Assessment of resident's exposure level and health economic costs of PM10 in Beijing from 2008 to 2012

Epidemiological studies have asserted a negative association between atmospheric particulates and human health, especially particulate matter (PM10), which can cause a noticeable damage to human health. In recent years, PM10 has become the primary pollutant in major cities in China. It is crucial to evaluate the health impacts of PM10 to make pollution control policies and protect public health. For health-based assessments, human exposure evaluation is a key step, which is related to offering an exact exposure date for assessment. Using high-density PM10 and population data based on the Geographic Information System (GIS), this study estimated the impact of PM10 on human exposure levels and combined the exposure-response function with the health-economic loss relationship to assess the effect of PM10 on human health in Beijing from 2008 to 2012 quantitatively. The results showed that the population distribution was highly centralized in urban areas, especially inside the fifth ring road. A high proportion, 63.4% of the population, was exposed to the range of 120 to 130 mu g/m(3). Approximately 44.1% of that population was located inside the fifth ring road, and approximately 55.9% of it was located outside of the fifth ring road. The spatial distribution of the economic cost associated with PM10 from 2008 to 2012 was uneven, being highly centralized in urban areas, especially inside the fifth ring road, similar to the population densities. The economic cost increased from 2008 to 2012, similar to GDP. The proportion of economic cost to Beijing's GDP decreased from 2008 to 2012. The average economic cost of 5 years inside the fifth ring road was 4.55 billion US$; that of the outside was 4.95 billion US$. The proportions of average economic losses compared with GDP inside and outside of the fifth ring road changed slightly in the period from 2008 to 2012. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.