Children Near the Salton Sea Show Declining Lung Function Amid Rising Dust Exposure

A new study has found that children living near the rapidly receding Salton Sea are experiencing measurable declines in lung function, reinforcing long-standing concerns about environmental health risks in Southern California's Imperial Valley. Researchers from the University of California, Irvine, in collaboration with community and academic partners, have provided some of the strongest evidence to date that dust pollution from the exposed lakebed is harming the respiratory health of children.

The findings, published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, stem from a multi-year investigation of nearly 500 children living in communities near the Salton Sea. Researchers performed repeated lung function tests between 2019 and 2022, capturing more than 1,300 spirometry assessments—standard clinical measurements used to evaluate how well the lungs are working. The results were clear: higher exposure to airborne dust correlated with reduced lung capacity, especially among children living closest to the lake.

What makes this study particularly significant is its direct linkage of real-time environmental data—specifically, hours of elevated particulate matter levels during dust events—with health outcomes in a vulnerable pediatric population. Using air quality data from a network of monitors operated by the California Air Resources Board, the team calculated each child’s cumulative exposure to dust over the three months preceding each lung test. The higher the exposure, the poorer the lung function.

These findings add urgency to concerns that the shrinking Salton Sea, California’s largest inland lake, is becoming a chronic public health hazard. As the lake recedes, it exposes a toxic mix of dried lakebed sediments—known as playa—that can easily be lofted into the air by desert winds. The dust carries a cocktail of harmful substances including pesticide residues, heavy metals, and microbial toxins, the legacy of decades of agricultural runoff and ecological degradation.

The surrounding communities, predominantly low-income and Latino, are on the front lines of this unfolding environmental crisis. Imperial County already has among the highest childhood asthma rates in California, and past studies have linked Salton Sea dust to increased respiratory symptoms, emergency room visits, and school absences. But until now, few studies have provided quantitative, clinical evidence of progressive lung function loss in children tied to the lake's decline.

Researchers and community advocates alike are calling for immediate intervention, emphasizing the need for targeted health monitoring, expanded pollution controls, and long-term environmental mitigation. “Protecting the health of children in the Salton Sea communities requires urgent attention,” said corresponding author Johnston of UC Irvine's Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health.

The study was supported by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and conducted in partnership with Comite Civico del Valle, a local community-based organization that has long worked to spotlight environmental justice issues in the region. Additional contributors included scientists from the University of Southern California and the University of Washington.

Beyond its local implications, the research offers a sobering preview of what may lie ahead for other arid regions worldwide. As climate change accelerates the desiccation of inland water bodies—from Central Asia’s Aral Sea to Utah’s Great Salt Lake—millions of people could face increasing exposure to dust laden with hazardous pollutants. The Salton Sea is rapidly becoming a case study in the health consequences of ecosystem collapse, demanding proactive, multisectoral responses that put children’s health at the center.

For now, the children of Imperial County continue to breathe dust-tainted air on their way to school and at play, caught between climate change, environmental neglect, and public health inaction. The latest findings make it clear: the cost of delay is not abstract—it is written in the breath and well-being of a generation.