Residents in Southern California beach enclaves are abandoning their homes due to a pervasive rotten egg odor from hydrogen sulfide gas, which has reached dangerous concentrations amid a sewage crisis. According to ABC 10, recent levels have exploded to 4,500 parts per billion, 150 times higher than the state's limit of 30 parts per billion. At these levels, residents may experience headaches, nausea, and nose and throat irritation, with some reporting health improvements only when they leave the area.
Sonia Mayorga and her husband had to leave their Imperial Beach home after the smell became overwhelming, with symptoms disappearing when they left but returning upon their return. The toxic gas is emitted from untreated sewage, which not only smells bad but can damage neurons in the nose and trigger asthma attacks. According to the CDC, hydrogen sulfide exposure can cause a range of symptoms including headaches, nausea, delirium, tremors, cough, difficulty breathing, and skin and eye irritation.
There is no federal safety standard for hydrogen sulfide except for workers at high-risk sites like wastewater treatment plants, and state standards in places like California and Texas are outdated, with a law being debated in California to update its 56-year-old rule. Political responses are intensifying, with UC San Diego Professor Dr. Kimberly Prather urging Governor Gavin Newsom to declare a state of emergency.
San Diego County Supervisor Paloma Aguirre agreed, calling it a milestone nobody wants. The crisis stems from over 100 billion gallons of raw sewage, filled with industrial chemicals and trash, dumped into the Tijuana River since 2018, according to the International Boundary and Water Commission. Mexico and the United States signed an agreement last year to clean up the river through modern wastewater treatment plants and build new ones to address Tijuana's population growth and industrial waste.