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Time series analysis of mortality and associated weather and pollution effects in Los Angeles County. Final report

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:6155192

This study performed a time-series analysis of the relationships between daily mortality and daily weather and concentrations of six air pollutants (ozone, CO, NO/sub 2/, SO/sub 2/, total hydrocarbons, and particulates) in Los Angeles County in the years 1970-79. Mortality was significantly related to pollution and temperature. Specifically, mortality was found to be a significantly increasing function of each of three highly correlated pollutants -- CO, total hydrocarbons, and particulates -- at any fixed temperature. Each of these pollutants appears to ace as a surrogate for a general condition of increased pollution. Mortality had a quadratic relationship with temperature for fixed levels of pollution, with minimum mortality occurring at about 75 degrees F. NO/sub 2/ and SO/sub 2/ were much less strongly related to mortality than the three significant pollutants were. Ozone was so highly correlated with temperature that their individual effects could not be distinguished. Mortality is predicted to increase by about 10% if the significantly related pollutants increase from minimum levels to the highest levels recorded with temperature held constant. Results for total and cardiovascular mortality were similar.

Research Organization:
California Univ., Davis (USA)
OSTI ID:
6155192
Report Number(s):
PB-89-145387/XAB
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English