CARSON, Calif. (KNX) — For nearly a month, people in Carson and its surrounding communities have suffered through nausea, vomiting, headaches and overall annoyance brought on by the overwhelming amount of hydrogen sulfide gas emanating from the Dominguez Channel. Wednesday, Los Angeles County officials shared that the issue is nearly over - according to air quality data.
“The air quality in relation to hydrogen sulfide levels has improved significantly,” County health officer Dr Muntu Davis, the head of public works, said. He added that the state’s “ambient air standard” for hydrogen sulfide is 30 ppb for one hour average exposure.
Davis said that number has been well below the state standard - at just 10 ppb for the last seven days in all but one South Coast AQMD community air monitors.
Graphs shared by county officials during a Wednesday night town hall show how levels of the odorless gas have continued to decrease since the issue began in october.
A major question Wednesday night was, ‘what has been taking so long?’ Mark Pestrella, director of L.A. County Public Works, said the answer is complicated - but the declines on the graphs are proof that things are headed in the right direction.
“Public Works was notified of the foul odor a month ago, on Oct. 7,” Pestrella said. “We checked it out and found 90 acre-feet, or about 90 Rose Bowls full of one foot of water, within an estuary with zero dissolved oxygen - it basically means that the water was dead.”
Since the discovery, Pestrella said several teams have been working together around the clock to implement two solutions. The first, spraying 13,000 gallons of odor neutralizer to the channel a day, using boats and drones to access hard-to-reach areas. The second, aerating the channel with nano bubblers that are injecting oxygen into the water 24-hours a day, seven days a week to kill the present bacteria.
All the while, the County has been relocating, reimbursing and offering assistance to residents, Pestrella said - adding that to date the County has distributed 16,100 portable air filters to homes, responded to more than 8,200 calls for assistance and relocated more than 3,000 families into hotels.
“All this tells me is that all of you have been impacted - those of you who live in this area have been impacted in a tremendous way,” he said. “And again I want to thank you for your patience as we work through and create solutions.”
Health officials said the decline in hydrogen sulfide means that it’s safe to return home and expect the odor to be less of a bother.
However, while Davis said he doesn’t anticipate a month-long event to happen again, he said people may still smell the gas for short bursts from time to time, which is normal.
NEXT STEPS
Report odor: Continue to report to South Coast AQMD at 1-800-288-7664.
Questions: Call the Public Health Community line at 626-430-9821 or call “211.”
Report health issues: Call 626-430-9821 and leave a message with your contact information.
Reimbursement: You can still get reimbursed for central HVAC HEPA filters with activated charcoal, obtain or get reimbursed for portable HEPA air purifiers with activated carbon and get reimbursement for temporary relocation costs for County Public Works by going to https://lacounty.gov/emergency or by filling out a reimbursement request here.
To visit the county's page with all of the information regarding the Dominguez Channel incident, click here. For the latest from the city of Carson, click here.
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