Linking Air Quality and Human Health Effects Models: An Application to the Los Angeles Air Basin

Proposed emission control strategies for reducing ozone and particulate matter are evaluated better when air quality and health effects models are used together. The Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model is the US Environmental Protection Agency’s model for determining public policy and fore...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Devoun R Stewart, Emily Saunders, Roberto A Perea, Rosa Fitzgerald, David E Campbell, William R Stockwell
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2017-11-01
Series:Environmental Health Insights
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/1178630217737551
Description
Summary:Proposed emission control strategies for reducing ozone and particulate matter are evaluated better when air quality and health effects models are used together. The Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model is the US Environmental Protection Agency’s model for determining public policy and forecasting air quality. CMAQ was used to forecast air quality changes due to several emission control strategies that could be implemented between 2008 and 2030 for the South Coast Air Basin that includes Los Angeles. The Environmental Benefits Mapping and Analysis Program—Community Edition (BenMAP-CE) was used to estimate health and economic impacts of the different emission control strategies based on CMAQ simulations. BenMAP-CE is a computer program based on epidemiologic studies that link human health and air quality. This modeling approach is better for determining optimum public policy than approaches that only examine concentration changes.
ISSN:1178-6302