Communities surrounding the Salton Sea, the inland body of water straddling California’s Riverside and Imperial counties, show high rates of asthma due, possibly, to high aerosol dust levels resulting from the sea shrinking over time.
Scientists suspect, however, the Salton Sea plays an additional role in pulmonary health.
A University of California, Riverside study performed on mice has found Salton Sea aerosol turns on nonallergic inflammation genes and may also promote lung inflammation. For comparison, aerosolized fungal allergen (Alternaria) — a common household fungal allergen — produces an allergic inflammation in the lungs of mice.
“Our work strongly suggests that soluble components in Salton Sea water promote a unique inflammation-associated response,” said Dr. David Lo, a distinguished professor of biomedical sciences at the UC Riverside School of Medicine, who led the study published in the journal Science of The Total Environment. “What relationship this response may have to asthma is not yet understood.”
Read more at: University of California, Riverside
In recent decades, the Salton Sea has been undergoing a rapid retreat, causing increased exposure of dry lakebed. (Photo Credit: Stan Lim, UC Riverside)