A new UC Riverside study that examined air quality and respiratory health in the Salton Sea shows dust storms are creating environmental harms and inequality for families.
The Salton Sea, California’s largest inland lake, has been shrinking as temperatures rise and water decreases. Dust from the exposed lake bed blows inside the homes of people near the Coachella and Imperial Valleys.
UCR researchers placed air quality monitors inside the homes of 15 mothers, who documented their experiences through personal narratives. The mothers used photography and personal narratives to share anecdotes of their experiences.
Ann Cheney, a professor at UCR’s School of Medicine, helped lead the study with the support of William Porter at the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences. Cheney said researchers found that outdoor dust storms near the Salton Sea also affect people’s indoor air quality.
Many of the mothers say their children suffer from respiratory issues, so they’ve chosen to keep kids indoors and they often miss school. That means parents also miss work, Cheney said.
“These are individuals who are learning 25,000 or less a year,” said Cheney. “They just can't afford better living conditions and structures that could protect them from the element[s].”
Participants of the study submitted photos that showed how thick piles of dust regularly covered homes and communities near the Salton Sea. Other testimonies and images included descriptions of “rotten egg smells” and concerns of persistent respiratory problems and chronic illnesses.
“It smells like illness, and it reminds me of my son’s illness,” said Cheney. “It’s a smell that reminds me of being sick. I related it to hospital illnesses, the medications, the sleepless nights.”
Communities around the Salton Sea have high rates of childhood asthma that are higher than the California average. Experts also say contaminants like pesticides and heavy metals may be concentrated in the dust.
Cheney said the study encourages the need for public health policies that improve the quality of housing in the region and expands access to air filtration technologies.
“We taught community members how to build their own air filtration system, the do-it-yourself air filtration system that actually is more effective than manufactured systems,” Cheney shared, “We noticed a significant difference in the improvements in air quality and internal indoor air quality.”
Read the study here.
