UCLA study warns toxic chemicals at California ports pose health risks to residents

A toxic pesticide remains in widespread use across California two decades after federal officials recommended its phase-out, according to a new study by the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

The research found that some communities are facing exposure levels nearly double the state's safety recommendations.

Methyl bromide, a toxin that affects the nervous system, respiratory health, and physical development, is currently used in 36 of California’s 58 counties. While its use in agriculture largely ended in 2015, regulatory exceptions allow the chemical to be used for fumigating cargo containers at ports and transportation hubs.

Communities located near major ports face the highest risk. In West Long Beach, air monitors recorded methyl bromide levels nearly twice the state's safety threshold. The study noted that children are at a higher risk than adults.

Researchers are calling for improved monitoring and warning systems to protect residents. They are also urging officials to quickly replace methyl bromide with less toxic alternatives.

A new study from UCLA has exposed a troubling friction between global trade imperatives and public health in Southern California. Despite recommendations to phase out methyl bromide two decades ago, the toxic fumigant persists in the supply chain due to a critical regulatory loophole: mandatory pest-control requirements for international commerce. As the primary gateways for goods arriving from Asia, including significant trade volumes from Vietnam, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach remain reliant on these chemical treatments to meet federal biosecurity standards.

However, the economic benefits of this logistical efficiency are being bought at the expense of local communities. The research identifies hazardous exposure levels in Long Beach neighborhoods—areas often characterized by low-income populations and residents of color. By documenting high concentrations of the gas near schools and public parks, the study frames the issue as a textbook case of environmental injustice, where the health burdens of the global economy are disproportionately offloaded onto those living adjacent to industrial hubs.

The failure is not merely the continued use of a hazardous substance, but a systemic lack of basic safety protocols. The absence of a public notification system to warn residents or schools of active fumigation operations represents a significant lapse in regulatory oversight and risk management.

These findings underscore an urgent need for a comprehensive policy overhaul. Regulators must look beyond short-term logistical throughput and mandate the adoption of viable, safer alternatives that are already available. Without a shift in the state’s regulatory framework, the long-term health of vulnerable populations will continue to be treated as a secondary concern to the speed of global trade.

Vietnamese American communities across Southern California—particularly in Long Beach and the Little Saigon hubs of Westminster and Garden Grove—are among those most directly impacted. Many families live, work, and send their children to school in neighborhoods heavily affected by the industrial operations and freight traffic stemming from the ports. Ultimately, this is a pressing public health issue that hits close to home for our community.