Health impacts and costs of fine particulate matter formation from road transport in Bangkok Metropolitan Region

Abstract

Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) is an important environmental factor contributing to human disease burden. In Bangkok Metropolitan Region, concentrations of PM2.5 continuously exceed the World Health Organization standards. To mitigate this, Thailand's Pollution Control Department introduced a number of operating guidelines. In this study, these guidelines were assessed for their effectiveness by estimating the health and associated economic benefits gained as compared to a Business-As-Usual scenario. Total emissions of primary PM2.5 and secondary PM2.5 precursors were estimated using the approach suggested by Thailand's Pollution Control Department and the European Environmental Agency. Related health burden for each scenario was then calculated following an approach based on impact characterization factors, which have been adapted for Thai-spatially differentiated conditions. Our results show that in 2029, retrofitting vehicles with diesel particulate filters and adopting 10 ppm sulfur fuels would lead to annual benefits of 14 billion Thai Baht, while upgrading new vehicle standards to EURO 5 and 6 would yield annual benefits of 9 billion Thai Baht. In contrast, the increase in numbers of e-cars and e-buses were predicted to result in smaller annual benefits of only 1.9 billion and 300 million Thai Baht, respectively. The outcomes of the study are scenario rankings which differ between the year 2024 and 2029. Emissions from upstream production of fuels and electricity were additionally considered, leading to increasing total health damages and altering the scenario rankings. Results from this study would benefit policy-makers in evaluating and determining the most effective strategies to reduce PM2.5 from road transport.