AIR POLLUTION COSTS - External health costs caused by traffic related air pollution in Switzerland
Overview
Background & policy context:
The Federal Office for Spatial Development is currently reconsidering all the external effects caused by road and rail traffic. The available data were partly based on relatively old calculations which are now brought up to date.
Thus safety (accidents), health costs and damage to buildings due to air pollution as well as noise are evaluated.
Objectives:
The objective of the study is to establish the external health costs caused by air pollution from road and rail traffic in Switzerland in the year 2000. The results are to be broken down into costs originating from passenger and from freight transport.
An additional objective is to determine the health costs that are caused by air pollution overall (including all other emissions from industry/commerce, households and agriculture/forestry). For health costs due to traffic-related air pollution the study also calculates costs rates per kilometre travelled.
Methodology:
The following methodological approach is chosen to establish air pollution-related health costs:
- The basis of all calculations is the population exposure to pollution. This is determined by using a pollution exposure model.
- Exposure to pollution is reflected in additional cases of illness and/or in a reduced life expectancy among the population concerned. With the relationship between pollution exposure and rates of morbidity and mortality (the dose-response-function) the number of air pollution-related cases of illness and death is determined.
- In order to derive health costs from the above figures, a final stage determines which expenses and (utility) losses are incurred by the individuals concerned and the general public as a result of these additional cases of illness and death. The territorial principle is applied to establishing health costs, i.e. the costs of the harmful effects of air pollution in Switzerland are calculated. It is impossible to calculate air pollution-related health costs without first making assumptions and simplifications.
This project is therefore based on the principle of being 'as realistic as possible but, if in doubt, conservative'. In practice this means that, wherever uncertainties exist, the assumptions that have been made are cautious and will tend to result in actual costs being underestimated rather than overestimated.
In the literature, this principle is often referred to as the 'at least approach'.
Share this page