Mecca Smell Investigation Revealed To Public
A foul odor in Mecca caused students and staff at Saul Martinez Elementary School to faint and vomit in December, and last month, paramedics returned to the school to treat more people sick from the smell.
On Tuesday night, the investigating agencies gathered at the school to explain to the community where the smell is coming from.
“It’s a rotten egg smell,” said Maria Zamora. “It’s kind of like sewer.”
Jatzily Angulo is a student at the elementary school, and she was one of dozens left standing outside during the meeting Tuesday because an overwhelming crowd showed up.
Angulo’s only demand was, “That all of the smell goes away, and they solve the problem,” she said.
That sentiment was shared by everyone in the room.
Supervisor John Benoit organized and facilitated the meeting.
All of the agencies involved in the investigation into the smell attended, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the South Coast Air Quality Management District.
“Unfortunately, AQMD does not have jurisdiction on tribal land,” said Sam Atwood, a spokesperson for SCAQMD.
The business authorities said is responsible for the smell is on a Cabazon Band of Mission Indians reservation.
Western Environmental is a soil recycling facility, and authorities said the smell is coming from an oil and water separation pond on their property.
Benoit and all involved agencies said the tribe and Western Environmental have been cooperative.
The business has drained the pond, and is in the process of filling it with dirt.
The project to close and cover the pond is 90-percent complete.
“What we found at the school was a somewhat elevated level of a compound that smelled like rotten eggs,” said Atwood. “It’s called hydrogen sulfide, and it’s not at a level that is going to cause any longterm health effect. Obviously, it has been at a level that makes people feel sick.”
“My children are getting sick,” said Zamora. “My parents are sick. They have health issues and it’s only been getting worse.”
