A Benefit‐Cost Analysis of Retrofitting Diesel Vehicles with Particulate Filters in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area

Abstract

In the Mexico City metropolitan area, poor air quality is a public health concern. Diesel vehicles contribute significantly to the emissions that are most harmful to health. Harmful diesel emissions can be reduced by retrofitting vehicles with one of several technologies, including diesel particulate filters. We quantified the social costs and benefits, including health benefits, of retrofitting diesel vehicles in Mexico City with catalyzed diesel particulate filters, actively regenerating diesel particulate filters, or diesel oxidation catalysts, either immediately or in 2010, when capital costs are expected to be lower. Retrofit with either type of diesel particulate filter or an oxidation catalyst is expected to provide net benefits to society beginning immediately and in 2010. At current prices, retrofit with an oxidation catalyst provides greatest net benefits. However, as capital costs decrease, retrofit with diesel particulate filters is expected to provide greater net benefits. In both scenarios, retrofit of older, dirtier vehicles that circulate only within the city provides greatest benefits, and retrofit with oxidation catalysts provides greater health benefits per dollar spent than retrofit with particulate filters. Uncertainty about the magnitude of net benefits of a retrofit program is significant. Results are most sensitive to values used to calculate benefits, such as the concentration-response coefficient, intake fraction (a measure of exposure), and the monetary value of health benefits.

Global Intraurban Intake Fractions for Primary Air Pollutants from Vehicles and Other Distributed Sources

“…(2) Studies comparing iF estimated using this model have found similar results compared with studies using empirical data or complex air-dispersion models. 11,12 (3) Because this type of model is widely used, 26−28 the results reported here can be directly applied as model input parameters. (4) The one-compartment model is readily scaled in size for each location studied.…”

Intake Fraction Variability Between Air Pollution Emission Sources Inside an Urban Area

“…The iF concept has been increasingly used in risk and health impact assessment studies to summarize exposure parameters and to predict exposure in those areas with limited data . In particular, the life‐cycle impact assessment (LCIA) field has adopted and developed the iF concept to predict exposure to various stressors in LCIA studies .…”

“…Several previous studies have predicted iFs for secondary particles, but all of these studies have focused on long‐range transport of particles. Only two of the previously mentioned iF studies have predicted intraurban iFs for secondary particles . Secondary particles are formed in the air through the oxidation of SO 2 , NO x , and VOC gases and, due to the time needed for the oxidation process, the concentrations of secondary particles are lower near the emission sources than respective concentrations of primary particles (per unit of emission).…”

The economic value of fatal and non‐fatal occupational risks in Mexico City using actuarial‐ and perceived‐risk estimates

“…Using actuarial-risk estimates, the estimated coefficients of the fatal and non-fatal risk variables are about 15% smaller when both risk variables are included (column (3) of Table 2), suggesting little omitted-variable bias in columns (1) and (2). In contrast, using both perceived-risk variables (column (3) of Table 3), the estimated coefficient on the fatal-risk variable is insignificant and negative and the coefficient on the non-fatal-risk variable is larger than when the fatal-risk variable is omitted (column (2) of Table 3), which suggests that estimates including both perceived-risk variables are influenced by colinearity and are unreliable.…”

“…Although many estimates of the monetary value of health risk have been obtained for the United States and other higher-income countries, few such estimates exist for lowerincome countries and so analysts conducting benefit-cost analyses for these countries often extrapolate from values obtained in other coun-tries (e.g. [1,2]) or use human-capital estimates (e.g. [3]) rather than theoretically preferred willingness-to-pay values.…”