Impact of ambient air pollution on public health under various traffic policies in Shanghai, China.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the potential impact of ambient air pollution on public health under various traffic policies in Shanghai.


METHODS
The exposure level of Shanghai residents to air pollution under various planned traffic scenarios was estimated, and the public health impact was assessed using concentration-response functions derived from available epidemiological studies.


RESULTS
Our results showed that ambient air pollution in relation to traffic scenarios had a significant impact on the future health status of Shanghai residents. Compared with the base case scenario, implementation of various traffic scenarios could prevent 759-1574, 1885-2420, and 2277-2650 PM10-related avoidable deaths (mean-value) in 2010, 2015, and 2020, respectively. It could also decrease the incidence of several relevant diseases.


CONCLUSIONS
Our findings emphasize the need to consider air pollution-related health effects as an important impact of traffic policy in Shanghai.
Chen
Chang-Hong
CH
Atmospheric Science Institute, Shanghai Academy of Environmental Sciences, Shanghai 200233, China.
Kan
Hai-Dong
HD
Huang
Cheng
C
Li
Li
L
Zhang
Yun-Hui
YH
Chen
Ren-Jie
RJ
Chen
Bing-Heng
BH
D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000633:toxicity*; D000397:Air Pollution / Q000517:prevention & control*; D002681:China; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000517:prevention & control*; D018986:Motor Vehicles / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D011156:Population Density; D011634:Public Health / Q000592:standards*; D014186:Transportation / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*
D000393:Air Pollutants