Economic damage cost of premature death due to fine particulate matter in Seoul, Korea

Analyzing the economic value of the damage to human health caused by environmental risks has become an essential research focus, given the increasing necessity for effective decision-making. Since logical and rational analyses such as cost–benefit and cost–utility analyses will likely gain importance in future policymaking, the evaluation of economic costs becomes necessary. Among the various types of air pollutants, fine particulate matter (PM) is reported as closely related to mortality. To reduce result uncertainty by improving the methodology of risk assessment or the economic evaluation of fine PM, risk control measures are required for high-priority areas. This study addresses this issue by estimating the relative risk of PM2.5 while calculating the economic loss cost arising from acute death due to fine PM exposure in Seoul, Korea. The value of statistical life of one person’s willingness to pay for mortality risk reduction is calculated to estimate the economic loss cost at each current level of exposure. The estimated economic loss cost due to all-cause mortality during 2016–2018 totaled approximately USD 1307.9 million per year; the costs of loss from respiratory and cardiovascular mortalities were USD 128.1 million per year and USD 426.9 million, respectively. Based on these results, this study concludes that the standards for PM2.5 are more effective than the ones established for PM10 in terms of economic value.