Health effects and social costs of particulate and photochemical urban air pollution: a case study for Thessaloniki, Greece

This study aims at presenting a methodological approach in order to estimate health damages from particulate and photochemical urban air pollution and assess the order of magnitude as regards the corresponding social costs in urban scale. The analysis is conducted within an area of 50x50 km surrounding the city of Thessaloniki, Greece. The area is selected on the grounds that Thessaloniki is considered one of the most polluted cities within Europe, especially with respect to airborne particles. The methodology presented asserts with confidence that air pollution causes damage to human receptors at least as great as quantified, and that reductions in air pollution lead to widely accepted quantifiable benefits. Social cost of health damages in Thessaloniki turns out to be significant. The main contributor is by far premature mortality due to chronic exposure to anthropogenic PM10. The results are very useful for highlighting the magnitude of the total impacts and costs of urban scale air pollution (as a percentage of an area's GDP) and can be used for comparison with relevant studies of other cities worldwide. Furthermore, they could be of importance for local authorities since they provide an insight on the economic social benefit of emission reductions in the area under consideration.