Costs of coronary heart disease and mortality associated with near-roadway air pollution

- In Southern California in 2008, coronary heart disease mortality due to near-roadway airpollution cost $4 - $12 billion.
- Near-roadway-attributable hospitalization for heart disease cost $48.6 million in 2008.
- The cost of NRAP-attributable heart disease is projected to increase markedly by 2035, duelargely to an aging population.

BackgroundEmerging evidence indicates that the near-roadway air pollution (NRAP) mixture contributes to CHD, yet few studies have evaluated the associated costs.ObjectiveWe integrated an assessment of NRAP-attributable CHD in Southern California with new methods to value the associated mortality and hospitalizations.MethodsBased on population-weighted residential exposure to NRAP (traffic density, proximity to a major roadway and elemental carbon), we estimated the inflation-adjusted value of NRAP-attributable mortality and costs of hospitalizations that occurred in 2008. We also estimated anticipated costs in 2035 based on projected changes in population and in NRAP exposure associated with California's plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. For comparison, we estimated the value of CHD mortality attributable to PM less than 2.5 μm in diameter (PM2.5) in both 2008 and 2035.ResultsThe value of CHD mortality attributable to NRAP in 2008 was between $3.8 and $11.5 billion, 23% (major roadway proximity) to 68% (traffic density) of the $16.8 billion attributable to regulated regional PM2.5. NRAP-attributable costs were projected to increase to $10.6 to $22 billion in 2035, depending on the NRAP metric. Cost of NRAP-attributable hospitalizations for CHD in 2008 was $48.6 million and was projected to increase to $51.4 million in 2035.ConclusionsWe developed an economic framework that can be used to estimate the benefits of regulations to improve air quality. CHD attributable to NRAP has a large economic impact that is expected to increase by 2035, largely due to an aging population. PM2.5-attributable costs may underestimate total value of air pollution-attributable CHD.

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