Local air pollution is most harmful to the elderly, the young, and people with existing respiratory and cardiac problems. Improving air quality results in fewer deaths and hospital visits, lower health care costs, reduced losses in wages and productivity, and less personal trauma.
The British Columbia Provincial Health Officer reports that air pollution may account for up to 250 premature deaths, 2,700 emergency room visits, and 2,000 hospital admissions annually in BC.1 According to a study for the BC Lung Association, a 10% improvement in fine particulate (PM2.5) emissions in the Western Lower Fraser Valley alone could yield benefits in the order of $1.19 billion.2
Notes:
(1) BC Provincial Health Officer (2003), Every Breath You Take...Provincial Health Officer's Annual Report 2003, http://www.healthservices.gov.bc.ca/pho.
(2) RWDI Air, Marbek Resource Consultants, UBC School of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, and UBC Department of Health Care and Epidemiology (2005), Health and Air Quality 2005 - Phase 2: Valuation of Health Impacts from Air Quality in the Lower Fraser Valley Airshed: Final Report, http://www.bc.lung.ca/airquality/airquality_publications.html.
