Human Health Cost of Air Pollution in Kazakhstan

Abstract

Kazakhstan, like other former Soviet Republics, inherited a number of serious environmental problems. Air pollution is one of these serious problems, leading to significant environmental health effects on the population of Kazakhstan. This study provides a baseline analysis of health damages from air pollution, based on readily available information. Mean estimates of mortality risk attributable to air pollution are about 16,000 cases per year with a 95% confidence level of the risk not exceeding 25,500. Even taking into account all the uncertainties related to the collection and processing of primary data, as well as the application of risk analysis methodology, we conclude that air pollution in Kazakhstan constitutes a significant contribution to the environmental burden of diseases. In relative terms, the impact of air pollution on premature mortality in Kazakhstan is notably higher than in Russia and the Ukraine.