Toxic Fumes Choke Imperial Beach Residents

0:00Residents near Imperial Beach in Southern California are choking on toxic fumes from the Tijuana River where raw sewage from Mexico dumps into the Pacific. Folks like 72-year-old Steve Eger wake up coughing and congested every night from hydrogen sulfide gas that a rotten egg smell that's way more than a nuisance. Since 2018, over 100 billion gallons of sewage mixed with chemicals and trash have flowed across the border, turning family farms. According to health hazards, earlier this year alone, 10 billion gallons crossed over, dwarfing spills that grab national headlines elsewhere. The U.S. and Mexico inked a deal last year to upgrade wastewater plants in Tijuana, chasing its booming population and factories, many U.S. owned. But beaches stay close for years, Navy SEALS training nearby gets sick, and no solid federal air standard exists for this gas outside extreme work, sites. As hit hard, 71% of 40,000 nearby homes smell sewage indoors, 69% report family members

1:05falling ill. Dr. C. respiratory cases spike 130% when river flows surge, urging folks to relocate despite deep roots. Eger's family ran, a dairy there for generations. Researchers stunned everyone in September 2024, with air monitors showing hydrogen sulfide levels 4,500 times above, urban norms and 150 times over California standards, at peak night flows. They also flag thousands of other odorless toxins even worse for health. County handed out over 10,000 air filters this year, EPA's teaming up on fixes but foams visible from space and doctors warn every unfixed day. Means more sickness, time to reroute that river and make good on those promises before home turns toxic for good. That wraps California news, today brought to you with AI, I'm Corey, with the story.