IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v14y2021i16p4956-d613515.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Health Cost Estimation of Traffic-Related Air Pollution and Assessing the Pollution Reduction Potential of Zero-Emission Vehicles in Toronto, Canada

Author

Listed:
  • Hamidreza Shamsi

    (Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada)

  • Mohammad Munshed

    (Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada)

  • Manh-Kien Tran

    (Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada)

  • Youngwoo Lee

    (Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada)

  • Sean Walker

    (Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL 36688, USA)

  • Jesse The

    (Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada)

  • Kaamran Raahemifar

    (College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST), Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA 16801, USA)

  • Michael Fowler

    (Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada)

Abstract

Fossil fuel vehicles, emitting air toxics into the atmosphere, impose a heavy burden on the economy through additional health care expenses and ecological degradation. Air pollution is responsible for millions of deaths and chronic and acute health problems every year, such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The fossil-fuel-based transportation system releases tons of toxic gases into the atmosphere putting human health at risk, especially in urban areas. This analysis aims to determine the economic burden of environmental and health impacts caused by Highway 401 traffic. Due to the high volume of vehicles driving on the Toronto Highway 401 corridor, there is an annual release of 3771 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO 2 e). These emissions are mainly emitted onsite through the combustion of gasoline and diesel fuel. The integration of electric and hydrogen vehicles shows maximum reductions of 405–476 g CO 2 e per vehicle-kilometer. Besides these carbon dioxide emissions, there is also a large amount of hazardous air pollutants. To examine the impact of air pollution on human health, the mass and concentrations of criteria pollutants of PM 2.5 and NO x emitted by passenger vehicles and commercial trucks on Highway 401 were determined using the MOVES2014b software. Then, an air dispersion model (AERMOD) was used to find the concentration of different pollutants at the receptor’s location. The increased risk of health issues was calculated using hazard ratios from literature. Finally, the health cost of air pollution from Highway 401 traffic was estimated to be CAD 416 million per year using the value of statistical life, which is significantly higher than the climate change costs of CAD 55 million per year due to air pollution.

Suggested Citation

  • Hamidreza Shamsi & Mohammad Munshed & Manh-Kien Tran & Youngwoo Lee & Sean Walker & Jesse The & Kaamran Raahemifar & Michael Fowler, 2021. "Health Cost Estimation of Traffic-Related Air Pollution and Assessing the Pollution Reduction Potential of Zero-Emission Vehicles in Toronto, Canada," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-21, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:14:y:2021:i:16:p:4956-:d:613515
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/16/4956/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/16/4956/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Muller, Nicholas Z. & Mendelsohn, Robert, 2007. "Measuring the damages of air pollution in the United States," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 54(1), pages 1-14, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Lueken, Roger & Klima, Kelly & Griffin, W. Michael & Apt, Jay, 2016. "The climate and health effects of a USA switch from coal to gas electricity generation," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 1160-1166.
    2. John Loomis & Bryon Allen, 2008. "Using Non Market Valuation to Inform the Choice Between Permits and Fees in Environmental Regulation," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 40(3), pages 329-337, July.
    3. Glenn-Marie Lange, 2014. "Environmental accounting," Chapters, in: Giles Atkinson & Simon Dietz & Eric Neumayer & Matthew Agarwala (ed.), Handbook of Sustainable Development, chapter 21, pages 319-335, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    4. Natina Yaduma & Mika Kortelainen & Ada Wossink, 2013. "Estimating Mortality and Economic Costs of Particulate Air Pollution in Developing Countries: The Case of Nigeria," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 54(3), pages 361-387, March.
    5. Lenski, Shoshannah M. & Keoleian, Gregory A. & Moore, Michael R., 2013. "An assessment of two environmental and economic benefits of ‘Cash for Clunkers’," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 173-180.
    6. Tatyana Deryugina & Garth Heutel & Nolan H. Miller & David Molitor & Julian Reif, 2019. "The Mortality and Medical Costs of Air Pollution: Evidence from Changes in Wind Direction," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 109(12), pages 4178-4219, December.
    7. Konstantinos Metaxoglou & Aaron Smith, 2020. "Productivity Spillovers From Pollution Reduction: Reducing Coal Use Increases Crop Yields," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 102(1), pages 259-280, January.
    8. Aui, Alvina & Wang, Yu, 2022. "Post-RFS supports for cellulosic ethanol: Evaluation of economic and environmental impacts of alternative policies," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    9. Muller Nicholas & Tong Daniel & Mendelsohn Robert, 2009. "Regulating NOx and SO2 Emissions in Atlanta," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 9(2), pages 1-32, March.
    10. Gilbraith, Nathaniel & Powers, Susan E., 2013. "Residential demand response reduces air pollutant emissions on peak electricity demand days in New York City," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 459-469.
    11. Eirini Triantafyllidou & Anastasia Zabaniotou, 2022. "From Theory to Praxis: ‘Go Sustainable Living’ Survey for Exploring Individuals Consciousness Level of Decision-Making and Action-Taking in Daily Life Towards a Green Citizenship," Circular Economy and Sustainability,, Springer.
    12. Rittenhouse, Katherine & Zaragoza-Watkins, Matthew, 2018. "Anticipation and environmental regulation," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 255-277.
    13. Idrissa G.-O. Sibailly, 2015. "On the pigouvian tax rule in an open economy: the case of abatement technology trade," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 35(4), pages 2733-2741.
    14. Delucchi, Mark A. & McCubbin, Donald R., 2010. "External Costs of Transport in the U.S," Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series qt13n8v8gq, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.
    15. Muller, Nicholas Z., 2012. "The design of optimal climate policy with air pollution co-benefits," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 696-722.
    16. Nathaly M Rivera & Cristobal Ruiz Tagle, Elisheba Spiller, 2021. "The Health Benefits of Solar Power Generation: Evidence from Chile," Working Papers, Department of Economics 2021_04, University of São Paulo (FEA-USP).
    17. Wes Austin & Stefano Carattini & John Gomez Mahecha & Michael Pesko, 2020. "Covid-19 Mortality and Contemporaneous Air Pollution," CESifo Working Paper Series 8609, CESifo.
    18. Milan Ščasný & Emanuele Massetti & Jan Melichar & Samuel Carrara, 2015. "Quantifying the Ancillary Benefits of the Representative Concentration Pathways on Air Quality in Europe," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 62(2), pages 383-415, October.
    19. Nicholas Z. Muller & Robert Mendelsohn & William Nordhaus, 2011. "Environmental Accounting for Pollution in the United States Economy," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(5), pages 1649-1675, August.
    20. Bigazzi, Alexander Y. & Figliozzi, Miguel A., 2013. "Marginal costs of freeway traffic congestion with on-road pollution exposure externality," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 12-24.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:14:y:2021:i:16:p:4956-:d:613515. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.