The main cost of air pollution is its negative effects on human health, especially mortality. In this paper, using the latest PM2.5 exposure functions and the attributed mortality, as well as collecting all the required data (spatial and temporal population distribution and pollution concentration distribution), the cost of air pollution in Tehran have been estimated.
There are several approaches to calculating the costs of air pollution as well as valuing the deaths associated with air pollution, In this study, which is a continuation of previous studies of the authors to determine the concentrations and number of deaths attributed to air pollution in Tehran, describing three different methods of Value of a Statistical Life (VSL), Value of a Life Year (VOLY) and Islamic Diya, The health damages caused by air pollution in Tehran on citizens have been estimated for 1396 and 1397.
Based on the scenario of decreasing the annual average of PM2.5 and reaching the minimum concentration of 2.4 µg/m3, 7377 (95% CI: 6126-8581) premature deaths in adults in 1396 can be attributed to PM2.5 air pollution in Tehran. This estimate for 1397 is equal to 6418 (95% CI: 5918-6753).
Using the VSL approach, it is estimated that the levels of PM2.5 pollution in Tehran in 1396 and 1397, caused damages of 3.1 and 2.7 billion dollars per year, respectively. This estimate was calculated based on the VOLY method equal to 0.736 and 0.644 billion dollars and based on the Islamic Diya method at 0.609 and 0.504 billion dollars, respectively.