Pollution and Cup
The results of the county’s Health Risk Study on consumption of fish from San Diego Bay have prompted enough concern to increase the posting of warning signs about consuming fish caught in the bay. The San Diego Unified Port District’s very own Toxic Contaminant Cleanup subcommittee recognizes the need for an ongoing, bay-wide monitoring program.
A baseline monitoring study would benefit San Diego long into the future. The results would be used to design programs to prevent further contamination of the bay and to clean up existing hot spots.
And so, it is particularly disturbing that the Port granted $8.3 million to the America’s Cup Organizing Committee (ACOC), but does not see fit to allocate commensurate funds where they are desperately needed.
Yes, the Port District did fund the County’s Health Risk Study and this year it generously awarded a grant to the Environmental Health Coalition’s Clean Bay Campaign. But these efforts were financially minuscule relative to the funds awarded to the ACOC.
The ACOC stresses that the America’s Cup will attract people worldwide to our area. Promotion of San Diego is the big carrot. But, we won’t be able to look to the San Diego Bay to pull people to San Diego indefinitely unless we take steps now to turn back the toxics train.
ELIZABETH LUCAS, Environmental Health Coalition
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