[Atmos_enviro_health] RE: BTRE Publication on "Health Effects of Transport Emissions: Economic Costs"

[Lodh Madhumita]

Dear Members

The Bureau of Transport and Regional Economics (BTRE) in Canberra has
released the publication entitled "Health Effects of Transport
Emissions: Economic Costs" this week.

This report is part of a series of Bureau of Transport and Regional
Economics research on the socioeconomic costs of transport impacts.
Previous research has concentrated on transport accidents. It is the
Bureau's first study on the socioeconomic cost of the health effects of
transport emissions. This Bureau study is largely in response to the
mounting epidemiological evidence that exposure to air pollutants can be
harmful to humans which is in line with other international studies
those aim to cost the health and environmental effects of ambient
concentrations of air pollution . 
Some highlights/findings of this study:

*	This study provides some quantitative estimates of the economic
costs of the health effects of motor vehicle pollution in Australia. It
focuses solely on motor vehicles because the data on emissions sources
is not sufficiently comprehensive and is not nationally consistent for
other forms of transport. 
*	This study estimates that in 2000 motor vehicle-related ambient
air pollution accounted for between 900 and 4500 morbidity
cases-cardio-vascular and respiratory diseases and bronchitis-and
between 900 and 2000 early deaths.
*	The economic cost of morbidity ranges from $0.4 billion to $1.2
billion, while the economic cost of mortality ranges from $1.1 billion
to $2.6 billion. 
*	The value of a statistical life used was $1.3 million-a discount
of 30 per cent on the Bureau's costing of transport accident fatalities.
This reflects the older age profile of air pollution-related early
deaths.
*	These estimates are derived using the results of a recent
international study which estimated the long-term health impacts of
ambient air pollution using particulate matter of less than 10 microns
as a surrogate for all air pollutants.

If you are interested in getting a free copy of this publication, please
reply to this mail with your mailing address ASAP (preferably by 7 July,
Thursday c.o.b). I am preparing the mailing list now and can include you
for posting a free copy.

Regards
Madhumita Iyengar (nee LODH)

Senior Research Economist
Bureau of Transport & Regional Economics, 
DOTARS, Canberra.

Phone: 02 6274 6804
E-mail: madhumita.lodh at dotars.gov.au


The Bureau of Transport and Regional Economics provides economic
analysis, research and statistics on transport and regional issues to
inform Australian Government policy development and for use by other
public sector, industry and community customers. 
For more information about the department visit www.dotars.gov.au
<http://www.dotars.gov.au/> ; for information about the BTRE, its
research program and publications, visit www.btre.gov.au
<http://www.btre.gov.au/index.aspx> 




-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman.anu.edu.au/pipermail/atmos_enviro_health/attachments/20050705/d52121ae/attachment.html