UC BERKELEY AUTHOR: Kirk R. Smith
DATE OF PUBLICATION: June 2016
REGION: Beijing, China
REFERENCE: Liu J, Mauzerall DL, Chen Q, et al. Air pollutant emissions from Chinese households: A major and underappreciated ambient pollution source. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2016;
SUMMARY/ABSTRACT: China suffers from severe outdoor air pollution and associated public health impacts. In response, the government has imposed restrictions on major pollution sources such as vehicles and power plants. We show that due to uncontrolled and inefficient combustion of solid fuels in household devices, emission reductions from the residential sector may have greater air quality benefits in the North China Plain, including Beijing than reductions from other sectors. These benefits would be largest in the winter heating season when severe air pollution occurs. Household emissions, mostly from space heating and cooking with solid fuels, are an important and generally unrecognized source of ambient air pollution in China and other developing countries. Alternative fuels and other ways of reducing emissions would have large benefits.
ACCESS: Link to Pubmed