The economic burden of air pollution impact on health of Warsaw population

Aim of this study was to assess the annual social cost of air pollution impact on health of Warsaw population. The study consisted of three main parts, i.e. the determination of Warsaw citizens' exposure to air pollution, the quantification of the health effect as a result of this exposure and the economic evaluation of the assessed health impact. Value of Statistical Life (VSL) derived from Willingness To Pay (WTP) for mortality risk reduction was used to assess the costs of premature mortality, whereas the Cost of Illness (COI) Approach was applied for the estimation of the costs of excessive cardiovascular and respiratory hospitalizations as well as restricted activity days. Thorough search was performed to find the best assessment of VSL for the Warsaw population and finally the value of 1.9 Mio PLN was chosen. Annually, approximately 2 264 premature death cases, 351 839 restricted activity days, 684 and 1 551 excessive hospital admissions due to (respectively) respiratory and cardiovascular problems can be attributed to air pollution. The total costs of air pollution health effects in Warsaw amount to about 4,4 Bn PLN. The cost of air pollution impact on human health is significant. Therefore, more attention should be paid for the integrated environmental health policy, with a focus on cities as a priority.