New HEI report on air pollution regulations in China

HEI has published a new report, Accounting for the Health Benefits of Air Pollution Regulations in China, 2008–2019, by Patrick L. Kinney at the Boston University School of Public Health. Kinney and colleagues evaluated the major national regulatory policies that were implemented in China from 2008 to 2019. The investigators focused on regulations in particular regions that targeted specific sources, such as coal combustion, and how they have reduced ambient concentrations of fine particles.

Key takeaways:

• Kinney and colleagues first analyzed changes in emissions and air quality using chemical transport modeling and source apportionment. Then they analyzed mortality risk and survival probability in relation to variations in fine particles in two nationwide cohorts.
• Similar associations were reported between residential and mobility-enhanced exposure estimates and various health outcomes, and the estimates themselves were highly correlated.
• The results suggest that the bias in epidemiological studies based on outdoor concentrations at residential locations might be small and that accounting for mobility might not be important.

Read the Report