SAN DIEGO — The smell of rotten eggs permeates Steve Egger’s Southern California home, especially at night like the house next door Tijuana River Sewage from Mexico accumulates before it flows into the Pacific Ocean.
Iger, 72, says he and his wife suffer from frequent headaches and wake up congested and passing phlegm. Their home is equipped with a hospital-grade filtration system that circulates the air every 15 minutes.
He added that despite these measures, “most nights we breathe a bad smell.” “It’s terrible.”
Since 2018, more than 100 billion gallons (378 billion liters) of raw sewage laden with industrial chemicals and garbage has flowed into the Tijuana River, according to the International Boundaries and Water Commission. The river passes through land where three generations of the Eger family have raised dairy cows. The United States and Mexico signed an agreement last year to clean up the area Long term problem By upgrading sewage plants to keep pace with Tijuana’s population growth and industrial waste generated by factories, many of which are owned by American companies.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people are exposed to sewage. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said during a visit to San Diego in February that it would take about two years to resolve one of the nation’s worst and longest environmental crises, which largely affects poor Latino residents.
Raw sewage isn’t just smelly. It emits hydrogen sulfide, a toxic gas that can corrode nerve cells in the nose and trigger asthma attacks. It can cause headache, nausea, delirium, tremors, cough, shortness of breath, skin and eye irritation, and Until deathAccording to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Her long-term health problems are only just beginning to be understood.
There is no federal safety standard for hydrogen sulfide except for workers in locations where the risks are high, such as wastewater treatment plants or manure pits. Some states established standards decades ago, but those standards are outdated. California’s proposal requires the state’s 56-year-old standard to reflect the health risks of the gas. In Texas, lawmakers are also considering updating its law.
“I think when you look back when the standard was first put in place and then revised, it was all about the nuisance — it was all about the smell,” said the author of the California bill, Democratic Sen. Steve Padilla, who represents the Tijuana River Valley. “I don’t think we had the scientific understanding of the health impacts here, and now we do.”
Even if the bill passes, the new standard will likely not be developed until 2030.
A “Stop the Stink” sign is on the Eiger fence, part of a campaign by Citizens for Coastal Conservation to demand officials clean up cross-border sewage.
The 120-mile (195 km) long river starts in the Mexican city of Tijuana, crosses into California and empties into the ocean. Nearby San Diego County beaches have been closed for years, and Navy personnel training in the water have fallen ill.
Since last January, the Tijuana River has carried 10 billion gallons (38 billion liters) of raw sewage and industrial waste across the U.S. border, according to data from the International Water and Boundaries Commission. By comparison, a massive pipe that burst in January released 244 million gallons (924 million liters) of untreated sewage. To the Potomac Riveraffecting largely affluent and white communities. The leak prompted federal intervention within weeks.
In 2024, a San Diego County and CDC sample of nearly 40,000 households close to the Tijuana River found that 71% could smell sewage inside their homes and 69% had someone become ill from exposure.
Even at low levels, “it feels like it’s in your sinuses. You can’t get rid of the smell. It’s going to be a constant irritation,” said Ryan Sinclair, associate professor of environmental microbiology at Loma Linda University School of Public Health.
The EPA said it is working with local and state officials to find ways to mitigate the odor.
This year, San Diego County distributed more than 10,000 air filters to homes. But the air is still a threat. The river’s foam can now be seen from space.
In September 2024, Kimberly Prather, a chemistry professor at the University of California, San Diego, and a team of researchers installed air monitors in Iger’s neighborhood.
What they found astounded them: Hydrogen sulfide concentrations were 4,500 times higher than typical urban levels and 150 times higher than California air standards when river flows peak at night.
Many residents, like Egger, felt they were right.
“They were more or less gassed, and they were told, ‘There’s gas. It’s a nuisance. It smells bad, but it’s not bad,'” Prather said.
She said her researchers have since discovered thousands of other odorless gases coming from the river, “many of which are more toxic.”
Iger said doctors told him to move, even though they did not give him a written diagnosis that he was suffering from hydrogen sulfide exposure.
But his family roots run deep. His wife grew up in Tijuana. His brother and his late brother’s family live in the houses next door to what was known as Egger Dairy. Nearby is a dilapidated milk barn and rusty farm equipment.
“This is where I have lived all my life, with my family, my parents and my grandparents,” he said. “This is home.”
When Eger was a boy, he swam in the river, which only ran during the rainy season. Now most of it is filled with sewage and industrial waste, and continues throughout the year. He says the river should be restored to its historic course, which is closer to the border and farther from most residences and schools. He believes it won’t collect in puddles, creating hot spots for hydrogen sulfide gas.
Less than a half-mile from Egger’s home, the stench wafts as the river pours out of pipes after being forced underground briefly near Saturn Boulevard.
Scientists call it “Saturn’s hotspot.” The unpleasant smell spreads in passing cars with their windows open, and remains inside them for several days.
Dr. Matthew Dixon and his wife, Dr. Kimberly Dixon, run a clinic about a mile from the hotspot. Many of their patients suffer from migraines, nausea, wheezing, eye infections, and brain fog. Asthma sufferers say they use inhalers more when the air smells bad.
“They’ll say, ‘You know, I feel better when there’s no smell outside,'” Dr. Kimberly Dixon said.
In August 2023, a tropical storm caused the river to flood into the streets. Within days, the number of doctors’ cases tripled.
Electronic health records confirmed what doctors suspected. When river flows jumped, the number of patients treated for respiratory problems increased by 130%, they said.
“Every day this isn’t fixed, more people get sick,” Dr. Matthew Dixon said.
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Pineda reported from Los Angeles.
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