Toxic potency-adjusted control of air pollution for solid fuel combustion

Policy effort has been put into pollution reduction from both coal-fired electricity and domestic solid fuel burning in China; however, the former has attracted greater research and funding. Li and colleagues now show that the more toxic pollution from residential combustion may be responsible for greater health impacts than coal electricity. The combustion of solid fuels, including coal and biomass, is a main anthropogenic source of atmospheric particulate matter (PM). The hidden costs have been underestimated due to lack of consideration of the toxicity of PM. Here we report the unequal toxicity of inhalable PM emitted from energy use in the residential sector and coal-fired power plants (CFPPs). The incomplete burning of solid fuels in household stoves generates much higher concentrations of carbonaceous matter, resulting in more than one order of magnitude greater toxicity than that from CFPPs. When compared with CFPPs, the residential sector consumed only a tenth of solid fuels in mainland China in 2017, but it contributed about 200-fold higher of the population-weighted toxic potency-adjusted PM2.5 exposure risk. We suggest that PM2.5-related toxicity should be considered when making air pollution emission control strategies, and incomplete combustion sources should receive more policy attention to reduce exposure risks.

Automated summary

Efforts have been made to reduce pollution from coal-fired electricity and domestic solid fuel burning in China, but research and funding have primarily focused on the former. However, a recent study shows that pollution from residential combustion may have a greater impact on health compared to coal electricity. The incomplete burning of solid fuels in household stoves generates higher concentrations of toxic particulate matter, making it more harmful than emissions from coal-fired power plants.