As if the drought, earthquakes and wildfires weren't bad enough, now Californians are getting sick from a toxic gas that some say smells like "rotting flesh sitting in the sun."
- After fielding complaints from Carson residents for more than a month, the L.A. County Department of Public Health has determined the gas is hydrogen sulfide, which is emanating from dead marine life and plants in the Dominguez Channel. Low concentrations of hydrogen sulfide can cause headaches, nausea, coughing and shortness of breath, health officials say. Higher concentrations can put people in comas or kill them, the department reports.
- County officials are advising residents to keep their pets indoors and to avoid outdoor exercise between 9 p.m. and 8 a.m., when gas levels are higher. So far, the L.A. County has paid to relocate more than 1,300 residents to hotel rooms while they work to figure out a solution to the problem, county officials say.
Photo Credit: Getty Images