Biohazard Alert! Extreme Biohazard exists throughout south San Diego Bay-County
Update! March 2, 2023
New study finds bacteria in South Bay water pollution can become airborne
SAN DIEGO, CA— "The contaminated water at our local beaches is nothing new, but a new study out Thursday shows it’s not just the water you that is concerning scientists. Research conducted by UC San Diego and the Scripps Institute of Oceanography found that the bacteria from the Tijuana River Valley which is contaminating our South Bay beaches can become airborne. A team of experts studied atmospheric aerosols from January to May in 2019. San Diego airport captured stormwater for this repurpose For 26 days, samples were taken from the water in Imperial Beach and 20 miles north, near the Scripps Pier, and were compared with air samples taken from the same locations.
Scientists discovered that the bacteria from the sewage water that’s in the ocean can transfer into the air when waves crash. Kimberly Prather, Ph. D., a Distinguished Chair in Atmospheric Chemistry and a Distinguished Professor at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and at UC San Diego underscored the findings during a recent webinar. “The atmosphere has no walls. Once things get into the air, it can affect many more people from an inhalation perspective,” she said. Prather went on to say, “Up to 76%, about three-fourths of the bacteria, could be linked from the sewage that was detected in the Tijuana River. Three-fourths of the bacteria that are airborne — the most likely source is from the Tijuana River.” Sustainable San Diego: Green Field Paper Company She said they identified different types of bacteria and the top 15 are all commonly found in sewage. Researchers discussed that additional studies must be conducted to determine what happens when one inhales such bacterium."
South Bay residents might be breathing in bacteria caused by Tijuana sewage
CBS8.com
By: Chris Gros, Alexis Gebhardt Published: 7:13 AM PST March 2, 2023 Updated: 7:13 AM PST March 2, 2023
SAN DIEGO —
""Headline, 'South Bay residents might be breathing in bacteria caused by Tijuana sewage.'
A new UCSD study found bacteria from the broken Tijuana sewage pipeline that flows into local beaches can become airborne and impact people further away than beaches.
If you live near Imperial Beach, you could be breathing in sewage bacteria. Bacteria from Tijuana pipeline sewage can become airborne through sea aerosols and affect nearby areas on land, according to a new study by UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography. “We’ve shown that up to three-quarters of the bacteria that you breathe in at Imperial Beach are coming from aerosolization of raw sewage in the surf zone,” the study's lead researcher and a Professor at Scripps Oceanography, Kim Prather said in a press release. She continued, “The aerosols can travel long distances and expose many more people than those just at the beach or in the water.” Prather warns the public that the findings do not necessarily mean people are getting sick from the contaminated sea aerosols. The researchers are now investigating for viruses and pathogens in air samples to determine the risk aerosolized coastal water pollution will pose to the public. The study was published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology. Researchers sampled coastal aerosols at Imperial Beach and water from the Tijuana River between January and May 2019. The Tijuana Slough, Imperial beach, Silver Strand shorelines, and the Coronado shoreline remain closed as the Tijuana River flows into these waters due to a damaged 60-inch sewage pipeline. 13 million of gallons of sewage continues to flow into the water at South Bay beaches. The beaches will remain closed until sampling confirms that the areas are safe for water contact. On the heels of this study, the San Diego Department of Environmental Health and Quality has issued a General Rain Advisory Wednesday for coastal beaches and bay due to recent rainfall. Beachgoers are advised to not make contact with the water during and 72 hours after it rained. Rain caused urban runoff, which caused bacteria levels to rise in ocean and bay waters and could cause illness.""
CLICK HERE FOR THE UCSD SCRIPPS INSTITUTE OF OCEANOGRAPHY PRESS RELEASE
Ocean spray blows Tijuana River pathogens and chemicals inland, UCSD finds
10NEWS.com
By City News Service (CNS)
""IMPERIAL BEACH, Calif.-- Bacteria, viruses and chemicals from ocean pollution flowing from the Tijuana River is becoming airborne and blowing inland in Imperial Beach, according to research released Thursday by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego. The study found that this coastal water pollution -- largely untreated sewage runoff as a result of rainfall in the San Diego-Tijuana region -- can reach people beyond just beachgoers, surfers and swimmers. The outflowing pollution can then transfer to the air in sea spray aerosol through breaking waves and bursting bubbles, the study found. The study -- published in Thursday's Environmental Science & Technology journal -- comes amid a winter in which an estimated 13 billion gallons of sewage-polluted waters have entered the ocean via the Tijuana River, according to lead researcher Kim Prather, a distinguished chair in atmospheric chemistry and professor at Scripps Oceanography and UCSD's Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. "We've shown that up to three-quarters of the bacteria that you breathe in at Imperial Beach are coming from aerosolization of raw sewage in the surf zone," said Prather, who also serves as the founding director of the National Science Foundation's Center for Aerosol Impacts on Chemistry of the Environment. "Coastal water pollution has been traditionally considered just a waterborne problem. "People worry about swimming and surfing in it but not about breathing it in, even though the aerosols can travel long distances and expose many more people than those just at the beach or in the water," she said. Sea spray aerosol contains bacteria, viruses, and chemical compounds from the seawater, the report finds. The research team sampled coastal aerosols at Imperial Beach and water from the Tijuana River between January and May 2019. According to the report, they then used DNA sequencing and mass spectrometry to link bacteria and chemical compounds in coastal aerosol back to the sewage-polluted Tijuana River flowing into coastal waters. Now the team is conducting follow-up research attempting to detect viruses and other airborne pathogens. Despite how it may sound, Prather and colleagues said the presence of bacteria does not mean people are necessarily getting sick from sewage in sea spray aerosol. "Most bacteria and viruses are harmless and the presence of bacteria in sea spray aerosol does not automatically mean that microbes -- pathogenic or otherwise -- become airborne," a news release from the team said. Infectivity, exposure levels and other factors that determine risk need further investigation, the authors said. The study involved collaboration among three research groups -- led by Prather in collaboration with UC San Diego School of Medicine; Jacobs School of Engineering researcher Rob Knight; and Pieter Dorrestein of the UC San Diego Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science. "This research demonstrates that coastal communities are exposed to coastal water pollution even without entering polluted waters," said lead author Matthew Pendergraft, a recent graduate from Scripps Oceanography. "More research is necessary to determine the level of risk posed to the public by aerosolized coastal water pollution. These findings provide further justification for prioritizing cleaning up coastal waters." According to the researchers, funding to further investigate the conditions that lead to aerosolization of pollutants and pathogens, how far they travel, and potential public health ramifications has been secured by Rep. Scott Peters, D-San Diego, in the fiscal year 2023 omnibus spending bill.""
Tijuana sewage isn't only in Imperial Beach waves. It's in the air. And San Diegans are breathing it.
MSN
By Joshua Emerson Smith
""Sewage pollution spilling over the border from Tijuana into the San Diego region not only threatens the health of surfers and swimmers but potentially those simply breathing the air.
That’s according to a study from UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography published Thursday in the journal Environmental Sciences & Technology, which found sewage-linked bacteria in sea-spray aerosols at Imperial Beach. “Once pollutants become airborne that just means so many more people can be exposed to those pollutants,” said Kim Prather, principal investigator on the study and director of the Center for Aerosol Impacts on Chemistry of the Environment at Scripps. “It extends well beyond just people going to the beach or getting in the water.”
The potential health impacts are still unknown, cautioned researchers. Studies are ongoing and could eventually include an epidemiological investigation. Prather said her team plans to start swabbing lifeguards, surfers and others to gauge the extent of respiratory exposure. Researchers also hope to scrutinize hospital records and monitor indoor air quality. “The bottom line is we don’t know what the effect is yet of inhaling this cocktail that comes out of the ocean,” she said, adding: “This is tip of the iceberg. We’re trying to keep everybody calm.” The study took place following rain events in early 2019, with researchers taking air and water samples along the Tijuana River, Imperial Beach Pier and Scripps Pier in La Jolla. Using DNA sequencing, the team linked up to 76 percent of the airborne bacteria in Imperial Beach to the heavily polluted river.
There is a well-established body of research that has found microorganisms transfer from the ocean to the atmosphere, but this is the first study to link airborne bacteria to a known source of sewage, said co-author Robert Knight, a professor of pediatrics, computer science and engineering at UC San Diego. “It was a complete shock to find how much of microbes in the air were traceable back to sewage,” he said. “We had no idea that effect would be so strong.
“Now that we know this is a real phenomenon,” he added, “we need to find out what are the impacts to human health.” About $1.5 million has been secured by Rep. Scott Peters in this year’s omnibus spending bill for Prather and her team to further investigate the public health ramifications of airborne pollutants and potential pathogens, officials said. Beaches as far north as Coronado were closed due to sewage pollution from Mexico at a record pace in 2022. Imperial Beach, for example, had signs warning of sewage contamination posted along its beaches on 249 days last year. The Tijuana Sloughs, a once-coveted surfing spot located at the mouth of the river, hasn’t been open since December 2021. Swimming in sewage-tainted waters can expose beachgoers to dangerous bacteria and viruses, according to county public health officials. Those who ignore the restrictions could be at risk of diarrhea, fever, respiratory disease and infections. Water polluted with sewage, compared to the typical urban runoff that follows rainstorms, carries a much higher risk of pathogens, such as E. Coli, norovirus and salmonella, officials said.""
KNSD VIDEO
February 15, 2023
Tijuana sewage pours through San Diego border canyons after recent pipe break.
A water contamination sign warns beach goers about high bacteria in the water in Imperial Beach on Dec. 22, 2022. A water contamination sign warns beach goers about high bacteria in the water in Imperial Beach on Dec. 22, 2022. Federal officials say pipeline repairs in Mexico could take another week. Beaches as far north as the Silver Strand remain closed due to sewage pollution.
By Joshua Emerson Smith Feb. 15, 2023 3 PM PT
Millions
of gallons of raw sewage from Mexico are gushing into San Diego through
two canyons along the border, according to federal officials. The spill
is coming from at least two pump stations that were forced to shut down
after a construction crew last week inadvertently ruptured a major
pipeline south of Tijuana. Shorelines as far north as the Silver Strand
were closed due to sewage contamination as of Wednesday, with the rest
of the region’s coastline under the standard 72-hour rain advisory.
South Bay beaches have been repeatedly shuttered(closed) as the result
of winter storms that washed polluted flows through the Tijuana River
watershed. “I’ve said it 1,000 times, but I’ll keep saying it until
it’s fixed: It’s an environmental injustice,” said Imperial Beach Mayor
Paloma Aguirre, who has made cleaning up pollution from Tijuana her top
priority. The recent spill, which started last Friday, is concentrated
in Goat Canyon and Smugglers Gulch, where concrete capture basins are
helping to redirect some of the flow to the South Bay International
Wastewater Treatment Plant along the border in San Diego, officials
said. The wastewater facility, which typically treats about 25 million
gallons of sewage a day, has been processing an additional roughly 10
million gallons daily from Tijuana to limit the spill’s impacts,
officials said. “We can sustain this, but it is adding wear and tear on
our plant,” said Morgan Rogers, area operations manager in San Diego
for the U.S. section of the International Boundary and Water
Commission. Federal officials estimate that it will take at least
another week to repair the broken pipe, which carries effluent to a
crumbling wastewater treatment plant located about 6 miles south of the
border at a place called Punta Bandera.
February 10, 2023
CLICK HERE FOR THE CRITICAL HEALTH NEWS
By JOHN WILLIAMS (AP)
SAN DIEGO —San Diego Border News Alerts the Emergency Health Risk throughout the Extreme South San Diego Bay-County Biological Hazard
Anyone with Asthma or upper respiratory ailments in the advised 'Alert Area' are advised to receive immediate medical help
For the past 50 years, this biological hazard has existed without public advisement nor medical response. Please report medical cases to the San Diego County Health Department.
-San Diego Border News is documenting this widespread Emergency Health Risk. If you believe you have witnessed or experienced this biohazard, please contact us at San Diego Border News via email at sdbordernews@gmail.com
Origin Reporting Began June 28, 2019
San Diego Border News
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