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Public Health Impact and Economic Costs of Volkswagen’s Lack of Compliance with the United States’ Emission Standards

Author

Listed:
  • Lifang Hou

    (Department of Preventive Medicine and the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA)

  • Kai Zhang

    (Department of Epidemiology, Human Genetics and Environmental Sciences, University of Texas School of Public Health, Houston, TX 77030, USA)

  • Moira A. Luthin

    (Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA)

  • Andrea A. Baccarelli

    (Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY 10032, USA)

Abstract

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently issued a notice of violation against Volkswagen (VW) for installing a defective device in certain models of diesel cars to circumvent emission tests for nitrogen oxides (NO x ). We quantified the health and economic impacts of extra NO x emissions attributable to non-compliant vehicles in the U.S. using the EPA’s Co-Benefits Risk Assessment model. We estimated that the total extra NO x emitted over one year of operation would result in 5 to 50 premature deaths, 687 to 17,526 work days with restricted activity, and economic costs of $43,479,189 to $423,268,502, based on various assumptions regarding emission scenarios and risks. This study highlights the potential impacts of VW vehicles’ lack of compliance on the health and well-being of the U.S. population.

Suggested Citation

  • Lifang Hou & Kai Zhang & Moira A. Luthin & Andrea A. Baccarelli, 2016. "Public Health Impact and Economic Costs of Volkswagen’s Lack of Compliance with the United States’ Emission Standards," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-6, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:13:y:2016:i:9:p:891-:d:77806
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. McCubbin, Donald & Sovacool, Benjamin K., 2013. "Quantifying the health and environmental benefits of wind power to natural gas," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 429-441.
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    Cited by:

    1. Barouch Giechaskiel & Pierre Bonnel & Adolfo Perujo & Panagiota Dilara, 2019. "Solid Particle Number (SPN) Portable Emissions Measurement Systems (PEMS) in the European Legislation: A Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(23), pages 1-23, November.
    2. Barouch Giechaskiel & Tero Lähde & Sawan Gandi & Stefan Keller & Philipp Kreutziger & Athanasios Mamakos, 2020. "Assessment of 10-nm Particle Number (PN) Portable Emissions Measurement Systems (PEMS) for Future Regulations," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(11), pages 1-16, May.
    3. John O. Olawepo & L.-W. Antony Chen, 2019. "Health Benefits from Upgrading Public Buses for Cleaner Air: A Case Study of Clark County, Nevada and the United States," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-10, February.

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