Estimated health costs associated with emissions of inhalable particulate matter for the municipality of Itabira, MG

Abstract

The increasingly evident impact of air pollution on health is a fact. In this sense, this study is an estimate of the public health costs associated with the exposure of fine Particulate Matter (PM_2.5) for the municipality of Itabira - MG, which is one of the largest open pit mining complexes of the world. The AirQ+ software, developed by the World Health Organization (WHO), was used to analyze the number of premature deaths from natural causes and hospitalizations for cardiovascular and respiratory diseases attributed to exposure to PM_2.5 in the year 2019. Different air quality standards, established by the Resolution of the National Environment Council (CONAMA) No. 491 of 2018, and those recommended by the WHO, were considered with the aim of providing public managers with information that encourages the adoption of more restrictive air quality standards, promoting an improvement in the population's quality of life. The results showed that, if the new standards recommended by the WHO were adopted, 41 hospitalizations for respiratory diseases, 28 hospitalizations for cardiovascular diseases and 40 premature deaths of adults over 30 years old could be avoided. In addition, it can be seen that there is an immediate gain in life expectancy at all ages when levels of exposure to PM_2.5 are reduced, and there is a significant long-term gain especially in the elderly age group above 60 years. When considering long-term exposure, the potential economic gain in reducing premature deaths is 122,000,000 brl per year.