Living on the Frontlines of Fumigation Facilities in Los Angeles County

Even as the CARB monitor reported troubling levels of methyl bromide near areas where families walk, children play, and workers live, county and state officials were slow to act. 

Rather than taking protective action, CARB and SCAQMD proceeded to only monitor methyl bromide spikes, even though it was well documented that methyl bromide levels were much higher in West Long Beach compared to other neighborhoods in Los Angeles, according to SCAQMD’s 2021 Multiple Air Toxics Exposure Study V. 

But Jesse refused to let these concerning trends slip under the radar, and he continued to demand a community meeting with the county and state agencies responsible for fumigation facility oversight. Finally, communities living on the frontlines of these facilities were told the truth about ongoing methyl bromide spikes and the number of facilities actively using methyl bromide in Los Angeles county. 

After years of fractured agency oversight, tireless community organizing efforts successfully pushed SCAQMD to initiate a rulemaking process to require more stringent safety precautions at commodity fumigation facilities. The rule will be developed over a multi-month process to establish an industry-wide approach to controlling methyl bromide emissions (Proposed Rule 1495). The overarching goal of this rulemaking process is to make facility operations safer for workers and Los Angeles residents living near commodity fumigation facilities (warehouses that actively gas cargo with methyl bromide to kill pests). 

“Jesse’s relentless pursuit to build community and worker power will be instrumental in this critical local fight and will ensure a strong public health rule and accountability measures that will further advance his legacy and vision to protect the most impacted communities,” says Esther Portillo, NRDC’s western environmental health director. From West Long Beach to Compton, neighborhood residents’ demands for public health protections are finally being met with action. Jesse refused to ignore the risk of methyl bromide emissions in Los Angeles, and his dedication will hopefully have a ripple effect, pushing state and local agencies to hold commodity fumigation facilities accountable in Los Angeles and beyond.

In spring 2024, MeBr air levels spiked in West Long Beach, with high levels exceeding 900 parts per billion (ppb) in February and March of 2024. Even the annual average exceeds state agencies’ exposure limits for chronic or long-term safety. Yet state and local agencies took no action until early 2025, when a long overdue community meeting was finally scheduled in January 2025 to alert communities that they may be unknowingly exposed to toxic methyl bromide emissions. Today, several health risk assessments are still pending from commodity fumigation facilities across Los Angeles County. People exposed to unsafe levels of methyl bromide emissions include those near Hudson Elementary School and Stephens Middle School. 

As methyl bromide levels continue to fluctuate in Los Angeles County, local resident health and safety are at risk. But research shows that solutions are in reach.

“At minimum, Air District staff must require airtight seals on warehouses to avoid risk of methyl bromide exposure so that no residual fumigant can be released into the atmosphere of West Long Beach,” says Theral Golden, president of the West Long Beach Neighborhood Association. The group is pressing for at least three methyl bromide monitors to remain in use and be maintained by SCAQMD. Golden also adds that SCAQMD should require health risk assessments of acute exposure completed within 18 months of the effective date of the Proposed Rule 1495. 

Given that port communities are already overwhelmed by cancer-causing diesel emissions associated with trucks and equipment that process incoming cargo, adding methyl bromide exposure only exacerbates the environmental injustice that port communities face. In addition to facilities that regularly use methyl bromide, THE Impact Project uncovered that there are countless facilities preemptively permitted to use methyl bromide, and cargo surges at the San Pedro Bay Port complex could soon mean more of it. The Port of Los Angeles recently touted plans to expand port infrastructure to increase capacity, while the Port of Long Beach declared in its 2026 State of the Port event that it will double its cargo capacity by 2050. 

Methyl bromide is listed under California’s Proposition 65 as a chemical capable of causing reproductive and developmental harm. Methyl bromide is associated with lower birth weight in newborns, lung damage in children, and neurobehavioral harm (impaired brain function) in workers. “The bottom line is that we need safer places and methods to treat pests on food crops.” says Yoshira Ornelas Van Horne, assistant professor at UCLA and an academic partner of THE Impact Project.

Methyl bromide was most commonly associated with agricultural fields and the subject of decades of concern for its toxic effects to farmworkers and farm communities. Yet the use of methyl bromide in urban areas managed to escape public scrutiny, despite the fact that a total of 1,283,201 pounds of methyl bromide for nonagricultural fumigation (e.g., commodity fumigation) were applied in California from 2016–2022. 

A 2012 review on toxicological and epidemiological studies suggests a link between community exposure to the pesticide and health-related issues, including heightened cancer risk, making the lack of public health rules covering methyl bromide use in urban settings an even greater cause for concern. It is also worth noting that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), dating as far back as 2008, acknowledges “bystander incidents” involving MeBr, in which people located “up to several thousand feet from [a] fumigated field” experienced negative effects of the chemical. 

In addition to the direct health harms, methyl bromide also contributes to depletion of the ozone layer that shields us from harmful UV radiation. The 1987 Montreal Protocol, a treaty that saved the ozone layer, set a timetable to end all use of MeBr. While most uses have ended, warehouse fumigators have negotiated exceptions and delays, claiming the pesticide is needed to meet pest restrictions imposed by importing countries.

A fact sheet published by the EPA Office of Pesticide Programs provides guidance on MeBr use for soil fumigation; this framework can guide the course of action required to inform and protect communities from the harms of cargo fumigation. The fact sheet mandates that “buffer zones” be in effect “from the time the fumigation begins until 48 hours following the application.” The fact sheet dictates that buffer zones be established “along likely routes of approach,” such as a physical barrier or relevant posting. Yet there is a staggering lack of guidance or requirements for using methyl bromide in urban settings. “It is unconscionable to allow methyl bromide, a highly toxic fumigant, to be used in any location where its emissions may reach children, families, or other members of the surrounding community,” says Robina Suwol, executive director of California Safe Schools and an ally of the THE Impact Project. 

THE Impact Project members and allies stand behind the following demands: 

• All fumigation be performed in an airtight facility with no residual fumigant released into the atmosphere
• Health-protective buffer established, coupled with notifications prior to fumigation
• Fumigators must manage treatments to ensure that nearby air doesn’t exceed short- or long-term inhalation safety levels
• Institution of at least three additional MeBr monitors, given the large number and clustering of fumigation facilities in Los Angeles County
• Increased reporting and health risk assessments for all fumigation facilities, given the prolonged lack of disclosure, violations, and outdated data
• Collection and disclosure of up-to-date MeBr usage totals by date and facility
• Pending facility health risk assessments must be completed within 18 months of the effective date of Proposed Rule 1495
• Sharing of fumigation permits and inspection records from 2015–2025 for the 18 facilities located in the South Coast Air Basin
• Information on fumigators’ past and current compliance with California Code of Regulations, Title 3, Section 6426, including insight on fumigators’ yearly analysis of alternatives
• Review of fumigation facilities’ compliance with proper fumigation practices and a detailed disclosure of prior violations
• Interagency consideration of MeBr alternatives and pathways for MeBr reduction, including analysis on cargo handling and fumigation efficiency increases
• Reconsideration of current procedures and the institution of more protective fumigation practices
• Overall response to and remediation of the years-long lack of disclosure via prompt sharing of past fumigation information (as discussed above)
• Ongoing transparency regarding future MeBr and fumigation practices, including meaningful coordination with concerned community groups and members and increased attention to public health

SCAQMD staff are working to reclaim full oversight and permitting authority for commodity fumigation facility air permits approving methyl bromide use, rescinding an outdated Memorandum of Understanding forged between the Los Angeles County Agricultural Commissioner and SCAQMD that limited the district’s oversight authority. “Moving forward, SCAQMD should use its restored oversight authority to require airtight seals for facilities, the best available technology, such as stacks coupled with scrubbers on the facilities,” says Paola Vargas, organizer for East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice Long Beach and South Bay. “And the district should require the best practices that improve life expectancy in communities surrounding commodity fumigation facilities.”

In the long term, it is vital that local, state, and federal agencies advance the urgent need to substitute methyl bromide for safer treatments and move warehouses out of densely populated areas. While Proposed Rule 1495 would tighten up practices, the only way to truly protect public health is to eliminate the risk entirely. 

Contributors: THE Impact Project, Sonya Lunder (director, community science, Environment, Equity & Justice Center, NRDC), Elizabeth Sheedy (Boston University environmental law practicum), Esther Portillo (director, western environmental health, NRDC).