Urban Air Quality and Human Health in Latin America and the Caribbean
By Luis A. Cifuentes, Alan J. Krupnick, Michael Toman, Raśl O'Ryan (10/05, En, Es) See also Environment and Natural Resources
Recent estimates indicate that over 100 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean are exposed to air pollution levels exceeding World Health Organization guidelines. Despite progress in dealing with this problem, however, the level of knowledge about air pollution's impact on health and the economy is limited in much of the LAC region. This study assesses the potential benefits of improving air quality in 41 major LAC urban areas containing 100 million people in all. Our analysis indicates that 26 cities in our sample, containing 85 million people (of which 28 million are children less than 18 years of age), are exposed to particulate concentrations above internationally accepted levels. Reducing concentrations to the level of the standard could avoid on the order of 10,000 to 13,000 premature deaths (more than 2% of total deaths per annum), as well as well a host of illness related problems. Several billion dollars in direct cost savings each year might be realized for the affected populations. Including indirect as well as direct losses of economic well-being from air pollution raises the potential benefit substantially. Such figures could justify significant investments in pollution control as a form of public health protection.
This working paper is being published with the objective of contributing to the debate on a topic of importance to the region, and to elicit comments and suggestions from interested parties. This paper has not undergone consideration by the SDS Management Team. As such, it does not reflect the official position of the Inter-American Development Bank.
Last updated: 05/08/07
