Better HK Air Could Save 1,600 Lives a Year - Study
Date: 09-Jun-06
Country: CHINA
In addition, 64,000 hospital "bed days" and 6.8 million family doctor visits could be saved, the report said.
Air pollution in the former British colony has deteriorated markedly in the past decade, and some people say it is starting to affect the city's economic lustre by making it harder to attract overseas talent to work in the city.
"If it was an infectious disease, there would be a crisis," Anthony Hedley from the University of Hong Kong's School of Public Health said at a news conference to unveil the report.
"This is a medical emergency," Hedley said.
Hong Kong has poor visibility 45 percent of the time, the report said.
Besides Hedley's department, the Department of Community and Family Medicine at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Institute for the Environment at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and the Civic Exchange think tank took part in the study.
Hong Kong is worse than Los Angeles, London, New York and Paris in terms of RSP, or "respirable particulate air pollution" levels, the report said.
Researchers counted the number of medical "events" -- hospital admissions, doctor consultations or deaths -- on a daily basis over a period of time, and looked at the numbers besides data on the amount of pollutants in the air.
The researchers estimated that HK$1.5 billion could be saved per year in tangible health care costs, HK$500 million could be saved in productivity lost due to pollution-related illness, and HK$19 billion in intangible costs, including the value of lost lives and willingness to pay to avoid illness.
The Hong Kong government has said it is trying to clean up the environment, but Hedley said its action on air pollution "can't be characterised as sufficient by any measure".