Very Large and Unusual Odor Event: Salton Sea Blamed for Rotten Egg Smell in Los Angeles
Posted on September 12, 2012
The Salton Sea is located 150 miles east of Los Angeles. It is being blamed for sending a foul odor into Southern California and Los Angeles on Sunday and Monday. LAist shared an image of rotting fish along the shore of the lake. The South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) pinpointed the Salton Sea as the source of the "very large and unusual odor event" in a release. AQMD said it received hundreds of calls about sulfur and rotten-egg odors. It says the unpleasant smells will not cause irreversible harm to human health.
Hydrogen sulfide, a product of organic decay such as that occurring in the Salton Sea, has an unmistakable rotten-egg odor. Scientists have theorized that strong winds pushed surface waters aside and allowed water from the bottom of the shallow sea -- rich with decaying and odorous bacteria -- to rise to the surface.The Salton Sea Authority was not surprised to be pinpointed as the culprit of the odor. A lack of oxygen in the water as been killing the fish that live in the lake and boosting hydrogen sulfide and ammonia levels. Redlands Daily Facts reports that The Authority needs lots of money to implement a restoration plan for the lake. The Authority is warning L.A. can expect more frequent big stinks if doesn't get the funding it needs.While hydrogen sulfide concentrations at the Salton Sea yesterday were higher than normal, they were not high enough to cause irreversible harm to human health, AQMD officials said. This is the case even taking into account that concentrations in the early hours Monday may have been considerably higher than when AQMD technicians sampled for the gas on Monday evening.