Human Health Cost of Air Pollution in Kazakhstan

Ussen Kenessariyev, Alexander Golub, Michael Brody, Askhat Dosmukhametov, Meiram Amrin, Aya Erzhanova, Dinara Kenessary

Department of Environmental Science, American University, Washington DC, USA.
Department of Public Health, Kazakh National Medical University Named after S.D. Asfendiyarov, Almaty.
Department of Public Health, Kazakh National Medical University Named after S.D. Asfendiyarov, Almaty, Kazakhstan.

DOI: 10.4236/jep.2013.48101                

Abstract

Kazakhstan, like other former Soviet Republics, inherited a number of serious environmental problems. Air pollution is one of these serious problems, leading to significant environmental health effects on the population of Kazakhstan. This study provides a baseline analysis of health damages from air pollution, based on readily available information. Mean estimates of mortality risk attributable to air pollution are about 16,000 cases per year with a 95% confidence level of the risk not exceeding 25,500. Even taking into account all the uncertainties related to the collection and processing of primary data, as well as the application of risk analysis methodology, we conclude that air pollution in Kazakhstan constitutes a significant contribution to the environmental burden of diseases. In relative terms, the impact of air pollution on premature mortality in Kazakhstan is notably higher than in Russia and the Ukraine.

Keywords

Air Pollution; PM; Kazakhstan; Health Risk; Uncertainty

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	B. Larson, S. Avaliani, A. Golub, et al., “The Economics of Air Pollution Health Risks in Russia: A Case Study of Volgograd,” World Development, Vol. 27, 10, No. 1999, pp. 1803-1819. doi:10.1016/S0305-750X(99)00086-8
[2]	G. Oniszhenko, S. Avaliani, S. Novikov, U. Rakhmanin and K. Bushtueva, “Basis for human Health Risk Assessment Resulting from Chemical Pollutants,” NII ECH & GOS, Moscow City, 2002. doi:10.1016/S0305-750X(99)00086-8
[3]	S. Avaliani, D. Dudek, A. Golub and E. Strukova, “Ancillary Benefits of Climate Change Mitigation in Russia. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change,” Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, 2006. doi:10.1007/s11027-006-2948-4
[4]	E. Strukova, A. Golub and A. Markandya, “Air Pollution Costs in Ukraine,” Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei, Nota Di Lavoro, Milano, 2006, p. 120.
[5]	A. Golub and E. Strukova, “Evaluation and Identification of Priority Air Pollutants for Environmental Management on the Basis of Risk Analysis in Russia,” Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part A, Vol. 71, No. 1, 2008, pp. 86-91. doi:10.1080/15287390701558238
[6]	V. Reshetin and V. Kazazyan, “Public-Health Impact of Outdoor Air Pollution in Russia,” Environmental Modelling and Assessment, Vol. 9, No. 1, 2004, pp. 43-50.
[7]	B. Ostro, “Outdoor Air Pollution: Assessing the Environmental Burden of Disease at National and Local Levels,” World Health Organization, Geneva, WHO Environmental Burden of Disease Series, No 5, 2004.
[8]	S. Avaliani and B. Revich, “Human Health Environmental Pollution Risk Assessment as a Tool for Moscow Region Municipal Environmental Policy,” News Library, Moscow City, 2010, p. 311.
[9]	A. J. Cohen, H. R. Anderson, B. Ostro, K. D. Pandey, M. Krzyzanowski, N. Kuenzli, K. Gutschmidt, C. A. Pope, I. Romieu, J. M. Samet and K. R. Smith, “Mortality impacts of urban air pollution,” In: M. Ezzati, A. D. Lopez, A. Rodgers and C. U. J. L. Murray, Eds., Comparative Quantification of Health Risks: Global and Regional Burden of Disease Due to Selected Major Risk Factors, Vol. 2, World Health Organization, Geneva, 2004, pp. 1353-1433.
[10]	A. Shahsavani,, K. Naddafi, N. J. Haghighifard, M. Mesdaghinia, M. Yunesian, R. Nabizadeh, M. Arahami, M. Sowlat, M. Yarahmadi, H. Saki, M. Alimohamadi, S. Nazmara, S. Motevalian and G. Goudarzi, “The Evaluation of PM10, PM2.5, and PM1 Concentrations during the Middle Eastern Dust (MED) Events in Ahvaz, Iran, from April through September 2010,” Journal of Arid Environments, Vol. 77, 2012, pp. 72-83. doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2011.09.007
[11]	M. Brauer, M. Amann, R. T. Burnett, A. Cohen, F. Dentener, M. Ezzati, S. B. Henderson, M. Kryzanowski, R. V. Vartin, R. V. Dingenen, A. van Donkelaar and G. D. Thurston, “Exposure Assessment for Estimation of the Global Burden of Disease Attributable to Outdoor Air Pollution,” Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 46, No. 2, 2012, pp. 652-660. doi:10.1021/es2025752
[12]	WHO, “The World Health Report 2002—Reducing Risks, Promoting Healthy Life,” 2002. http://www.who.int/whr/2002/en/
[13]	C. A. Pope III, R. T. Burnett, M. J. Thun, et al., “Lung cancer, Cardiopulmonary mortality, and Long-term Exposure to Fine Particulate Air Pollution,” Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol. 287, No. 9, 2002, pp. 1132-1141. doi:10.1001/jama.287.9.1132
[14]	D. W. Dockery, “Health Effects of Particulate Air Pollution,” Annals of Epidemiology, Vol. 19, No. 4, 2009, pp. 257-263. doi:10.1016/j.annepidem.2009.01.018
[15]	D. Zmirou, J. Schwartz, M. Saez, A. Zanobetti, B. Wojtyniak, G. Touloumi, C. Spix, A. Ponce de Leon, Y. Le Moullec, L. Bacharova, J. Schouten, A. Ponka and K. Katsouyanru, “Time-Series Analysis of Air Pollution and Cause-Specific Mortality,” Epidemiology, Vol. 9, No. 5, 1998, pp. 495-503. doi:10.1097/00001648-199809000-00005
[16]	N. Fann, A. Lamson, S. Anenberg, K. Wesson, D. Risley and B. Hubbell, “Estimating the National Public Health Burden Associated with Exposure to Ambient PM2.5 and Ozone,” Risk Analysis, Vol. 32, No. 1, 2012, pp. 81-95.
[17]	WDI, “World Development Indicators,” World Bank, 2012. http://data.worldbank.org/country/kazakhstan
[18]	E. Strukova, J. Balbus and A. Golub, “Saving Lives, Saving Money: Regulating Particulate Matter Air Pollution in Russia,” Environmental Defense Fund, 2007. http://apps.edf.org/documents/6628_SavingLivesSavingMoney.pdf
[19]	J. O. Anderson, J. G. Thundiyil and A. Stolbach, “Clearing the Air: A Review of the Effects of Particulate Matter Air Pollution on Human Health,” Journal of Medical Toxicology, Vol. 8, No. 2, 2012, pp. 166-175. doi:10.1007/s13181-011-0203-1