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How much does air pollution cost?
- A conservative estimate of the Valley’s annual school absenteeism due to asthma totals approximately 808,000 absences, accounting for lost revenue to regional school districts of at least $26 million annually. Read more.
- In Fresno, Modesto, Bakersfield, Salinas, and Stockton alone, the financial cost of asthma is more than $85 million per year. (Asthma and Allergy Foundation website)
- It has been reported that the annual costs of asthma in the United States are between $8 billion and $11 billion (1997 dollars). Hospitalizations account for the largest proportion of costs of asthma treatment, especially for very young children. Smith, David et al. (1997), A National Estimate of the Economic Costs of Asthma, American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Vol.156, pp. 787-793.)
- According to the Air District, ozone pollution causes as much as $270 million a year in damaged agricultural crops in the Valley.
- Particle Civics: How Cleaner Air in California Will Save Lives and Save Money - Environmental Working Group
In California, respiratory illnesses caused or made worse by airborne particulate matter (PM) are responsible for 9,300 deaths, 16,000 hospital visits, 600,000 asthma attacks and five million lost work days each year. This report shows that by saving lives and preventing illnesses, tougher standards could save more than half a billion dollars a year.
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