Toxicity-Informed Control of Global PM2.5 Emissions
Abstract Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) remains a leading global health risk, yet air pollution control policies typically assume equal toxicity across emission sources. Unravelling the unequal toxicities in global PM2.5 emissions can support more effective air pollution control. Here, we integrate cell-based toxicological profiles with global emission inventories to develop the first global dataset of toxicity-adjusted PM2.5 emissions. We show that global toxicity-adjusted emissions are dominated by residential solid-fuel combustion, and that hotspots of PM2.5 mass and toxicity diverge substantially, with the highest toxicities occurring largely in regions reliant on traditional biomass. Low-income countries exhibit disproportionately high toxicity-adjusted emissions relative to their energy use, revealing a strong global environmental inequity. Incorporating unequal toxicities reshapes emission-control priorities, shifting many countries from mass-dominated industrial or power sectors toward residential combustion. We propose a toxicity-informed framework for air pollution control, which is adaptable to diverse socioeconomic contexts and can enhance global health and sustainability.
Authors
- Qingru Wu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3381-4767)
- Jingkun Jiang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6172-190X)
- S S Wang
- Lyuyin Huang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2634-902X)
- Ling Jin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1267-7396)
- Zhaoxin Dong
- Jincai Zhao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1449-4235)
- Dongxu Zhao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4532-380X)
- Haotian Zheng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6816-1597)
- Qi Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8776-8730)
- Xiangdong Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2261-2393)
- H. He (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-3906-2037)
- Zbigniew Klimont
- Aaron J Cohen
- Kebin He
- Scott Weichenthal
- Di Wu
- Jiming Hao
- Qian Liu
Institutions
- Health Effects Institute (US)
- International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (AT)
- Hong Kong Polytechnic University (HK)
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Ministry of Ecology and Environment (CN)
- Fudan University (CN)
- Nanjing Institute of Technology (CN)
- McGill University Health Centre (CA)
- Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry (CN)
- Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences (CN)
- McGill University (CA)
- Nanjing University (CN)
- South China University of Technology (CN)
- Tsinghua University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- National Science Review
- Published
- 2026-05-21
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1093/nsr/nwag301
- Primary Topic
- Health, Environment, Cognitive Aging
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00