The South Coast Air Quality Management District has issued notices of violation to Los Angeles County and four businesses in connection with a putrid odor that has lingered over the City of Carson for months.
SCAQMD determined that a September warehouse fire on Avalon Boulevard triggered vegetation decay in the Dominguez Channel which caused the odor. The warehouse stored wellness and beauty products for four companies. Chemicals from the products “passed through the sewer system into the local flood control waterway, the Dominguez Channel,” regulators said. That triggered the rapid vegetation decay that produced large amounts of stinky hydrogen sulfide.
The notices for the county and the four companies say the odor created a public nuisance in violation of air quality district regulations. According to SCAQMD, the levels of hydrogen sulfide released from the channel were 230 times greater than the state standard.
Los Angeles County is responsible for maintaining the channel. L.A. County Public Works is seeking an emergency declaration from the state to free up financial assistance. The department says it has already spent $54 million on clean-up efforts and reimbursements for hotels and air purifiers.
Read more at the Los Angeles Times.