After a three hour meeting about the existence of a toxic chemical seeping into the air, West Long Beach residents were left with more questions than answers.
Methyl bromide, a pesticide that harms respiratory and nervous systems when breathed in, was found in the air in West Long Beach in 2023. Two years later, almost 200 Long Beach residents attended an in-person and virtual meeting on Jan. 30 to learn about how this chemical was allowed to poison their air, and what steps will be taken to mitigate it.
The chemical is banned internationally, and is listed under Proposition 65 as a product known to cause cancer, birth defects and other reproductive harm. Methyl bromide is used daily by two local companies, with a permit granted by LA County.
Multiple county and state agencies presented at the meetings, including the California Air Resources Board (CARB), South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD), Los Angeles County Agricultural Commissioner’s Office and the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA).
Representatives from each organization answered residents’ questions and shared their proposed next steps: having the companies lower their use of methyl bromide, and telling residents to close their windows and doors.
Residents called this plan weak and disappointing, but were not given any other possible solutions by the end of the meeting.
What Is Methyl Bromide, And How Much Of It Is In The Air?
For over a decade, West Long Beach residents have been asking local air monitoring agencies to check the air for traces of methyl bromide, a colorless, odorless pesticide. Local activist Jesse Marquez led the efforts to get CARB to install an air monitoring station north of Hudson Elementary School in January 2023.
Previous to this, SCAQMD had already found methyl bromide in the West Long Beach air in 2018, but only released its report in 2021. A representative at the meeting said they “didn’t advertise” their findings enough to alert the community.
Two companies, Three Rivers Trucking and San Pedro Forklift have been using methyl bromide daily for the past 28 years. The chemical was banned internationally in 1989, but exceptions are made on certain agricultural products that the United States imports or exports. Permits to use methyl bromide are granted by the LA County Agricultural Commissioner’s Office.
Both companies are located less than a mile from Hudson Elementary School and Hudson Park. Hudson Elementary School is shutting down at the end of the 2024-2025 school year due to low enrollment.
The data presented at the meeting was from CARB’s monitoring from January 2023 to spring 2024, during which time they received hourly readings. OEHHA set the Reference Exposure Level (REL) for methyl bromide for the amount that the chemical can be breathed in without causing any “harmful noncancer health effects.”
The recommended REL for methyl bromide for an hour at a time is 1,000 parts per billion (PPB), while the recommended REL for long term exposure (at least one year) is 1 part per billion. From January 2023 to April 2024, the average concentration of methyl bromide was 2.1 ppb, over double the long term recommended level. Multiple times during the study, the short term concentration level reached above 900 ppb.
During the months between February and May, West Long Beach sees higher levels of methyl bromide concentration. This is due to certain produce that the companies have to use more of the pesticide on, according to a representative from the LA County Agricultural Commissioner’s Office. Peak times of methyl bromide use are between 6 p.m. and 11 p.m., with the greatest concentration between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m.
When methyl bromide is in high concentrations, it emits a fruity smell. During these peak times, the agencies said residents should shut their windows and doors.
What Are The Health Impacts?
Short term exposure to methyl bromide causes headaches, dizziness, nausea and difficulty breathing. Long term effects include lesions in the naval cavity and developmental and nervous system issues. All of these effects are greater in infants, children and pregnant women.
A study conducted on animals showed that harmful health effects from methyl bromide can pass from a pregnant mother to the fetus.
Representatives from OEHHA said that they have not conducted any studies including children, and their studies on methyl bromide don’t take into account cumulative aspects, or how methyl bromide interacts with other already existing chemicals in the air that might make it more harmful to breath in.
What is Being Done to Clean the Air?
The organizations at the meeting did not propose a plan to remove methyl bromide from the community. Instead, they said both companies have already agreed to lower the daily use of methyl bromide, and they will continue to monitor hourly.
CARB showed a graph that depicted the health risks from methyl bromide compared to health risks from “all other air toxins” in West Long Beach, implying that the risks from methyl bromide is merely a drop in the bucket of toxic air for residents.
“When we compare health hazards from one chemical and a community that’s burdened by other chemicals, sometimes that’s used as a justification to not mitigate these other factors,” said University of Southern California public health science professor Jill Johnston. “I think it’s important that we see cumulative burden as a reason to mitigate risks.”
Mitigation efforts that the companies will have to comply with include:
- Closing their doors when using methyl bromide, which was not being enforced previously.
- Reducing the daily limit from 1,000 pounds a day to 200 pounds a day.
- Installing taller 55-foot stacks that pump out the fumigation, and larger fans that disperse the chemical higher into the air to “reduce ground level concentration.”
- Staggering the stack’s chamber releases to prevent higher concentrations.
- Not pumping the fumigant out during school hours.
- Recording how much methyl bromide they use on a daily basis. In the past, they have been keeping monthly reports.
CARB said these changes should be implemented by the end of this week. SCAQMD is expecting an emissions report of toxic air contaminants by March 2025, which they said will help them determine next steps.
A live dashboard has been posted on CARB’s website with methyl bromide levels of concentration detected at their air monitoring site. The dashboard is supposed to post hourly data, but as of Feb. 6, each day only has one to five readings posted.
Community Response
Residents at the meeting were highly dissatisfied with CARB’s and SCAQMD’s plans, and asked that the companies using methyl bromide take their operations elsewhere.
“We have an opportunity to do something about the pollution in West Long Beach, as a disproportionately affected community by pollution. Why should we accept anything less than that?” said a resident who identified himself as Ricardo.
Max Regis with the LA County Agricultural Commissioner’s Office responded that these companies “have not done anything illegal or inappropriate” so his office is bound by legal authority.
When residents asked if the companies had tried other methods of disposing of methyl bromide, rather than pumping it into the air, Regis said they have not looked at alternative methods. He added other methods such as carbon capture are “expensive” and “creates other pollutants.”
Workers with the Long Beach Alliance for Children with Asthma said that the recommendations to keep windows and doors closed can harm those with respiratory conditions already, who are often told to keep fresh air flowing through their homes.
“All this is very alarming. It’s hard to even think how I’m going to relate these messages and findings with our families.’‘ said Irene with the Long Beach Alliance for Children with Asthma. “Something that really bothered me is that you’re going to ask facilities to bring levels down. I think that’s a really weak plan of action. I think we can come up with a more concrete solution.”
Residents also pointed out that pumping methyl bromide higher into the air would further harm the ozone layer, another reason why the chemical is banned.
Community members also asked for more specific parameters of which residential areas are affected. CARB’s website describes the affected area as close to Webster Avenue, between West Willow Street and West Burnett Street, but residents said this is not accurate.
Residents were told to contact these agencies for further questions. The LA County Agricultural Commissioner’s Office is in charge of enforcement, and originally granted these permits to the companies. Their contact for the public is mdelosreyes@acwm.lacounty.gov or (626) 226-6085.
Questions about monitoring can be sent to cam@arb.ca.gov.