The impact of migration on air quality dose-response functions: a case study of Jacksonville, Florida.

The purpose of this study was to analyze quantitative relationships between air pollution and mortality, and to examine the impact of migration on pollution-related mortality functions. Dose-response functions were estimated for intra-urban variations in ambient air quality for the city of Jacksonville, Florida. Indices of air pollution used in this study were sulfur dioxide (SO2) and total suspended particulates (TSP). Ambient air quality was measured by the dispersion of TSP and SO2 across census tracts using the SYMAP dispersion model in conjunction with air quality monitoring stations. Holding other things constant, TSP apeared to have no statistically significant association with mortality rates. By contrast, the significance of the estimated coefficient for the pollution variable, SO2, supported the contention that there is a positive and statistically significant relationship between air pollution and mortality rates. However, after making a limited test of the impact of migration on dose-response ...