Southern California’s Salton Sea was once there. Resort playgroundswith sunshine Beaches, celebrities And people waterskiing on the vast inland lake within the Fifties and 60s.
Today, he The resorts are long goneChanged by a dry and increasingly toxic landscape. As the lake shrinks, wind blowing over the exposed lake bed picks up toxic dust that washes years of agricultural chemicals and metals into the lake. That dust enters the lungs of Imperial Valley children.
New research from Our team Of Epidemiologists The University of Southern California and the University of California, Irvine, show that. Dust blowing hinders the development of lungs. of kids within the region – especially those that live near the Salton Sea. actually, Effects on lung function Much higher than what some studies have found near the Salton Sea. California Urban Communities Close to busy roads.
As the lake’s water resources diminish with the region’s Colorado River water use agreements, and the region receives more industrial activity from proposed lithium extraction, air pollution is prone to increase further.
Robin Beck/AFP/Getty Images
The Salton Sea Problem
Salton Sea – California’s largest inland lake Over 340 square miles – has been shrinking for a long time as a consequence of drought, agricultural water diversion and climate change. It was made by one. Break into a canal Carrying water from the Colorado River within the early 1900s. Irrigation flow from farm fields kept it going. But within the last twenty years, Reduced water flow has exposed 36,000 new acres of dry lake bed.which release large amounts of dust into the air.
The lake settles. 235 feet below sea level In certainly one of the most popular and driest parts of California, about 150 miles southeast of Los Angeles and on the northern border of a highly productive agricultural region generally known as the Imperial Valley.
Its water level has been Mainly maintained by agricultural irrigation runoff.which carries with it. Fertilizers, pesticides, salt and toxic metals.. Those chemicals, salts, and metals grow to be concentrated in lake bed sediments over time, and are stirred up within the air when the wind blows.
As The biggest user of Colorado River water, the Imperial County Irrigation District agreed in 2003 Release billions of gallons of water. To support growing urban areas yearly – a plan that was fully implemented in 2018. This meant less flow within the lake. By one estimate, the change was expected. Add 40 to 80 tons per day of airborne dust.. Satellite images show rapid expansion of the exposed lake bed because the water recedes.
The predominantly low-income Latino communities just south of the Salton Sea say they has been neglected for a long time In discussions in regards to the fate of the lake. Yet, these communities are facing real health consequences which are directly linked to regional water policy decisions and the shortage of motion to administer this emerging environmental crisis.
Lung damage and decreased lung development
In 2017, we launched Assessing the Imperial Valley Respiratory Health and Environment, or AIRECollaborative study with greater than 700 elementary school-age children in five northern Imperial Valley cities.
The study was made in partnership with Valley Civic CommitteeAn area nonprofit organization lively in addressing community health and environmental concerns within the Imperial Valley area.
Our study followed these children for several years, documenting household, lifestyle, and behavioral aspects to account for individual differences, in addition to respiratory health symptoms and lung function measurements.
Our Preliminary results Associated with what Local residents have argued for years.:
-
Among children living within the northern Imperial Valley, nearly 1 in 5 are reported to have asthma – a much higher rate. National rate.
-
Higher rates of air pollution were related to reported poorer overall health. Respiratory healthLike wheezing and coughing, in all children. This indicates that although asthmatic children were more susceptible, non-asthmatic children also experienced significant health effects.
-
Our work can be starting to point out that top levels of dust exposure, particularly amongst children who live near the ocean, Poor lung functionin addition to decreased lung development in children over time. Reduced lung function increases the chance of developing chronic respiratory disease, equivalent to COPD, or more frequent respiratory infections, equivalent to pneumonia, in adults.
These findings are because lung dysfunction, poor lung function and respiratory disease can occur early in life. Increased risk of chronic health problems in youth.
of kids The lungs are still developingand lung function continues to mature throughout adolescence, making children more vulnerable to the antagonistic effects of air pollution than adults.
Children have it too. High respiratory rate Compared to adults, in addition to a bigger lung surface area relative to their body size, this ends in higher concentrations of pollutants per breath. And because children often spend more time outdoors and have interaction in additional physical activity than adults, this will increase their exposure to outdoor air pollution.
Looking ahead.
For years, community members have. Concerned about high rates of asthma. and poor respiratory health in children and residents.
Although questions remain in regards to the long-term effects of deteriorating air quality related to the drying up of the Salton Sea, our study provides scientific support for residents’ experiences. This evidence is significant because communities and organizations equivalent to the Comité Cívico del Valle push for projects that Salton reduces the amount of sea dust. expand education on asthma management and increase access to health care services.
The children within the AIRE study were just starting elementary school once they joined. Now in highschool, the breed grew up near the Salton Sea. There are many Dealing with asthma and can lead to chronic health problems..
Based on what we have seen in our study of kids living in communities along the Salton Sea, we consider that protecting local air quality is critical to the health of kids within the Imperial Valley, and that their health must be on the forefront of planning future water changes, extraction projects and other development near the Salton Sea.