Thousands of air purifiers delivered to South Bay, but residents and officials push for concrete solutions

A regional air quality agency has delivered approximately 7,700 air purifiers to South Bay residents affected by Tijuana River pollution, but challenges and questions about the program’s adequacy have emerged as calls grow for more permanent solutions.

The San Diego County Air Pollution Control District oversees the program, known as the Air Improvement Relief Effort Program (AIRE), through a memorandum of agreement with the county. The program provides specialized air purifiers capable of filtering hydrogen sulfide and other pollutants from the toxic cross-border flows.

County Supervisor Paloma Aguirre said the machines require two distinct filter types: carbon filters that remove hydrogen sulfide and other gases, and potassium permanganate filters that clear out pathogens.

“The community continues to be severely impacted by all of this pollution from the non stop flows in the Tijuana River,” Aguirre said. “I want people to be able to breathe and not get sick chronically and constantly. That’s it.”

The program distributes the purifiers within a specified area comprised of three zip codes within the Imperial Beach, Nestor and San Ysidro areas: 91932, 92154 and 92173.

AIRE has helped some residents cope with the ongoing crisis affecting communities along the U.S.-Mexico border, but many view the purifiers as insufficient given the scale and persistence of the pollution. With the rainy season now in full swing — when river flows, flooding and odor events typically intensify — officials are working to expedite distribution while advocates push for expanded access.

“Giving us this air purifier, well, thank you,” said resident Cesar Javier at a recent Board of Supervisors board meeting, summing up this general sense of skepticism about the program’s effectiveness and calling for greater measures. “But this is not the true solution … the solution is policy change.”

In July, the U.S. and Mexico signed an agreement to expand San Diego’s South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant to 50 million gallons per day by December 2027, with a 10 million gallon interim expansion recently completed.

Two separate programs

The Air Pollution Control District’s current program differs from an earlier county initiative that distributed 400 air purifiers through a lottery system when Nora Vargas was District 1 supervisor.

Imperial Beach resident Clay Howard described the earlier program as problematic, saying the purifiers distributed initially lacked sufficient potassium permanganate and charcoal to effectively filter toxic air. A county contractor also failed to transfer applicant information to the Air Pollution Control District, forcing people to reapply without notification.

“They didn’t know what the hell they were doing,” Howard said of the initial distribution system.

Diane Castañeda, communication director for Aguirre’s office, said the earlier program suffered from logistical faults and disorganization.

“It was hard to order them online; when people did order them online, it would take ages for them to get there,”  Castañeda said. “A lot of people weren’t even able to get them.”

The current program launched earlier this year with $2.7 million in funding for 10,000 units.

Applicants submit online applications that are reviewed by district staff, who then forward approved requests to the manufacturer for direct shipment to residents’ homes. Each household receives one air purifier and up to two replacement filters.

The district uses a tiered prioritization system giving preference to households with children or seniors and those closest to the pollution source.

Application barriers persist

Despite efforts to streamline the process, some residents have struggled to navigate the online application system.

Doug Evans, who lives in Carmel Valley, spent over a year trying to obtain an air purifier for his 90-year-old mother-in-law who lives in the 92154 zip code — within the program’s boundary area. Each application attempt returned an error message stating “Location not eligible.”

Evans contacted multiple officials and received form letters promising to investigate but no resolution.

“I kind of finally gave up and it eventually became, like I said, a moot point, because we instead just installed air conditioning in her home,” Evans said.

The problem: Evans had been entering the full address in the application form’s street number field. The system requires applicants to separately enter the street number, street name and select the street type from a dropdown menu — a format Evans called “unintuitive” despite working in technology his entire career.

“Each time I’ve gotten any kind of feedback from the county or whatever, the air quality people, they always say that they have excess units, and (my mother-in-law) lives in the area,” he said. “Which is why it was so weird whenever my applications were rejected.”

Evans’ mother-in-law lives on her deceased husband’s Navy pension in the family home where Evans’ wife grew up 60 years ago. The family spent $6,000 installing air conditioning after being unable to obtain a purifier, with her five children splitting the cost.

“She’s got to keep the windows closed, and nobody wants to visit her because it stinks,” Evans said.

The Air Pollution Control District recently removed the address verification requirement, which previously required applicants to upload proof of residency, in hopes of reducing barriers. District staff said they have not seen issues with ineligible applicants since removing the requirement.

Distribution improvements

The county recently expedited distribution by shifting from an East Coast vendor to a distribution center in Fresno, cutting wait times from four to six weeks down to half that time.

The county sent an emergency alert through Alert San Diego in October to raise awareness about the program, resulting in orders jumping from 50 to more than 300 overnight.

“What that demonstrates is that there is a very strong need out there,” Aguirre said.

District staff said applications come in waves — spiking after promotional pushes then slowing down — though they could not explain why all 10,000 units have not been distributed despite ongoing outreach through news media, social media, Spanish-language outlets and community organizations.

Howard said he knows people who applied over a year ago and still have not received units. He also noted that applicants received no confirmation emails — units simply arrived via FedEx delivery without signature requirement, raising concerns about theft of the $600 to $800 devices.

“It seems very inconsistent at times,” he said of the program. “But I think the important thing is that people are getting them and that they work as they need to.”

Questions about adequacy

Aguirre is pushing to expand the program from one unit per household to four. The Air Pollution Control District will analyze the fiscal implications and present findings at its Dec. 11 board meeting.

“What is the cost of a life? What is the cost of being healthy?” Aguirre said. “Even though it might seem like air filters are expensive, you’re saving on the other side of things so much money by not having to go get as many treatments and doctor visits and urgent care visits.”

Each air purifier covers approximately 400 to 500 square feet, and the units last about 15 years with annual filter replacement.

Howard said he got four air purifiers total for his single-family home — one from the county program, one from a friend who gave him his allocated unit, and two he bought directly from the manufacturer.

He said households need at least two to three units for adequate protection: one for the main living area and one for bedrooms.

“You would need one for each main living area,” Howard said.

The specialized purifiers cost between $600-$800, depending on size. Regular air purifiers available at retail stores are ineffective against the toxic pollution because they lack potassium permanganate filters, Howard said.

Forward-looking

Conditions tend to vary day to day depending on environmental factors.

Last year brought significant river flows and intense marine layer days in September that trapped gases in the region through boundary layer compression, creating more intense odor events.

Recent windy conditions in October have provided some relief compared to the same period last year, but Howard said conditions can change rapidly — as the heavy rains in mid-November demonstrated.

“When it’s the rainy season, it’s like Armageddon,” Howard said.