ODOR ALERT: Salton Sea to Smell Like 'Rotten Eggs' Through Sunday

Do you smell something a bit odd? Old, smelly eggs, perhaps?

Well, if the wind is blowing in your direction from the nearby Salton Sea, you're likely picking up a whiff of the lake's notorious "rotten egg" odor, air quality management district officials say.

The South Coast Air Quality Management District issued an odor advisory on Thursday, lasting through Sunday, due to elevated hydrogen sulfide levels.

Here's more from the SCAQMD:

The South Coast Air Quality Management District has issued an odor advisory on Thursday, July 28 for the Coachella Valley due to elevated levels of a gas that smells like rotten eggs. That gas – hydrogen sulfide – is associated with natural processes occurring in the Salton Sea.

Hourly average concentrations of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) peaked the morning of July 28 at 60 parts per billion immediately downwind of the Salton Sea – at a monitor close to the shore, in an area with little population. The monitor in Mecca, a more populated community further downwind, has not exceeded the state standard at this time. However, if southeasterly winds continue, areas in the Coachella Valley may also experience the odors. Since a similar weather pattern is expected to continue through Sunday, July 31 there may be periodic episodes of high concentrations of hydrogen sulfide during that time.

The state standard for outdoor levels of hydrogen sulfide is 30 parts per billion averaged over one hour. At that level, most individuals can smell the odor and some may experience symptoms such as headaches and nausea. However, the symptoms associated with this level of exposure are temporary and do not cause any long-term health effects. Humans can detect hydrogen sulfide odors at extremely low concentrations, down to a few parts per billion.

SCAQMD monitors hydrogen sulfide at two locations in the southeastern Coachella Valley – one very close to the Salton Sea and the other in the community of Mecca. There is increased potential for Salton Sea odors to occur as the winds shift, especially in the summer months in the early morning and late afternoon, or as thunderstorms occur over the southwestern U.S. deserts.

More information on Hydrogen Sulfide can be found at the following link:
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxguides/toxguide-114.pdf

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