SAN DIEGO — Omar Araiza is the Owner of Cafecito 1806, a local business on wheels. In the first year of serving coffee in the South Bay community he encountered an obstacle that impacted his business.
“Economically, its kinda been devastating I've actually lost thousands of dollars cause I've actually had to stop for three months but the biggest thing that you know is disheartening is the local community, you know the conversations that I would have with them,” Araiza said.
Low air quality has forced Araiza to close down at times since his business is outdoors. Omar checks the Air Quality Index every time he sets up his coffee cart, not just once but several times a day.
“I have to check it not just early in the morning when I start but on a consistent every two hours because the air quality changes as temperature changes,” Araiza said.
This week, several state representatives repeated their call for an immediate federal state of emergency declaration after independent researchers reported high levels of toxic gases in South San Diego.
“We have not as a county received any data that indicates a public safety concern,” County Supervisor Chairwoman Nora Vargas said.
The County’s hazardous Incident Response Team and researchers from San Diego State University conducted field assessments to test Hydrogen Cyanide and Hydrogen Sulfide levels.
The San Diego County Air Pollution Control District made a statement on “X,” which reads in part “While compounds associated with these odors may cause adverse health effects such as headaches and nausea, preliminary data does not indicate an immediate threat to life or health.”
“At this time we’re telling our communities that it's safe, it smells horrible but it's safe,” Vargas said.
Meantime, very soon Omar will be getting some relief with the opening of his brick and mortar store in San Ysidro.
“Having a brick and mortar really alleviates a lot of the stress from me thinking like, oh could a cup of coffee be contaminated you know cause I'm out in the open air? Because of the pollution? Because it's going to take two years for the waste facility to be reconstructed,” Araiza said.
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