wastewater treatment system for the city of Tijuana and the surrounding region. Besides that , there are steps that residents can take to reduce their exposure today. We spend about 90% of our lives indoors. You can use aerosol filters , which I believe the Air Quality Management District is providing for South Bay residents and reduce time outdoors , especially during those times with large odors , which can be a good , um , scent of your exposure to this pollution.

S1: Jonathan , what are your thoughts ? Right.

S6: I agree with all that Adam said. I think cross border , um , collaboration. This is a binational issue. Right ? So it's crossing both borders. So there needs to be certainly discussions between lawmakers and officials in Tijuana and San Diego to really , uh , work , work to fixing this problem and making tangible changes. Um , as Adam said , I think , yeah , source control is kind of the first thing. We need people to be aware that this is an important issue and that people living in that region are , are affected , um , all day , every day. And so , um , you know , think about what we put into our wastewater stream can come back out in very unique ways , including , as we discovered in aerosols at the coast. And we're breathing those in. And that's a new root of exposure. Um , so investments in basic research , I think are is going to be important. Agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Science Foundation and other , um , state funding as well. Um , they funded this study. And so , uh , you know , we wouldn't have really known about this problem without that , that sort of funding effort. And so I think that's another important thing for long lasting change.

S1:

S6: Um , but that that grant itself , uh , the lifetime of it is finished. Uh , however , there are other people that that I know , colleagues that have funding from the EPA who've lost their grants , as part of the changes by the new administration. Mm.

S1: Mm. Jonathan.

S6: Yeah. So that's a big thing we discussed in the paper and the implications of the work. You know , we're focusing in just this one region in San Diego. It has certainly important implications for Mexico as well. But this is just one one location that's that mirrors many across the globe. And so we discuss , you know , other important locations like in India and here in Los Angeles , there's a Los Angeles river , there's the San Diego River , anywhere where wastewater is deposited or where the wastewater stream enters. These locations are certainly places that need , um , need to be studied further to understand their impacts on the environment and humans. And in addition , we , uh , the levels. So we talk about this as an air issue and it and certainly it is. And that's kind of the new thing that we're , that we're talking about. Um , however , some of the levels of these illicit drugs were finding in ocean water and the South Bay region are at levels that have caused addictive behaviors in fish. So fish have exhibited withdrawal symptoms , uh , and when exposed to methamphetamine. And the methamphetamine levels we measure are at similar levels. So this has broad implications , not just in air quality but also water quality at different locations. Um , and affects other industries like the fishing industry.

S1: Well , so far , the EPA has declined to designate the Tijuana River as a Superfund site.

S8: You know , for decades , this was thought of as an ocean issue. If you don't get into the water , you'll be fine and safe. And I think now , especially with this recent research , we're showing what residents of the South Bay have known all along. It's not just a water issue , it's an entire regional impact from the sewage crisis.

S1: And Jonathan , what will you be researching next ? I know this was a lot , but I'm sure there's much more. Absolutely.

S6: Absolutely. Yeah. So we're you know , we've started to sort of tackle this problem at different angles. My colleague professor can pray there at Sio and in chemistry. Her group is also tackling this problem. And down there every day making measurements , collecting samples. They're looking at how the river can maybe act as a source of airborne wastewater pollution when there's waterfalls or when there's turbulence in the river , that anywhere you see foam essentially is a location where you get emissions of these particles into the atmosphere , where people are breathing those things in. Um , and so , you know , there's people have been looking at that at different angles. In my case , in our group , we've been studying , um , emissions of sunscreens. Up here in La Jolla , here at La Jolla Shores of the Scripps Pier. And , you know , we're looking at seasonal variations in sunscreen levels in both the water and in the atmosphere and aerosols and diurnal variations. So daytime versus nighttime. And we've been seeing in some of our preliminary results some key differences between seasons. Mhm.

S1: Mhm. Adam what do you ultimately hope comes from these findings.

S8: Ultimately I hope we see a really robust , robust investment in wastewater treatment plants for the region of Tijuana and so on. Out of this pollution enters the river in the first place.

S1:

S6: I think that , you know , there's , uh , there's issues on , you know , both sides of the border. We have , um , you know , problems that the South Bay wastewater treatment plant. Um , there's also we need to consider even wastewater treatment outfalls that , um , you know , deposit , uh , treated wastewater out into the ocean a few miles off the coast , which can be brought back to the coastline by currents. And so there are other sources of these wastewater chemicals. And often these wastewater treatment plants don't have the ability to effectively remove the chemical pollution. So they can remove pretty well some of the biological material and bacteria , but struggle with the chemical pollution. And I think that's an important thing in terms of investment wise to , to focus on , in terms of how do we better treat this wastewater chemical pollution is to improve wastewater treatment infrastructure. Yeah.

S1: Yeah. So I've got a question for you both.

S8: And I would follow my nose. Sometimes my nose is the best detector of airborne pollution. And so if you smell sewage , you're likely breathing in chemicals , bacterias that come along with that sewage odor.

S1: And Jonathan.

S6: Yeah , I agree with that as well. I mean , I would certainly at certain times of the day it might be worse than others. And during these intense periods where you have a lot of buildup of pollutants , which tends to happen after it rains , uh , because that's after it rains. The Tijuana River mobilizes this pollution , uh , that it's probably advisable to wear masks. Uh , fortunately , no one likes to wear masks too much. We learned that from the Covid 19 pandemic. Uh , but in order to protect ourselves , I think that's something that , um , it's important to do and to limit , limit , limit our time outside , especially in the vicinity of the Tijuana River.

S1: Um , and you definitely wouldn't eat the fish.

S6: And I wouldn't eat the fish. Certainly not the fish in the Tijuana River. And likely not the fish in Imperial Beach or border field areas.

S1: Good advice there. I've been speaking with Jonathan Slade , an assistant professor of chemistry at UCSD and a lead researcher on the study. Professor , thank you very much.

S6: Thank you. Jane.

S1: Also , Adam Cooper , who is the lead author on the paper and also a science and technology policy fellow at the California Council on Science and Technology. Adam. Thank you.

S8: It's great to be here. Thank you.

S1: That's our show for today. I'm your host , Jade Hindman. Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.