Jade Johnson assesses public health impact of pollution crisis in Tijuana River

Jade Johnson was featured in a San Diego Union Tribune news article about a sewage pollution and monitoring crisis in the Tijuana River. Johnson is a researcher and project coordinator at SDSU Public Health. "We are conducting a comprehensive public health assessment for the pollution crisis," she says. 

The story highlights how researchers like Johnson and government agencies are "working to collaborate on data sharing and keeping the public informed on air quality." 

This effort was spurred in part by one week in September where a record breaking heatwave caused air quality sensors to inaccurately report dangerously high levels of hydrogen cyanide. Public health warnings were issued and then rescinded, leading to confusion and turmoil in the community. 

As a result,  "all of the stakeholders who have worked mostly independently in their areas of expertise for months are now making efforts to work together," the Tribune reports. 

Learn more and find a photo of Johnson in action, complete with hazmat suit, in the San Diego Union Tribune's story.