Research teams from UC San Diego and SDSU are continuing their field studies this week on the South Bay sewage crisis.
They’ve been collecting water, soil, dust and air samples and monitoring levels of hydrogen sulfide, a toxin commonly found in sewage, among other gases.
“We’re looking at dust composition and air inside to try and paint a bigger picture,” said Beatriz Klimeck, Post-Doctoral Researcher, UC San Diego.
On Tuesday, Klimech and others stopped by several homes in Nestor surveying community members on the smell and their ventilation habits.
“It’s been pretty terrible,” said one resident, who shared the smell is strongest at night and has physically made them sick.
“Physical symptoms…I felt like I was going to throw up. I had really strong stomach cramps and I just couldn’t go back to bed,” they said.
The stench from sewage overflow from Tijuana has plagued the neighborhood for decades. Researchers from UC San Diego, SDSU, UC Riverside and the University of Texas are now working alongside each other to figure out what long-term effects it might have on the health of people living there.
The county, EPA and California Department of Public Health tell 10News their officials continue to monitor levels of hydrogen sulfide in the air as well — and that there is no “immediate risk to public health and safety.”
However, the odor is so terrible, some researchers have been experiencing physical symptoms just working in the area.
SDSU associate professor Dr. Paula Stigler Granados shared she vomited twice last week after collecting samples for her field study.
“I was out sampling one day and got overwhelmed with the smells and I ended up sick…and got sick later on that day at a meeting. But that’s nothing compared to what I feel like is going on in this community everyday,” she said. Other researchers have shared with 10News they have experienced headaches and a sore throat after spending the day gathering samples in the area.
Researchers from UC San Diego are now wearing respirators while gathering samples near the Tijuana river.
Dr. Granados says they are working on setting up a year long survey that residents can fill out every two weeks to keep tabs on symptoms people may or may not be experiencing.
“So you will be able to grab a QR code you’ll probably see signs all over the neighborhood and people will be able to fill out this health survey,” she said.
Dr. Granados added one of the goals is to gather data in neighborhoods where symptoms might be underreported.
“Because not everybody goes to the doctor…a lot of times these feelings are transient, just like the smells,” she said.
