Uploaded August 2025 | Updated September 2026, 12 hours ago
For decades, the Tijuana River has carried millions of gallons of untreated sewage and industrial waste across the U.S.-Mexico border. The river passes through San Diego’s South Bay region before emptying into the ocean. Residents of South Bay communities have long voiced concerns about the foul smells emanating from the river, reporting health issues including eye, nose and throat irritation, respiratory issues, fatigue and headaches.
Now, newly published research from scientists at UC San Diego, UC Riverside, San Diego State University (SDSU) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) reveals that the polluted Tijuana River releases large quantities of the toxic gas hydrogen sulfide — commonly known as “sewer gas” because of its association with sewage and rotten egg smell.
Kimberly Prather, the lead investigator of the study and an atmospheric chemist at UC San Diego’s Scripps Oceanography and the Department of Chemistry, says the study reveals a direct airborne pollutant exposure pathway — from contaminated rivers into the air we breathe.
Read more here: https://today.ucsd.edu/story/tijuana-rivers-toxic-water-pollutes-the-air
This research was supported by NSF, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Balvi Philanthropic Foundation.
For decades, the Tijuana River has carried millions of gallons of untreated sewage and industrial waste across the U.S.-Mexico border. The river passes through San Diego’s South Bay region before emptying into the ocean. Residents of South Bay communities have long voiced concerns about the foul smells emanating from the river, reporting health issues including eye, nose and throat irritation, respiratory issues, fatigue and headaches.
Now, newly published research from scientists at UC San Diego, UC Riverside, San Diego State University (SDSU) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) reveals that the polluted Tijuana River releases large quantities of the toxic gas hydrogen sulfide — commonly known as “sewer gas” because of its association with sewage and rotten egg smell.
Kimberly Prather, the lead investigator of the study and an atmospheric chemist at UC San Diego’s Scripps Oceanography and the Department of Chemistry, says the study reveals a direct airborne pollutant exposure pathway — from contaminated rivers into the air we breathe.
Read more here: https://today.ucsd.edu/story/tijuana-rivers-toxic-water-pollutes-the-air
This research was supported by NSF, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Balvi Philanthropic Foundation.
