In the small agricultural community of Mecca, California, all is not well. Located in Riverside County, California on the shores of the Sultan Sea, Mecca is being plagued by a mysterious odor in the air. Scores of Mecca residents have complained about the odor, and some have had to seek medical treatment.

In early December, twelve people at the Saul Martinez Elementary School in Mecca became ill when a strange odor from the outside forced staff and students at the school to shelter in place.  Paramedics and Hazardous Material (HazMat) Teams were unable to determine the source of the odor and declared it was safe after the odor had dissipated.
During the remainder of December, Paramedics and HazMat Teams returned to the school on two other occasions treating up to twenty people when the unknown odor returned.  One school employee described the situation saying, “It’s really hard to breathe, a lot of people were putting sweaters over their mouths.” By the time the school closed for the Christmas holidays, a number of local and state agencies were trying to identify the source of the odor.

When the Saul Martinez Elementary School reopened in January, all was well until the mystery odor appeared again on January 6th.  The odor was so bad on January 21th that the Highway Patrol shut down Highway 111 until the smell again disappeared.

Citizens in this agricultural community have had to deal with odors in the past.  A few blame the use of pesticides on nearby crop lands.  Records indicated that more than one-half million pounds a year of pesticides and herbicides are being used on crop lands near the town. Others point to the operation of Western Environmental, a recycling facility, located nearly five miles away from the school, as the source.  A few described the smell as being similar to natural gas.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is now investigating the situation in Mecca.  Residents who smell a strange odor are being asked to call a hotline at 1-800-288-7664.  An initial report from the EPA is expected in late February.  For now, visitors may want to keep their car windows rolled up when traveling through Mecca on Highway 111 to avoid a breath-taking experience.