An air-purifier maker is asking a judge to blow up San Diego County’s $26.8 million deal for tens of thousands of machines meant to tame the stench from the Tijuana River. Medify Air argues the chosen units cannot actually scrub out hydrogen sulfide and other sewer gases that have sickened South Bay neighborhoods, and says the county botched the way it bought them. The fight turns one of the county's most visible stopgap fixes into a courtroom showdown over whether portable purifiers can meaningfully protect residents while slower binational projects crawl forward.
Lawsuit challenges county purchase
In a newly filed petition, Medify Air asks a judge to void the $26.8 million contract San Diego County awarded to Oransi LLC, arguing the county went with the lowest bid without clearly defining how the machines' performance would be measured. Medify says it submitted a $27.1 million bid and notes the county previously had to pull back roughly 400 devices that did not include activated-carbon and potassium-permanganate filters. Because the case is pending, San Diego County declined to comment, according to the Times of San Diego.
County program and the AIRE roll-out
The county's Air Improvement Relief Effort (AIRE) has already put thousands of purifiers into South Bay homes as a stopgap while U.S. and Mexican agencies work on infrastructure projects. Officials have talked about pushing that distribution into the tens of thousands of units. As reported by NBC 7 San Diego, the district recently hit the 10,000-unit mark and has committed more funding for additional machines. County materials recommend HEPA units with activated carbon and, where possible, potassium permanganate for dealing with gases like hydrogen sulfide, according to the San Diego County Air Pollution Control District.
Company says award ignored key tests
Medify's petition says the county's solicitation required specific performance metrics but did not spell out how vendors would be tested, which the complaint argues eliminated any objective basis for determining responsiveness. The company contends the Oransi units will not meet noise limits or gas-removal requirements and is asking the court to order the county to scrap the award and restart the bidding process. Medify is seeking judicial relief to reopen the procurement, according to the Times of San Diego.
Science behind the stink
Researchers at UC San Diego's Scripps Institution and partner labs have found that sewage-laced, foamy flows at hotspots such as Saturn Boulevard release hydrogen sulfide and hundreds of other compounds into the air, creating spikes that portable purifiers alone may struggle to remove, according to UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography. A county survey found many households reported relief from odors after receiving purifiers, but guidance and survey work cited by KPBS emphasize that units need activated-carbon filters, and potassium permanganate when possible, to reduce gases as well as particulates, per KPBS.
Legal implications
If a judge sides with Medify, the county could be forced to cancel the Oransi award and run the procurement again, which would likely slow deliveries of new purifiers. If the court denies the petition, the contract would probably move ahead while any appeals or administrative challenges play out.
What’s next for residents
Either way, the outcome will shape how quickly purifiers reach homes and what technical specs the county insists on for future purchases. For now, residents and local officials say portable purifiers remain one of the few immediate options to cut exposures while larger binational infrastructure and treatment upgrades move forward.
