The Tijuana Sewage Crisis: In the Middle of an Almost International Incident #misinterpretingsh!t
September 14, 2024
by Dr. Plastic Picker
Honestly you can’t make up some of this stuff!!! I called my sister and called our niece Zoe in New York. I’ve told all the details to some friends and patients, but here I can’t tell all the details because the internet is forever. But OMG, honestly life is stranger than fiction sometimes.
We had just almost finished the leaded aviation fuel project which is awaiting the Governor’s signature and then the Tijuana Sewage Hydrogen Sulfide (perhaps there was Hydrogen Cyanide) crisis happened. There was news coverage, gas masks, drones deployed, governor called, chancellor and congressionao delegations, messages to the President of Mexico, competing press conferences, mayors and board of supervisors involved, front line doctors, public health doctors, graphs, talks of swirling eddies and hot spots. But in the end, why I got involved is because I heard about the schools and children that were affected. It was Nestor Language Academy, Southwest High School, Mar Vista High School and Berry Elementary School. These are all schools that our clinic takes care of. So the entire issue hit home.
In the end, I’ll keep the details to myself. If you know me in real life, I told you my version of the story. But this is what is on public record. This is the letter we sent to the Governor of California, Board of Supervisors, San Diego Air Pollution Control District and posted all over our socials. We were told that our letter made a difference, and that at least our patients will be getting air purifiers.
| Re: Tijuana Sewage Crisis We are concerned. As pediatricians who take care of children in the South Bay in particular infants and children living in and around the Nestor area, and those thousands of students attending Southwest High School, Mar Vista High School, Berry Elementary and Nestor Language Academy, we have been informed by our colleagues that the concentration of several toxic gases are at unacceptable levels. This concurs with what we have seen in our clinics, which are many cases of new onset migraine headaches, gastrointestinal illnesses, asthma exacerbations, respiratory infections and conjunctivitis in children living around the Nestor area. Our front-line experience mirrors what other physicians in Imperial Beach have documented. We have been in open communication with Professor Kim Prather from UC San Diego Scripps Oceanographic Institute and Professor Paula Granados from SDSU School of Public Health, who have shared with us their data. This has been through natural networks of concerned citizens and community leaders, that want to do what is right and just for the communities we serve. The various measured levels of multiple airborne pollutants from the Tijuana River include hydrogen sulfide and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) pose an immediate danger to our patients. As community pediatricians we are well equipped to understand the physiology of children. Per the CDC, children exposed to the same levels of hydrogen sulfide as adults may receive larger doses because they have greater lung surface area:body weight ratios and increased minute volumes:weight ratios. In addition, they may be exposed to higher levels than adults in the same location because of their short stature and the higher levels of hydrogen sulfide found nearer to the ground. Children may be more vulnerable to corrosive agents than adults because of the relatively smaller diameter of their airways. We do not know the long-term side effects of such high levels of chronic hydrogen sulfide and VOCs exposure to a community already burdened by environmental pollution and historic racism. For these reasons, as individual practicing pediatricians who will follow and care for these children long-term, we urge the different government agencies and responsible organizations to deploy as rapidly as possible air purifiers to the homes with infants and children as a short-term solution. We defer to the County Public Health Agency for further instructions to ensure public health. We defer to our government agencies to address the root cause of the Tijuana Sewage Crisis, but to treat it as such – an immediate threat to the short-term and long-term health of our pediatric patients. We hope that our shared community will treat infants and children affected like their own and provide for them the same safety measures and protections that children of other more affluent areas would receive. We are concerned. And we are fulfilling our duties as pediatricians, to speak up and advocate for those that cannot do so for themselves. With respect, lots of doctors (25 signatures) |
And with that, I made the news for the 50th time. It was wild for sure! For now our part is done. I have to email and thank everyone! But the funniest thing I texted my niece and a few of the students is that in my mind I was thinking the entire time “Why do we need nuclear weapons when you have sewage? Countries can just build sewage treatment plants at different borders, and when they get mad at each other just stop the plants, and then Hydrogen Cyanide will just waft over to the other side.” LOL. A reason to get rid of nuclear weapons.
