Locals are fleeing their California beach enclave homes due to a disgusting, rotten egg odor that has reached dangerous levels amidst a sewage crisis.
Those living in the South Bay and Imperial Beach area near the Tijuana River have been smelling hydrogen sulfide for a while now, leaving their communities smelling like rotten eggs.
The toxic chemical coming off the sewage is reaching dangerous levels as it has exploded to be 150 times higher than the state safety standard at 4,500 parts per billion, ABC 10 reported.
The state’s limit is 30 parts per billion. It hasn’t been this high since September 2024.
At these levels, dangerous health conditions can occur, and residents may start to experience headaches, nausea, and nose and throat irritation.
Sonia Mayorga and her husband had to leave their Imperial Beach home after the smell became too much.
Within days of leaving, their symptoms disappeared, but when they went back home, it would return.
‘I literally want to cry. I want to go back and I can’t,’ Mayorga told ABC 10. ‘We have a beautiful home, with my family over there, we can’t go back because it’s so toxic. Our bodies can’t handle it, so we have to be out.’
The Tijuana River is putting unsafe amounts of toxic gases into the air in South Bay and Imperial Beach, causing residents to become ill and have to leave their home
The ongoing sewage problem is causing hydrogen sulfide levels to reach 4,500 parts per billions – well above the 30 parts per billion that is the state safety level
Sonia Mayorga and her husband can’t go back to their Imperial Beach home due to the levels making them ill
UC San Diego Professor Dr Kimberly Prather said the levels are as high as what would be found in wastewater treatment plants.
‘These levels are levels that workers in wastewater treatment plants put on all their PPE and walk around, right? The community doesn’t have that,’ she said.
Prather is urging Governor Gavin Newsom to declare a state of emergency.
‘The science is unambiguous. The link to health damage on people and the environment is proven,’ she wrote on Facebook.
‘You have the power and the authority. Please use it – before you leave office.’
San Diego County Supervisor, Paloma Aguirre, agreed, saying this is a ‘milestone nobody wants.’
‘We’re entering a new era of crisis,’ Aguirre wrote on Facebook.
‘Governor Gavin Newsom: This is an SOS from South San Diego. We are breathing in toxic gases, and we can’t wait any longer. Please declare a State of Emergency for the Tijuana River crisis.’
San Diego County Supervisor, Paloma Aguirre, and gubernatorial candidate, Tom Steyer, visited the area earlier this month. Aguirre is calling on the state to do something
Prather and Aguirre have asked Governor Gavin Newsom to declare a state of emergency in the area
‘Our children are waking up with headaches, our seniors are struggling to breathe, and our families are prisoners in their own homes. Our air is toxic. Our beaches are hazardous to our health. Our families feel trapped indoors.’
The Daily Mail has reached out to Newsom’s office for comment.
At the beginning of the month, gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer visited the area with Aguirre.
The two were spotted wearing masks to help filter out the toxins.
Steyer, as well as other candidates, have sworn to act if they are elected into office.
