| Assessing the Health Benefits of Air Pollution Reduction for Children Eva Y. Wong,1 Julia Gohlke,1 William C. Griffith,1 Scott Farrow,2,3 and Elaine M. Faustman1,2 1Institute for Risk Analysis and Risk Communication, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA; 2Department of Engineering and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; 3U.S. General Accounting Office, Washington, DC Abstract
Benefit-cost analyses of environmental regulations are increasingly mandated in the United States. Evaluations of criteria air pollutants have focused on benefits and costs associated with adverse health effects. Children are significantly affected by the health benefits of improved air quality, yet key environmental health policy analyses have not previously focused specifically on children's effects. In this article we present a "meta-analysis" approach to child-specific health impacts derived from the U.S. Clean Air Act (CAA) . On the basis of data from existing studies, reductions in criteria air pollutants predicted to occur by 2010 because of CAA regulations are estimated to produce the following impacts: 200 fewer expected cases of postneonatal mortality ; 10,000 fewer asthma hospitalizations in children 1-16 years old, with estimated benefits ranging from $20 million to $46 million (1990 U.S.$) ; 40,000 fewer emergency department visits in children 1-16 years old, with estimated benefits ranging from $1.3 million to $5.8 million ; 20 million school absences avoided by children 6-11 years old, with estimated benefits of $0.7-1.8 billion ; and 10,000 fewer infants of low birth weight, with estimated benefits of $230 million. Inclusion of limited child-specific data on hospitalizations, emergency department visits, school absences, and low birth weight could be expected to add $1-2 billion (1990 US$) to the $8 billion in health benefits currently estimated to result from decreased morbidity, and $600 million to the $100 billion estimated to result from decreased mortality. These estimates highlight the need for increased consideration of children's health effects. Key needs for environmental health policy analyses include improved information for children's health effects, additional life-stage-specific information, and improved health economics information specific for children. Key words: air pollution, benefit, children, morbidity, mortality, risk assessment. Environ Health Perspect 112:226-232 (2004) . doi:10.1289/ehp.6299 available via http://dx.doi.org/ [Online 14 October 2003]
Address correspondence to E.M. Faustman, Institute for Risk Analysis and Risk Communication, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, 4225 Roosevelt Way NE, #100, Seattle, WA 98105 USA. Telephone: (206) 543-4299. Fax: (206) 616-4875. E-mail: faustman@u.washington.edu This study was funded by the Center for the Study and Improvement of Regulation at Carnegie Mellon University/University of Washington, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA-R826886) , and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS 1P01 ES09601) . This article has not been reviewed by the U.S. EPA or NIEHS and should not be assumed to represent agency, department, or U.S. Government Accounting Office views. The authors declare they have no competing financial interests. Received 24 February 2003 ; accepted 14 October 2003.
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