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Toxic exposure in America: Estimating fetal and infant health outcomes from 14 years of TRI reporting

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  • Agarwal, Nikhil
  • Banternghansa, Chanont
  • Bui, Linda T.M.
Abstract
We examine the effect of exposure to a set of toxic pollutants that are tracked by the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) from manufacturing facilities on county-level infant and fetal mortality rates in the United States between 1989 and 2002. Unlike previous studies, we control for toxic pollution from both mobile sources and non-TRI reporting facilities. We find significant adverse effects of toxic air pollution concentrations on infant mortality rates. Within toxic air pollutants we find that releases of carcinogens are particularly problematic for infant health outcomes. We estimate that the average county-level decreases in various categories of TRI concentrations saved in excess of 13,800 infant lives from 1989 to 2002. Using the low end of the range for the value of a statistical life that is typically used by the EPA of $1.8M, the savings in lives would be valued at approximately $25B.

Suggested Citation

  • Agarwal, Nikhil & Banternghansa, Chanont & Bui, Linda T.M., 2010. "Toxic exposure in America: Estimating fetal and infant health outcomes from 14 years of TRI reporting," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(4), pages 557-574, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jhecon:v:29:y:2010:i:4:p:557-574
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Kenneth Y. Chay & Michael Greenstone, 2003. "The Impact of Air Pollution on Infant Mortality: Evidence from Geographic Variation in Pollution Shocks Induced by a Recession," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 118(3), pages 1121-1167.
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    3. Lagravinese, R. & Moscone, F. & Tosetti, E. & Lee, H., 2014. "The impact of air pollution on hospital admissions: Evidence from Italy," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 278-285.
    4. Hope Corman & Dhaval Dave & Nancy E. Reichman, 2018. "Evolution of the Infant Health Production Function," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 85(1), pages 6-47, July.
    5. Joshua Graff Zivin & Matthew Neidell, 2013. "Environment, Health, and Human Capital," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 51(3), pages 689-730, September.
    6. Jacqz, Irene, 2022. "Toxic test scores: The impact of chemical releases on standardized test performance within U.S. schools," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    7. Ball, Alastair, 2014. "Air pollution, foetal mortality, and long-term health: Evidence from the Great London Smog," MPRA Paper 63229, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 25 Mar 2015.
    8. Ziebarth, Nicolas R. & Schmitt, Maike & Karlsson, Martin, 2013. "The Short-Term Population Health Effects of Weather and Pollution: Implications of Climate Change," IZA Discussion Papers 7875, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Patrick Koval, 2018. "Toxic Effects of Lead Disposal in Water: An Analysis of TRI Facility Releases," Working Papers 1809, College of the Holy Cross, Department of Economics.
    10. Arturs Kalnins & Glen Dowell, 2017. "Community Characteristics and Changes in Toxic Chemical Releases: Does Information Disclosure Affect Environmental Injustice?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 145(2), pages 277-292, October.
    11. Dakshina G. Silva & Anita R. Schiller & Aurélie Slechten & Leonard Wolk, 2024. "Tiebout Sorting and Toxic Releases," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 87(9), pages 2487-2520, September.
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