The bulk of it is on 3,000 smog-related deaths each year. The figure included absences at school and office, visits to the emergency room, asthma attacks and other respiratory ailments.
Jane Hall, professor of economics and co-director of the California State Fullerton University and team leader of the study, said it emphasizes the value of California meeting federal air quality standards. "We are going to pay for it one way or the other. Either we pay to fix the problem or we pay in loss of life and poor health," Hall said.
The study was released just as the California Air Resources Board is slated to vote on Dec. 11 if the state will adopt more regulations to force over 1 million heavy-duty diesel truckers to retrofit their trucks with filters of upgrade their engines.
The study identified the Los Angeles Basin and San Joaquin Valley as the areas in the state with the worst level of air pollution.
