Assessment of human exposure level to PM10 in China

Abstract Epidemiological studies have found that atmospheric particulate matter, especially PM 10 (inhalable particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to 10 μm) is one of the pollutants that are harmful to human health. In recent years, particulate matter pollution in China is becoming increasingly serious and PM 10 has become the primary pollutant in Beijing and other cities. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out studies and a health damage assessment of PM 10 . In human health damage assessment, measuring human exposure level to PM 10 is required and crucial to provide accurate exposure data for the exposure–response relationship, and also for the accurate quantitative assessment of human exposure. The spatial distribution of particle concentration in China is variable because of spatial differences in the local economic level and the geographical environment. Along with the accelerating urbanisation in China, city population density is high, and the population distribution is variable between and within cities, thus resulting in different population numbers exposed to different concentration ranges. Therefore, an accurate assessment of China's level of exposure to particulate matter is a priority and the basis for assessing the damage to public health caused by particle pollution. Using high accuracy population and PM 10 monitoring data, this study analysed the human exposure to PM 10 in different regions and typical cities of China. The results show that for most areas of China, the population-weighted PM 10 exposure concentration is slightly higher than the annual mean concentration, meaning that more of the population is exposed to high concentrations, and most of the population is exposed to levels that meet the second national standard (between 40 and 100 μg m −3 ), occupying about 83.7% of population and 76.3% of area in China. The population exposure to PM 10 is higher in two types of typical regions and cities: areas with dense human populations such as Jingjinji, Beijing and Tianjin, and areas with more sand dust and factories such as Northwest and Chongqing.