Billion-dollar impact of pollution and premature birth link

In past, studies have linked air pollution as the cause preterm births with risks of raising babies’ risks of health complications.

A new report has put an actual price tag on the impact.

According to researchers, more than four billion dollars will go toward costs related to certain preterm births each year.

The study found that 16,000 premature births in the year 2010 were related to exposure to high levels of air pollution.

Ultimately, they say it leads to about 760 million dollars spent on prolonged medical stays and medications. A far weightier chunk of the figure attributes more than three million dollars is lost economic productivity. It is reportedly related to physical and mental disabilities associated with premature birth.

Dr. Tylor Claggett, an economic professor at Salisbury University, tells 47 ABC he is surprised at the figure and thinks it should be higher.

“A billion dollars isn’t very much.” Says Dr. Claggett, “Now if you said four trillion which is a thousand times more, then I’d start getting excited. Four trillion is the number you’re talking about with respect to china’s excess reserves, now that’s a big number.”

The study was published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.