Regional and county flows of particulate matter damage in the US

Abstract

Despite several decades of declining emissions, the health costs of particulate matter (PM _2.5 ) in the US remain substantial, with more than $1 trillion in annual damages. We analyze the inter-county impacts of PM _2.5 for 2008, 2011, and 2014 and find that even though emissions from point sources have fallen over this period, the share of PM _2.5 attributable to pollution transported across county and state boundaries is still considerable in many localities. Importantly, the benefits of reduced emissions are not uniformly distributed nationwide, with 26% of counties—concentrated in the South, Midwest, and Pacific Northwest—experiencing worsening health damages since 2008. Around 30% of all US counties receive 90% of their health damages from emissions in other counties, and these damage-importing counties also tend to have lower median incomes. Our results support continued state and federal cooperation to meet air quality standards and reduce the damages caused by PM _2.5 from transported air pollution.

Keywords

• air pollution
• particulate matter
• mortality risk
• inter-county pollution