Public Health Impact and Economic Costs of Volkswagen’s Lack of Compliance with the United States’ Emission Standards
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Methods
3. Results
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Conflicts of Interest
Abbreviations
COBRA | Co–Benefits Risk Assessment |
EPA | Environmental Protection Agency |
VW | Volkswagen |
References
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Emissions and Health Outcomes | Best-Case Scenario | Midpoint | Worst-Case Scenario |
---|---|---|---|
Emissions | |||
Assumed NOx emissions against EPA’s current Tier 2 vehicle emission standard (0.07 grams per mile) a | 10× | 25× | 40× |
Metric tons of extra NOx released annually by non-compliant vehicles | 3414 | 9105 | 14,796 |
Mortality | |||
Premature deaths in adults, lower-risk assumption b | 5 | 13 | 22 |
Premature deaths in adults, higher-risk assumption b | 12 | 31 | 50 |
Diseases and symptoms | |||
Asthma exacerbations | 154 | 407 | 660 |
Acute bronchitis | 8 | 21 | 34 |
All respiratory symptoms | 247 | 654 | 1061 |
Hospital admissions | |||
Hospital admissions related to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases | 3 | 9 | 14 |
Asthma emergency room visits | 3 | 8 | 13 |
Impact on work productivity | |||
Days of work lost | 687 | 1816 | 2946 |
Days with minor restrictions in activity | 4085 | 10,805 | 17,526 |
Health Outcomes | Best-Case Scenario | Midpoint | Worst-Case Scenario |
---|---|---|---|
Mortality | |||
Premature deaths in adults, lower risk assumption b | $42,777,243 | $113,441,872 | $184,106,754 |
Premature deaths in adults, higher risk assumption b | $97,013,943 | $257,278,035 | $417,543,579 |
Diseases and symptoms | |||
Asthma exacerbations | $8,804 | $23,302 | $37,800 |
Acute bronchitis | $3,804 | $10,066 | $16,329 |
All respiratory symptoms | $6,918 | $18,307 | $1,061 |
Hospital admissions | |||
Hospital admissions related to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases | $110,216 | $292,655 | $475,095 |
Asthma emergency room visits | $1,273 | $3,382 | $5,491 |
Impact on work productivity | |||
Days of work lost | $109,665 | $290,091 | $470,517 |
Days with minor restrictions in activity | $276,577 | $731,636 | $1,186,696 |
Total economic losses, lower-risk assumptions b | $43,479,189 | $115,301,466 | $187,124,000 |
Total economic losses, higher-risk assumptions b | $98,344,726 | $260,805,876 | $423,268,502 |
© 2016 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
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Hou, L.; Zhang, K.; Luthin, M.A.; Baccarelli, A.A. Public Health Impact and Economic Costs of Volkswagen’s Lack of Compliance with the United States’ Emission Standards. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2016, 13, 891. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13090891
Hou L, Zhang K, Luthin MA, Baccarelli AA. Public Health Impact and Economic Costs of Volkswagen’s Lack of Compliance with the United States’ Emission Standards. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2016; 13(9):891. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13090891
Chicago/Turabian StyleHou, Lifang, Kai Zhang, Moira A. Luthin, and Andrea A. Baccarelli. 2016. "Public Health Impact and Economic Costs of Volkswagen’s Lack of Compliance with the United States’ Emission Standards" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 13, no. 9: 891. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13090891