Particle Civics: How Cleaner Air in California Will Save Lives and Save Money, May 2002
Pollution from airborne soot and dust causes or contributes to the deaths of more Californians than traffic accidents, homicide and AIDS combined, according to a report released by the Environmental Working Group (EWG).
EWG’s analysis found that respiratory illnesses caused or made worse by particulate matter are responsible for more than 9,300 deaths, thousands of hospital visits, hundreds of thousands of asthma attacks and millions of missed work days each year in California. “Particle Civics: How Cleaner Air in California Will Save Lives and Save Money,” details the public health impacts in each county in the state, and for the first time puts a price tag on the annual cost of particulate pollution.
EWG [www.ewg.org] offers the report online.
