After a clog at the Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant that serves the Metro Los Angeles area flooded the facility and forced it to release 17 million gallons of untreated wastewater into Santa Monica Bay earlier this month, potentially toxic odors from the under-repair plant are making nearby residents sick. The Los Angeles Department of Health is advising affected residents to stay indoors as much as possible.
The health department’s readings of the air around the Playa del Rey, Calif. plant and in adjacent City of El Segundo, Calif., found levels of hydrogen sulfide to be non-detectable and does not expect gases from the incident to reach levels that pose an imminent health threat, a spokesperson from Los Angeles County Department of Public Health tell ENR.