Children living near the Salton Sea in Imperial County, Southern California, have been found to experience reduced lung function compared to those exposed to less wind-blown dust, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of California, Irvine’s Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health.
The research team measured dust exposure by tracking hours per year and discovered that higher levels of dust were linked with lower lung function. The most significant effects were observed among children residing closest to the receding lake. The findings are published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine and represent one of the first direct links between dust events from a drying saline lake and measurable declines in children’s respiratory health.
The study was funded by a federal grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the Southern California Environmental Health Sciences Center, working in partnership with Comite Civico del Valle, a community-based organization in Imperial Valley.
Researchers conducted spirometry tests on nearly 500 children aged around 10 years between 2019 and 2022. This test measures how much air a person can exhale and how quickly they can do so. In total, almost 1,300 lung function assessments were collected along with health questionnaires and clinical exams.
To estimate participants’ exposure to particulate matter during dust events—defined as hours when concentrations exceeded regulatory thresholds—the team used data from 12 air monitors operated by the California Air Resources Board. For each child, cumulative exposure over three months before each test was calculated.
Results showed that children living closer to the Salton Sea had worse lung function due to increased exposure to dust events. The study supports existing evidence linking high particulate matter levels around the shrinking Salton Sea with elevated rates of asthma and other respiratory issues—a pattern reminiscent of historical health crises like “Dust Bowl pneumonia” during the 1930s.
“The drying of the Salton Sea is not only an environmental crisis but also a public health crisis,” said Jill Johnston, associate professor at Wen Public Health and corresponding author for the study. “Our study provides concrete evidence that children in surrounding communities are facing measurable harm to their lungs as a result of increased dust exposure.”
As California’s largest inland lake continues to shrink, large areas of dried lakebed become exposed and release contaminated dust into nearby communities when disturbed by wind. These communities are mainly low-income and Latino populations who disproportionately bear these health impacts.
Researchers stressed ongoing monitoring and intervention are needed: “Protecting the health of children in the Salton Sea communities requires immediate attention through targeted public health strategies,” Johnston said.
This work adds important data about environmental risks associated with climate change and ecosystem decline. As similar conditions affect inland lakes worldwide, there is an increasing need for public health responses focusing on prevention policies and community protections.
Other contributors included Fangqi Guo, Sandrah Eckel, Shohreh Farzan (University of Southern California), Elizabeth Kamai (UC Irvine), Luis Olmedo, Esther Bejarano, Christian Torres (Comite Civico del Valle), Christopher Zuidema, and Edmund Seto (University of Washington).
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