Environmental Benefits Mapping and Analysis Program (BenMAP)
Announcements
- April 2012: The University of North Carolina CMAS training center will host a BenMAP training session in Chapel Hill from April 30-May 2nd
- December 2011: EPA uses BenMAP to estimate the PM2.5-related benefits of the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (PDF) (510pp, 8.3 MB, about PDF)
- July 2011: EPA uses BenMAP to estimate the PM2.5 and ozone-related benefits of the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (PDF) (414pp, 7.5 MB, about PDF)
BenMAP is a Windows-based computer program that uses a Geographic Information System (GIS)-based to estimate the health impacts and economic benefits occurring when populations experience changes in air quality. BenMAP is powerful enough to perform a comprehensive benefits analysis but simple enough for non-technical users to estimate benefits after a short tutorial. Analysts have relied upon BenMAP to estimate the health impacts from air quality changes at the city and regional scale, both within and beyond the U.S. BenMAP includes nearly all of the information users would need to start performing a benefits analysis; advanced and non-U.S. analyses can customize the program to address their policy question. Because BenMAP is based on a GIS, the results can be mapped for ease of presentation.
Some of the purposes for which BenMAP is used include the following:
- Generation of population/community level ambient pollution exposure maps;
- Comparison of benefits across multiple regulatory programs;
- Estimation of health impacts associated with exposure to existing air pollution concentrations;
- Estimation of health benefits of alternative ambient air quality standards;
- Performance of sensitivity analyses of health or valuation functions, or of other inputs; and
- Hypothetical, or “what-if,” type analyses.
More Information:
Basic Information - Basics about BenMAP.
Documents - Presentations and training materials about BenMAP.
Downloads - US and international version of BenMAP program and configurations.