Health Benefits Calculated for California Ozone Standards
A study quantified the health benefits of moving from current air quality conditions in California to the level of the new 8-hour California ambient air quality standard for ozone, that is, 0.070 ppm.
The study used ambient monitoring data and a proportional rollback approach to make changes specific to each air basin in the state. Risk functions were derived from epidemiologic studies.
The study reported central estimates showing that attaining the California 8-hour standard, relative to current concentrations, would result in annual reductions of 630 cases of premature death, 4200 respiratory hospital admissions, 660 pediatric emergency room visits for asthma, 4.7 million days of school loss, and 3.1 minor restricted activity days.
Ostro, BD, Tran H, Levy JI. The Health Benefits of Reduced Tropospheric Ozone in California. J Air & Waste Mgt Assoc 2006;56:1007-1021.
The National Library of Medicine [www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov] offers the abstract online.
