title: Potential health benefits of controlling dust emissions in Beijing.
abstract: Although the adverse impact of fine particulate matter (i.e., PM2.5) on human health has been well acknowledged, little is known of the health effects of its specific constituents. Over the past decade, the annual average dust concentrations in Beijing were approximately ∼14 μg m(-3), a value that poses a great threat to the city's 20 million residents. In this study, we quantify the potential long-term health damages in Beijing resulting from the dust exposure that occurred from 2000 to 2011. Each year in Beijing, nearly 4000 (95% CI: 1000-7000) premature deaths may be associated with long-term dust exposure, and ∼20% of these deaths are attributed to lung cancer. A decomposition analysis of the inter-annual variability of premature deaths in Beijing indicates that dust concentrations determine the year-to-year tendency, whereas population growth and lung cancer mortality rates drive the increasing tendency of premature death. We suggest that if Beijing takes effective measures towards reducing dust concentrations (e.g., controlling the resuspension of road dust and the fugitive dust from construction sites) to a level comparable to that of New York City's, the associated premature deaths will be significantly reduced. This recommendation offers "low-hanging fruit" suggestions for pollution control that would greatly benefit the public health in Beijing.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China. Electronic address: jfliu@pku.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Junfeng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, 201 Forrestal Road, Princeton, NJ, 08542, USA.
authors.forename: Songmiao
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: Department of Child, Adolescent and Women's Health, School of Public Health, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Chuyun
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Kan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yi
authors.affiliation: Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yanli
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Tumor (protons) Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai, 200025, China.
authors.forename: Xing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Shu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tao
mesh_terms: D000388:Air / Q000592:standards*; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D000068476:Beijing; D004391:Dust / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009026:Mortality / Q000639:trends; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000032:analysis*; D011634:Public Health; D014507:Urbanization
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D004391:Dust; D052638:Particulate Matter
keywords: Air pollution control; Health impact; PM(2.5); Road dust