Problems

1. Voluntary risk Each year, approximately 45,000 persons lose their lives in automobile accidents in the United States (population 281 million according to the 2000 census). How many fatalities would be expected over a three-day weekend in the Minneapolis–St. Paul, Minnesota, metropolitan area (population 2 million)?

2. Involuntary risk Lurmann et al. (1999) have estimated the costs associated with ozone and fine particulate matter concentrations above the NAAQS in Houston. They estimated that the economic impacts of early mortality and morbidity associated with elevated fine particulate matter concentrations (above the NAAQS) are approximately $3 billion/year. Hall et al. (1992) performed a similar assessment for Los Angeles. In the Houston study, Lurmann et al. examined the exposures and health costs associated with a variety of emission scenarios. One set of calculations demonstrated that a decrease of approximately 300 tons/day of fine particulate matter emissions resulted in a 7 million person-day decrease in exposure to particulate matter concentrations above the proposed NAAQS for fine particulate matter, 17 fewer early deaths per year, and 24 fewer cases of chronic bronchitis per year. Using estimated costs of $300,000 per case of chronic bronchitis and $7,000,000 per early death, estimate the social cost per ton of fine particulate matter emitted.