Assessment of Material Damage and Soiling from Air Pollution in the South Coast Air Basin

摘要

The study provides and applies a methodology to estimate some of the costs of air pollution and soiling damage to selected materials in the California's South Coast Air Basin (SCAB). Land-use, census, field, and telephone survey data were used to estimate the types and quantities of exposed materials in the SCAB. Published damage functions (that relate damage to air quality), together with estimated air quality data and the estimated materials inventory were used to develop quantitative estimates of pollutant induced materials damage in the SCAB. The cost of the estimated damage was based upon assumptions of use and maintenance for each material. The monetary cost of the increased maintenance due to air pollution in the SCAB is estimated to be $42 million per year in 1979. This economic loss is dominated by soiling and erosion of latex paint. The project did not estimate the costs or damage to several important materials due to the lack of available damage functions.