"Long Beach residents near companies that use methyl bromide are angry that air quality officials didn’t notify them for years and haven’t assessed their health risks. Now officials say more facilities are operating in San Pedro and Compton."
"At least six fumigation facilities in southeast Los Angeles County have been using a toxic pesticide that could be harming people, yet air quality regulators have not analyzed the health risks in nearby communities.
West Long Beach residents have been angry since January, when they learned that potentially dangerous levels of methyl bromide used by two facilities were found near an elementary school — five years after the fumes were first detected by air quality officials.
Then, on Thursday night, at a virtual community meeting, officials of the South Coast Air Quality Management District revealed that four more facilities, located in Compton and San Pedro, are also using the chemical — at much larger volumes than two West Long Beach facilities.
Homes are located near the San Pedro and Compton fumigation businesses, but air quality officials said they do not have plans to monitor the air there."
Alejandra Reyes-Velarde reports for CalMatters March 21, 2025.
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