Trans-provincial health impacts of atmospheric mercury emissions in China

Long Chen, Sai Liang (), Maodian Liu, Yujun Yi, Zhifu Mi, Yanxu Zhang, Yumeng Li, Jianchuan Qi, Jing Meng, Xi Tang, Haoran Zhang, Yindong Tong, Wei Zhang, Xuejun Wang, Jiong Shu () and Zhifeng Yang ()
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Long Chen: East China Normal University
Sai Liang: Beijing Normal University
Maodian Liu: Peking University
Yujun Yi: Beijing Normal University
Yanxu Zhang: Nanjing University
Yumeng Li: Beijing Normal University
Jianchuan Qi: Beijing Normal University
Jing Meng: University of Cambridge
Xi Tang: East China Normal University
Haoran Zhang: Peking University
Yindong Tong: Tianjin University
Wei Zhang: Renmin University of China
Xuejun Wang: Peking University
Jiong Shu: East China Normal University
Zhifeng Yang: Beijing Normal University

Nature Communications, 2019, vol. 10, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Abstract Mercury (Hg) exposure poses substantial risks to human health. Investigating a longer chain from economic activities to human health can reveal the sources and critical processes of Hg-related health risks. Thus, we develop a more comprehensive assessment method which is applied to mainland China—the largest global Hg emitter. We present a map of Hg-related health risks in China and estimate that 0.14 points of per-foetus intelligence quotient (IQ) decrements and 7,360 deaths from fatal heart attacks are related to the intake of methylmercury in 2010. This study, for the first time, reveals the significant impacts of interprovincial trade on Hg-related health risks across the whole country. For instance, interprovincial trade induced by final consumption prevents 0.39 × 10−2 points for per-foetus IQ decrements and 194 deaths from fatal heart attacks. These findings highlight the importance of policy decisions in different stages of economic supply chains to reduce Hg-related health risks.

Date: 2019
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-09080-6

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