Air purifier program restarts for San Diego-area residents impacted by Tijuana River pollution

Sydney Brammer, The San Diego Union-Tribune on Jul 22, 2026

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SAN DIEGO — A program that distributes air purifiers to residents of San Diego's South Bay region who are affected by the Tijuana River sewage crisis is accepting applications again after a two-month suspension due to a lack of funding, county Supervisor Paloma Aguirre said Wednesday.

Bethany Case, a 17-year resident of Imperial Beach, is one of many from several border communities who are affected by the chronic air pollution. She said she and her family have experienced “constant headaches,” nausea and allergies.

The Air Improvement Relief Effort program, which first launched in February 2025, has supplied 14,500 air purifiers so far to residents in Imperial Beach, San Ysidro, Egger Highlands, Nestor, Otay Mesa West and the Tijuana River Valley, according to Aguirre. The Board of Supervisors approved $4 million from the county’s budget at the end of January, and Aguirre said she expects this to fund up to 17,000 additional air purifiers.

There is a limit of one application per household: Returning applicants can request up to two purifiers and swap out old ones, and new applicants can request up to three.

“Residents of South County deserve something fundamental — to breathe clean air; to breathe safe air,” Aguirre said at a press conference Wednesday. “No family should have to wonder whether opening a window will bring in fresh air, or expose them to harmful pollution.”

The Tijuana River produces hydrogen sulfide and other toxic pollutants, which at high levels can cause early dementia, coronary artery disease, asthma and an increase in premature deliveries, according to Anne Marie Birkbeck-Garcia, the chair of the San Diego County Air Pollution Control District board. The air purifiers filter those pollutants. One covers about 350 square feet, Aguirre said.

“This is a Band-Aid,” Birkbeck-Garcia told the media. “We need to fix the problem. This affects our health, our children’s health, our elderly’s health.”

The harmful levels of hydrogen sulfide were discovered in September 2024 by Kimberly Prather, atmospheric chemist and professor at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. She said since the discovery, hydrogen sulfide levels have gone up 40% at some sites. She said most cities have less than one part per billion — a way to measure gases within the air— and she measured over 4,000 parts per billion in the air near the Tijuana River. According to APCD, the state deems the air safe if it’s under 30 parts per billion.

“Nobody should be breathing this air,” Prather said.

Applications from households with children and near the Tijuana River are prioritized, Aguirre said.

“Children breathe in more of the toxins through body volume than adults do,” said Tom Csanadi, retired pediatrician and Imperial Beach resident. “Their brains are still growing and developing. They are more susceptible to the dangers of the poisons.”

Aguirre said she has been getting requests for air purifiers from residents outside of the border communities, which she will look into in the future for distributing in outer areas.

To apply for an air purifier, visit sdapcd.org. They can be shipped to the application address or picked up at 1425 Corporate Center Drive.