Chronic and acute health effects of PM_2.5 exposure and the basis of pollution control targets

Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) is changing and expanding quickly, leading to environmental consequences that seriously threaten human health. PM_2.5 pollution is one of the main causes of premature death. In this context, studies have evaluated strategies to control and reduce air pollution; such pollution-control measures need to be economically justified. The objective of this study was to assess the socio-economic damage caused by exposure to the current pollution scenario, taking 2019 as the base year. A methodology for calculating and evaluating the economic and environmental benefits of air pollution reduction was implemented. This study aimed to simultaneously evaluate the impacts of both short-term (acute) and long-term (chronic) PM_2.5 pollution exposure on human health, providing a comprehensive overview of economic losses attributable to such pollution. Spatial partitioning (inner-city and suburban) on health risks of PM_2.5 and detailed construction of health impact maps by age group and sex on a spatial resolution grid (3.0 km × 3.0 km) was performed. The calculation results show that the economic loss from premature deaths due to short-term exposure (approximately 38.86 trillion VND) is higher than that from long-term exposure (approximately 14.89 trillion VND). As the government of HCMC has been developing control and mitigation solutions for the Air Quality Action Plan towards short- and medium-term goals in 2030, focusing mainly on PM_2.5, the results of this study will help policymakers develop a roadmap to reduce the impact of PM_2.5 during 2025-2030.