"Chronic coastal contamination from the Tijuana River can end up in the atmosphere as “sea spray aerosol” — spreading far beyond the San Diego County beaches where it has long polluted the water, a new study has found.

For decades, storms occurring along the U.S.-Mexico border have been diverting sewage through the Tijuana River and into the ocean in south Imperial Beach, according to a study published on Thursday in Environmental Science & Technology.

But researchers have now determined that sewage-polluted coastal waters can transfer to the atmosphere as aerosol — generated “by breaking waves and bursting bubbles.”

And while the level of threat to human health remains uncertain, this so-called “sea spray aerosol” contains bacteria, viruses and chemical compounds."

Sharon Udasin reports for The Hill March 2, 2023. [2]