High health costs due to air pollutants
Air pollutants impair health and damage biodiversity, forests, agriculture and buildings. This is associated with high economic costs. A current report shows the development from 2005 to 2015 for the canton of Zurich and the cities of Winterthur and Zurich. For the first time, the health costs due to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) could also be determined.
There are also positive things to note in the study of air pollutants in the canton of Zurich: Fine particulate pollution in the canton decreased between 2005 and 2015. The average concentration of the particle size PM10 to which the population is exposed fell from an annual mean of 21 µg/m3 in 2005 to 15 µg/m3 (2015). This has a positive effect on the recently reassessed economic health costs of air pollution. The costs decreased from about 1.5 billion Swiss francs per year (2005) to 0.95 billion Swiss francs (2015).
Problem child nitrogen dioxide
The situation is different for the health costs of nitrogen dioxide (NO2). These were evaluated for the first time based on new epidemiological research results for the canton of Zurich. As yet, these assessment bases for NO2 less broadly based than for PM10 and only available for a few health impacts. The calculated costs stagnate at around 2 billion Swiss francs between 2005 and 2015. The small decreases in immissions are compensated by the growing population and increasing costs for the evaluation of a case of illness and death.
The report on these economic health care costs and costs in other areas is available at the following link.
