An assessment of the health impacts of urban air pollution was conducted in the Bordeaux metropolitan area. The pollution indicators considered were ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and fine particulate matter (PM10). The health impact was assessed in the short term by estimating the number of premature deaths (excluding violent and accidental deaths) and hospital admissions (for cardiovascular and respiratory causes) attributable to pollution, and in the long term by estimating the number of annual deaths attributable to chronic exposure to pollution. The study area consisted of 22 municipalities representing a total of 604,238 residents. In 2001, the total number of premature deaths attributable to air pollution in the Bordeaux metropolitan area was 56, half of which were due to cardiovascular causes and 7 to respiratory causes. Regarding morbidity, 29 people over the age of 15—nearly two-thirds of whom were 65 or older—were hospitalized for a respiratory condition attributable to air pollution during 2002. Similarly, 81 hospitalizations for cardiovascular reasons in 2002 were attributable to air pollution, including 27 for cardiac reasons. A 25% reduction in pollutant concentrations would have prevented approximately half of these deaths and hospitalizations. The long-term health impact was estimated for PM10 and showed that, each year, nearly 200 premature deaths were attributable to chronic exposure to this pollutant; a 25% reduction in PM10 would have prevented half of these deaths. Although these results should be interpreted with caution, they show that urban air pollution appears to have a significant impact on health in the Bordeaux metropolitan area, even though limit values are generally met most of the time. Furthermore, the reduction scenarios show that action is possible and that the most effective measures would be those aimed at reducing pollutant concentrations on a daily basis. It is therefore important to raise awareness among the public and industry about the need to take preventive action, rather than waiting until pollution episodes occur. (R.A.)