Does Air Pollution Cause Mortality?

Hundreds of studies (for literature review, see Anderson, 1967; Lave and Seskin, 1970; and NAS, 1973, 1975) have documented the association between air pollution and mortality and morbidity rates. A wide variety of air pollutants has been studied in many geographical settings involving people from a wide variety of socioeconomic backgrounds. None of the studies is entirely satisfactory, and many are so flawed as to be useless.</p

Epidemiology, Causality, and Public Policy

Choices regarding such difficult and far-reaching societal problems as the control of air pollution must make use of careful statistical studies of populations</p

Health benefits exceed by 70 % costs to control stationary source air pollution

<p>The 1960's was a decade of U.S. idealism-there was a belief that our society could accomplish anything it set its mind to do. The decade opened with President Kennedy declaring that we would put a man on the moon by 1970. Social injustices were to be righted by a series of civil rights acts that pushed aside economic as well as legal barriers. Finally, President Johnson believed that we could have Great Society programs at home while fighting a war in Southeast Asia.</p

Epidemiology, Causality, and Public Policy- Reply

Dr. Lipfert illustrates a number of our points, ch ieny the one that</p

Does Air Pollution Shorten Lives?

The cause of a disease is often difficult to establish. For chronic diseases, establishing a cause and effect relationship is especially difficult. Many studies show that populations exposed to urban air pollution have a shorter life expectancy and higher incidence of lung cancer, emphysema, and other chronic respiratory diseases . Yet it is a long step to assert that this observed association between air pollution and ill health is proof that air pollution causes ill health and that steps ought to be taken to abate air pollution for public health reasons. There is disagreement among physicians as to whether air pollution causes lung cancer, bronchitis, or emphysema, or generally reduces life expectancy . A related argument is that the effect of air pollution is so slight that it is not a matter of public concern .</p

Book Review: Environmental Economics and Economics and the Environment,

Who can dispute the conception of "spaceship earth?" Materials are not consumed or destroyed, man merely changes their location and form. Our air, water, and land have an incredible capacity to absorb these changed materials, hut their capacity is not limitless. At some point we will have to change our viewpoint from that of correcting isolated excesses to worrying about the forms of all released "residuals."</p

Air Pollution and Human Health

Air pollution is a problem of growing importance; public interest seems to have risen faster than the level of pollution in recent years. Presidential messages and news stories have reflected the opinion of scientists and civic leaders that pollution must be abated. This concern has manifested itself in tightened local ordinances (and, more importantly, in increased enforcement of existing ordinances), in federal legislation, and in extensive research to find ways of controlling the emission of pollutants from automobiles and smokestacks. Pollutants are natural constituents of the air. Even without man' and his technology, plants, animals, and natural activity would cause some pollution. For example, animals vent carbon dioxide, volcanic action produces sulfur oxides, and wind movement insures that there will be suspended particulates; there is no possibility of removing all pollution from the air. Instead, the problem. is one of balancing the need of polluters to vent residuals against the damage suffered by society as a result of the increased pollution (1) . To find an optimum level, we must know the marginal costs and marginal benefits associated with abatement. This article is focused on measuring one aspect of the benefit of pollution abatement.</p