Early results show Calexico most affected by pollution

HEBER — Early data from Comite Civico Del Valle’s air monitoring system show Calexico as the most affected area by air pollution in the region.

Out of the six monitors that recorded the highest levels of particulate matter in the air regionally, five are located in Calexico, and the other is in the city of Mexicali. The results were presented during Comite Civico del Valle Air Quality Symposium on Thursday morning.

The early findings support prior assumptions that pollution originating south of the border could be the main factor behind the high incidence of asthma and other respiratory ailments in Valley, particularly among young children.

According to data from the California Department of Public Health, the county has the highest rate of asthma-related emergency services visits in the state for children aged 5 to 17. While the state has an average of 72.4 emergency visits per 10,000, the rate in the Valley is more than twice that with 163 per 10,000 per year.

Particulate matter pollution is a serious health concern. Paul English of the California Department of Public Health, who serves as scientific advisor of the project, noted that high exposure to particulate matter carries serious health risks, such as increased risk of developing heart and respiratory diseases.

It also exacerbates the effects of and may cause asthma, impairs brain development in children and contributes to the decline in the cognitive ability in elderly.

Edmund Seto, an associate professor of environmental health sciences of the University of Washington presented the first set of findings from data taken October 2016 through February 2017.

Though the data illustrates how the air quality is worse in the southern portion of the Imperial Valley, Seto said it cannot pinpoint specific sources of pollution.

“Our data is too short to look at longterm trends, but we have observed some differences in different parts of Imperial Valley which are very interesting,” Seto said. “We’re finding higher air pollution levels in the southern part of the Valley, but occasionally there are really high levels in the northern part of the Valley.”

The air monitoring network project began due to the large gaps in available data because there were only five regulatory air monitors located in the Valley. In joining Comte’s network, researchers added 40 more monitors that cover most of the Valley.

The launch of the air monitoring network was made possible due to collaboration of the local non-profit environmental organization with local, state, regional and federal partners. The program was funded by the National Institutes of Health. It also works with the Public Health Institute’s California Environmental Health Tracking Program and researchers from the University of Washington.

Seto said during his presentation there were at least 1,426 episodes over the year when the 40 added monitors recorded unhealthy pollution levels in one year, compared to 116 episodes identified by the five regulatory monitors.

Seto and his team of students reviewing and analyzing the data are currently also working to create models that could allow them to predict what the air quality will be in sites that don’t have air monitors by combining available data with wind trajectories.

Though they’re at the start of that particular line of research, Seto hopes that by backtracking wind patterns the researchers could identify general areas that could be sources of pollution and prioritize what other areas of the Valley should be considered for additional air monitors.

“We’ll continue to look at the data. We’re really interested in additional analysis on the wind patterns to understand what is contributing to the high air pollution,” Seto said.

In the future, the researchers are also interested in learning more about how effective the air monitors and Comite’s flag program at local schools have been in avoiding new cases of asthma in the region.

The data thus far have proven the need for the additional monitors, and now Comite Civico del Valle is hoping to use the data to start taking action to curb emissions in the community.

“Ambient air monitoring is not enough. It’s not bringing enough attention to the effects of pollution and how it is impacting localized areas. There is a lot of difference at the local level,” said CCV executive director Luis Olmedo. “The more we democratize the data and the more we educate the community, it translates into creating a lot more enthusiasm to prioritize these issues.”

One of the tools that can help CCV and Imperial County to address some of the local pollution sources is through Assembly Bill 617, which was approved last year.

Olmedo said the bill is important because it has a mechanism that can allow the community to address direct emission reductions. Currently, CCV and the County Air Pollution Control District are working together and will submit a plan to the California Air Resources Board in coming days.

“We are working with APCD to submit a plan to reduce emission from traffic in Calexico and from other cumulative sources here in the Valley, such as agricultural burning. These are contributors of particulate matter and can be addressed to these interventions of AB 617,” Olmedo said. “The plan has targeted emission reductions interventions. We are hoping that between the data that we have collected and AB 617, we will be able to have a more aggressive approach to reducing those emissions, but it’s going to take time.”

Though the particulate matter is a big concern, there are other pollutants such as methane that have to be addressed.

In order to get a clearer picture of the number of air quality concerns in the region, the research team and CCV want to continue to gather data over a longer time frame. This is especially true because the early findings have found a disparity between the level of pollution identified through their network compared to the regulatory monitors, but more data is needed before any conclusions are made.

“Our findings have identified that regulatory monitors are not giving us accurate readings and may be underreporting,” Olmedo said.