Health and economic losses attributable to PM2.5 and ozone exposure in Handan, China

Handan has been experiencing severe air pollution with significantly high fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and ozone (O3) levels in recent decades, but its health and economic outcomes have not been well understood. In this study, health effects due to PM2.5 and O3 by exposure-response functions during 2015 to 2017 were quantified. The corresponding economic loss was evaluated based on the value of statistical life (VSL). The years of life lost (YLL) due to PM2.5 exposure was also estimated. Annual average O3 concentration increased by 35.1% from 2015 to 2017 compared to 2015, while PM2.5 concentration decreased by 6.6%. Premature mortality of PM2.5 exposures due to cerebrovascular disease (CEVD, 6209) was the highest, followed by ischemic heart disease (IHD, 3476), lung cancer (LC, 1415), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD, 1265) in 2017. The estimated total premature deaths in Handan due to PM2.5 were 12,361 (CI95: 5897–16,388), 11,802 (CI95: 5524–15,853), and 12,365 (CI95: 5848–16,528) people in 2015–2017. The total years of life lost (YLLtotal) attributed to PM2.5 exposures was 119,028, 113,826, and 118,239 in 2015, 2016, and 2017, respectively. The premature deaths and total YLL of female due to PM2.5 exposures were 5317 and 47,529, and those of male were 7049 and 70,710 in 2017. O3-associated COPD premature mortalities and YLLtotal in 2017 were 2.16 and 2.14 times more compared to 2016. Economic losses associated with PM2.5 and O3 exposures were 18.0, 19.3, and 22.8 billion Chinese Yuan (CNY), accounting for 5.73%, 5.78%, and 6.21% of Handan’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2015, 2016, and 2017, respectively. Premature mortality and YLL due to PM2.5 exposures would be reduced by 84.7% and 85.0% when PM2.5 was reduced to WHO Air Quality Guidelines (AQG) of 10 μgm−3. This study improves the understanding of adverse health and economic effects of high pollution and indicates that Handan needs to adopt more stringent measures to decrease PM2.5 and avoid O3 increase.