The supply chain backlog has ships backed up off the coast of Los Angeles. They're spewing exhaust that's affecting the air quality in Southern California and renewing environmental health concerns.

There is still a backlog of ships waiting off the coast of Los Angeles because of supply chain problems. Those vessels in the bay are making the region's poor air quality worse, and residents are worried about what that means for their health, as Megan Jamerson with KCRW reports.

MEGAN JAMERSON, BYLINE: At his neighborhood in West Long Beach, Calif., Ron Batiste sitting at his kitchen table. And while he's talking, he has to pause fairly often.

RON BATISTE: Forgive me if it's hard for me to breathe.

JAMERSON: The 72-year-old musician's never been diagnosed with a lung condition, but he says this shortness of breath happens sometimes. Part of the problem, he thinks, is his neighborhood's air quality, which has been terrible for decades. Batiste points to the grime that collects daily around the sliding glass door and the AC vent, despite running an air purifier.

BATISTE: It's not just dust. It's like oil.

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