Irvine, Calif., Oct. 14, 2025 –Children living near the Salton Sea, in Southern California’s desert region of Imperial County, are experiencing poorer lung function than children exposed to less wind-blown dust, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of California, Irvine’s Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health .

They found that higher dust exposure – measured in hours per year – was linked to lower lung function, with the negative effects most pronounced among children living closest to the lake. The work, published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine , marks one of the first investigations to directly link dust events from a drying saline lake to measurable declines in children’s respiratory health.

A federal grant f

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