The Impact of Industrial Pollution Exposure on Hospital Admissions: Evidence from a Cement Plant in Russia

Abstract

Ambient air pollution, in particular, industrial pollution, is among the environmental factors with the most significant impact on human health, especially on the health of local populations. Several epidemiological and economic studies provide evidence of an association between ambient air pollution and human health. This paper studies the effect of individual-level daily silicon dust (SiO2) exposure from cement production on the probability of hospital admissions for respiratory and cardiovascular-related reasons. Our unique dataset was collected on the cement plant “Malcovskii portland cement” in the city of Fokino, Bryanskii region, central Russia, on which the economy of the region is highly dependent. We use an aerodynamic dispersion model to calculate the level of pollutant exposure at the individual-patient level. 1 mg/m3 increase in the inhaled concentration of silicon dust leads to the increase in the probability of hospital admissions from 0,8 to 4%, depending on the considered age cohort. The results are concentrated among the youngest and the elderly groups. A decrease in silicon dust concentration to the standard level would bring a 9,6% decrease in the number of hospital admissions among the youngest and bring 0,2% of the annual budget in health benefits. We have identified the non-linear relationship between the average daily inhaled concentrations and the probability of hospital admission. Therefore, our results may contribute to informing policymakers when designing future environmental policies aiming at reducing ambient local air pollution exposure (industrial air pollution) in Russia. (work in progress)