The Community Engagement team in the Division of Environmental Health at USC in collaboration with the community organization Murdock Community and Care Services, Inc. based in Carson, CA co-created a new infographic titled Hydrogen Sulfide and Health.
This infographic was motivated by partnerships with communities that have endured bad odors and high hydrogen sulfide levels—including communities near the Salton Sea, in the Carson area of Los Angeles impacted by the Dominguez Channel incident and multiple refineries and neighbors to urban oil drilling. While bad smells are often framed as a nuisance, these chemicals can negatively impact health. This infographic summarizes the sources and potential health impacts of hydrogen sulfide, a toxic gas, which is usually experienced as a rotten egg smell. Increasingly scientific studies demonstrate adverse health effects from chronic low-level exposures to H2S, such as harm to the respiratory system, cough, eye irritations, headaches and mood.