Comparing the impact of fine particulate matter emissions from industrial facilities and transport on the real age of a local community

For policy-making, human health risks of fine particulate m(PM2.5) are commonly assessed by comparing environmental concentrations with reference values, which does not necessarily reflect the impact on health in a population. The goal of this study was to compare health impacts in the Moerdijk area, The Netherlands resulting from local emissions of PM2.5 from industry and traffic in a case study using the risk advancement period (RAP) of mortality. The application of the RAP methodology on the local scale is a promising technique to quantify potential health impacts for communication purposes. The risk advancement period of mortality is the time period by which the mortality risk is advanced among exposed individuals conditional on survival at a baseline age. The RAP showed that road traffic was the most important local emission source that affects human health in the study area, whereas the estimated health impact from industry was a factor of 3 lower. PM2.5 due to highway-traffic was the largest contributor to the health impact of road traffic. This finding is in contrast with the risk perception in this area.