Health effects of banning beehive coke ovens and implementation of the ban in China

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Yang XuShu Tao

Abstract

Environmental legislation and proper implementation are critical in environmental protection. In the past, beehive coke ovens (BCOs) were popular in China, resulting in enormous emissions of benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), a common indicator of carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. BCOs were banned by the Coal Law in 1996. Although BCO numbers have declined since the ban, they were not eliminated until 2011 due to poor implementation. Here, we present the results of a quantitative evaluation of the health effects of historical BCO operation, the health benefits of the ban, and the adverse impacts of the poor implementation of the ban. With only limited official statistics available, historical and geospatial data about BCOs were reconstructed based on satellite images. Emission inventories of BaP from BCOs were compiled and used to model atmospheric transport, nonoccupational population exposure, and induced lung cancer risk. We demonstrated that more than 20% of the BaP in ambient air was from BCOs in the peak year. The cumulative nonoccupational excess lung cancer cases associated with BaP from BCOs was 3,500 (±1,500) from 1982 to 2015. If there was no ban, the cases would be as high as 9,290 (±4,300), indicating the significa...Continue Reading

References

Jan 1, 1990·International Journal of Hyperthermia : the Official Journal of European Society for Hyperthermic Oncology, North American Hyperthermia Group·S MizunoY Yamakawa
Jun 13, 2002·Environmental Health Perspectives·Carl-Elis BoströmRoger Westerholm
Dec 10, 2009·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Yanxu ZhangJianmin Ma
May 11, 2013·Environmental Science & Technology·Huizhong ShenShu Tao

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