Health and Economic Cost Estimates of Short-Term Total and Wildfire PM2.5 Exposure on Work Loss: Using the Consecutive California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) Data 2015–2018 (BMJ Public Health)

Summary: Many studies have investigated the association between various health outcomes from PM_2.5 (particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter smaller than 2.5 μm) exposure, but there are still uncertainties on the full extent of the acute health impact of short-term PM exposure such as work loss due to sickness (i.e., headache) that was not severe enough to warrant admission to an emergency or hospital; thus, it could not be fully incorporated into the calculation of air pollution exposure-associated health and economic cost.

In this study, authors evaluated the health and economic impacts of work loss due to sickness associated with daily all-source and wildfire-specific PM_2.5 exposures in California. They linked the 2015–2018 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) respondents’ geocoded home addresses to daily PM_2.5 estimated by satellites and atmospheric modelling simulations and wildfire-related PM_2.5 from Community Multiscale Air Quality models, and calculated and applied the coefficient for the association between daily PM_2.5 exposure and work loss from regression analyses to the Environmental Benefits Mapping and Analysis Program—Community Edition (BenMAP-CE) platform.

Findings: Authors observed that each 1 µg/m3 increase in daily total PM_2.5 exposure will lead to about 1 million days of work loss per year ranging from 1.1 to 1.6 million person-days, and the related economic loss was $310–390 million. Wildfire smoke alone could contribute to 0.7–2.6 million work-loss days with a related economic loss of $129–521 million per year in 2015–2018. Using the function coefficient in the current BenMAP, the excess work-loss days due to sickness was about 250,00 days and the estimated economic loss was about $45–50 million for each 1 µg/m3 increase in daily total PM_2.5 exposure, and wildfire smoke alone would lead to 0.17–0.67 million work-loss days with related economic loss of $31–128 million per year during the same period.

Both conventional and wildfire-specific sources of PM_2.5 produced substantial work loss and cost in California. Authors state that updating the current BenMAP-CE calculations for work-loss days will be essential in quantifying the current health impacts of PM_2.5 to help inform the policies and regulations to protect public health.

Read the Publication:

• Journal Article: Health and Economic Cost Estimates of Short-Term Total and Wildfire PM_2.5 Exposure on Work Loss: Using the Consecutive California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) Data 2015–2018