The San Diego County Air Pollution Control District (APCD) announced Friday it is no longer accepting applications for its air purifier distribution program for residents of the South Bay impacted by the Tijuana River pollution crisis due to a lack of funding.
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The Air Improvement Relief Effort (AIRE) program has delivered thousands of air purifiers to households in Imperial Beach, Nestor and San Ysidro living with chronic exposure to hydrogen sulfide and other toxic pollutants from the Tijuana River.
The suspension is temporary, said county Supervisor Paloma Aguirre, as $4 million approved by the Board of Supervisors on Jan. 28 is expected to be released after the county’s budget is approved, with funding flowing to the program starting July 1.
“We’ve been very clear at the Board of Supervisors where we stand on (the program) because I had the support from my colleagues in approving the $4 million to expand it,” said Aguirre, who also sits on the APCD Governing Board. “And we’ve been very clear from the board of directors at APCD that we wanted to see this expansion.”
According to the APCD, the district has distributed over 13,800 air purifiers to date and anticipates distributing approximately 1,000 more before the remaining funds for the program run out. The original allocation was intended for 10,000 units.
Those who have not yet applied can join a waitlist to be notified when new applications resume. The waitlist is available at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/AIREwaitlist.
When the new funding is released, existing recipients will be the first eligible to apply for additional units, with applications expected to open in July. The expansion will prioritize getting smaller, secondary units into bedrooms — up to two additional purifiers per household — before new applicants are considered.
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“One isn’t enough, especially for larger families,” Aguirre said.
The APCD’s governing board selected an expansion plan costing $8 million. With $4 million secured from the county, the district is working to secure the remaining $4 million.
The AIRE program, launched in 2024, distributes specialized air purifiers equipped with carbon and potassium permanganate filters capable of removing hydrogen sulfide and other gases from the air. Each unit covers approximately 400 to 500 square feet. The program also serves residents in Otay Mesa West and Egger Highlands.
The announcement comes roughly a week and a half after a severe hydrogen sulfide spike hit the region, with levels peaking at 1,400 parts per billion — and holding around 700 parts per billion for an entire night, Aguirre said. The APCD recommends keeping hydrogen sulfide exposure below 30 parts per billion.
Despite the program’s expansion, Aguirre was clear the air purifiers are not a permanent fix.
“This is just a Band-Aid, this is not the solution,” she said. “We need a lot more support from our governor and our president to begin mitigating this absolute toxic and very dangerous environmental and public health crisis.”
