California’s drying Salton Sea harms the lungs of people living nearby, say researchers

Experts suspect that dust from the sea contains endotoxic bacteria membranes caused by fertilizer runoff

Chemical-laden dust from southern California's drying Salton Sea is likely harming the lungs of people around the shrinking body of water, and the effects are especially pronounced in children, new peer-reviewed research from the University of California, Irvine, shows.

A separate peer-reviewed study from the University of California, Riverside, also found the Salton Sea's contaminated dust seemed to alter lung microbiome, which could trigger pulmonary issues that have been reported around the lake.