Estimating the benefits and costs for the revised particulate matter and ozone standards in the United States

Abstract

This chapter describes the benefits and costs for the revised particulate matter (PM) and ozone standards in the United States. It provides an overview of some of the issues, procedures, and decisions associated with preparing a national benefit–cost analysis for revised air quality standards for particulate matter and ozone in the United States. The chapter also presents the results of the analyses in terms of potential monetized benefits and costs estimated for the revised standards in the year 2010. The current PM standard specifies the indicator for PM as PM 10 . The chapter focuses on some of the methodological issues and decisions associated with attempting to conduct a national benefit–cost analysis for ubiquitous pollutants that are formed from a variety of anthropogenic and natural activities. Two immediate decisions affecting the direction of the benefit–cost analysis are the temporal and geographical scope of the analysis. To establish the baseline projection, the analysis use current conditions and then attempt to account for factors such as population growth, economic growth, and additional levels of pollution control mandated by the Clean Air Act during the intervening years. These projections establish an emissions inventory, air quality, and population baseline for the analysis year.