Assessment of long-term particulate nitrate air pollution and its health risk in China
Yun Hang,
Xia Meng,
Tiantian Li,
Tijian Wang,
Junji Cao,
Qingyan Fu,
Sagnik Dey,
Shenshen Li,
Kan Huang,
Fengchao Liang,
Haidong Kan,
Xiaoming Shi,
Yang Liu
Affiliations
Yun Hang
Gangarosa Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
Xia Meng
School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
Tiantian Li
China CDC Key Laboratory of Environment and Population Health, National Institute of Environmental Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 100021, China
Tijian Wang
School of Atmospheric Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
Junji Cao
Institute of Atmospheric Physics (IAP), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Qingyan Fu
State Ecologic Environmental Scientific Observation and Research Station at Dianshan Lake, Shanghai Environmental Monitoring Center, Shanghai 200235, China
Sagnik Dey
Centre for Atmospheric Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Hauz Khas, New Delhi 110016, India
Shenshen Li
State Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing Science, Aerospace Information Research Institute (AIR), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Kan Huang
Shanghai Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Particle Pollution and Prevention (LAP3), Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
Fengchao Liang
School of Public Health and Emergency Management, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
Haidong Kan
School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
Xiaoming Shi
China CDC Key Laboratory of Environment and Population Health, National Institute of Environmental Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 100021, China; Corresponding author
Yang Liu
Gangarosa Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA; Corresponding author
Summary: Air pollution is a major environmental and public health challenge in China and the Chinese government has implemented a series of strict air quality policies. However, particulate nitrate (NO3−) concentration remains high or even increases at monitoring sites despite the total PM2.5 concentration has decreased. Unfortunately, it has been difficult to estimate NO3− concentration across China due to the lack of a PM2.5 speciation monitoring network. Here, we use a machine learning model incorporating ground measurements and satellite data to characterize the spatiotemporal patterns of NO3−, thereby understanding the disease burden associated with long-term NO3− exposure in China. Our results show that existing air pollution control policies are effective, but increased NO3− of traffic emissions offset reduced NO3− of industrial emissions. In 2018, the national mean mortality burden attributable to NO3− was as high as 0.68 million, indicating that targeted regulations are needed to control NO3− pollution in China.
