LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors greenlit closer coordination between the county’s agricultural commissioner and the South Coast Air Quality Management District or AQMD on the issue of oversight of facilities that use the chemical methyl bromide to fumigate fruits and vegetables entering the county through the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The effort was led by Supervisor Janice Hahn, whose district includes the ports as well as the surrounding Harbor Area and Long Beach communities. Hahn’s motion was coauthored by Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell.
“Hundreds of thousands of metric tons of fruits and vegetables are processed at our ports every year and feed American families across the nation. We have to keep those safe from pests—but we also can’t allow these pesticides to jeopardize the health of our portside communities,” said Supervisor Hahn. “These two agencies need to work together to deliver the safe, clean air that these communities deserve. That’s what we’re doing today.”
Methyl bromide is a pesticide used to fumigate commodity agricultural products, controlling pests like insects, mites, fungi, weeds, and rodents. It is an odorless gas that penetrates deeply into commodities and packaging in a way that sprays or surface treatments cannot. It is also a hazardous air pollutant and toxic air contaminant. Studies have shown that exposure to methyl bromide may cause damage to the brain and nervous system. Currently, 13 facilities located around the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach actively fumigate these products using methyl bromide.
In 2023 and 2024, the California Air Resources Board began air monitoring in a West Long Beach community near two fumigation facilities. The monitoring found an average of ~2.1 parts per billion (ppb) methyl bromide, which is about double the state’s long-term health exposure threshold. That incident led to Hahn and Michell’s effort to strengthen the Memorandum of Understanding with AQMD.
Hahn and Mitchell’s motion authorizes the agricultural commissioner to establish a new Memorandum of Understanding with AQMD that:
- Requires that businesses obtain two permits, one from the county agricultural commissioner and separate one from the South Coast Air Quality Management District
- Clarifies roles and authority, with the agricultural commissioner responsible for enforcement of the use of the pesticide and AQMD charged with air quality enforcement
- Establishes a transition process for bringing facilities into AQMD permitting
- Defines how existing facility conditions will be handled
- Ensures ongoing cooperation between the two agencies
Details: Read Hahn and Mitchell’s full motion here.