Clean Air Act Benefits Outweight Costs 4 To 1
The EPA has just completed a study of the effects of twenty years of the Clean Air Act as amended in 1990 — with startling results. It concludes that the benefits of limiting the release of toxic gases and chemicals into the air are four times the costs of its enforcement. This estimate represents the value of avoiding increases in illness, medical treatment and premature death which would have occurred if the Act had not been in place and enforced.
For those health and ecological benefits which could be converted to dollar values, the benefits of Clean Air Act programs will total about $110 billion. By contrast, this study indicates that the costs of achieving these health and ecological benefits are likely to be only about $27 billion, a quarter of the economic value of the benefits.
Using a sophisticated array of computer models and the latest emissions and cost data, the study shows that in the year 2010 alone the law’s enforcements will prevent 23,000 Americans from dying prematurely, and avert over 1,700,000 incidences of asthma attacks and aggravation of chronic asthma. In addition, in 2010, they will prevent 67,000 incidences of chronic and acute bronchitis, 91,000 occurrences of shortness of breath, 4,100,000 lost work days, and 31,000,000 days in which Americans would have had to restrict activity due to air pollution related illness. In addition, it finds that 22,000 respiratory-related hospital admissions would be averted, as well as 42,000 cardiovascular (heart and blood) hospital admissions, and 4,800 emergency room visits for asthma.
This does not include human health and environmental benefits that cannot be quantified in dollar terms, like cancer-causing air toxics and the benefits for crops and ecosystems of reducing such pollutants as ozone and particulates .
The report was reviewed by independent panels of distinguished economists, scientists, and public health experts. Such people also provided advice throughout the study’s design, implementation, and documentation.