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Details

Research article
Authors

Trasande L, Schecther C, Haynes KA, and Landrigan PJ

Journal

Annals of the New York Academy of Science

Summary
The economic costs of adverse health effects associated with prenatal mercury/methyl mercury exposure were determined using cost analysis. The costs related to diminished intelligence was estimated to be $8.7 billion annually, and costs of excess mental retardation cases is $2.0 billion annually. These results suggest that more stringent mercury policy options would prevent thousands of mental retardation cases and save billions of dollars over the next 25 years.
Population

Infants (≤ 1 year)

Health Outcomes

  • Neurological/Cognitive outcomes

Health Outcome List:

  • Neurological/cognitive outcomes (IQ deficits, mental retardation)

Environmental Agents

List of Environmental Agents:

  • Metals (mercury/methyl mercury)

Source of Environmental Agents:

  • Industrial mercury emissions (American coal-fired power plants)

Economic Evaluation / Methods and Source

Type:

  • Cost analysis (CA)

Cost Measures:

  • IQ deficits associated with prenatal mercury exposure
  • economic costs associated with IQ deficits
  • costs of excess mental retardation (MR) cases
  • cost of caring for MR children

Potential Cost Measures:

  • Not available

Benefits Measures:

  • Not available

Potential Benefits Measures:

  • Policies (e.g., EPAs Clean Air Mercury Rule) will likely result in the following benefits — averted cases of mental retardation
  • dollars saved/costs averted related to lost economic productivity, special education, and healthcare.

Location:

  • Not available

Models Used:

  • Environmentally Attributable Fraction (EAF) model
  • linear dose-response model used by the National Research Council (NRC) to set reference dose for mercury exposure

Models References:

  • References cited in publication — EAF model (Institute of Medicine, 1981); Linear dose-response model (National Research Council, 2000)

Methods Used:

  • The authors assessed the impact of industrial mercury emissions on children's health. Using an environmentally attributable fraction (EAF) model, the authors — 1) reviewed the adverse effects of MeHg exposure; 2) estimated the costs of the adverse effects (IQ decrements and mental retardation) and subsequently applied a further fraction to parse out the cost of anthropogenic MeHg exposure resulting from emissions of American electrical generation facilities; 3) used previously published data to obtain estimates about mercury concentrations in women of child-bearing age and mental retardation cases/prevalence in US; and 4) conducted sensitivity analysis with lower bound and upper bounds for estimating the costs to children with estimated cord blood concentrations.

Sources Used:

  • NHANES (1999 - 2000); CDC National Vital Statistics System (2004); additional sources cited in publication

Economic Citation / Fundings

Citation:

  • Trasande L, Schecther C, Haynes KA, and Landrigan PJ. Applying cost analyses to drive policy that protects children - mercury as a case study. Annals of the New York Academy of Science. 2006. 1076.
  • DOI

NIEHS Funding:

  • P42ES07384-07S1

Other Funding: Not available