Air pollution health burden embodied in China's supply chains

Product trade plays an increasing role in relocating production and the associated air pollution impact among sectors and regions. While a comprehensive depiction of atmospheric pollution redistribution through trade chains is missing, which may hinder targeted clean air cooperation among sectors and regions. Here, we combined five state-of-the-art models from physics, economy, and epidemiology to track the anthropogenic fine particle matters (PM2.5) related premature mortality along the supply chains within China in 2017. Our results highlight the key sectors that affect PM2.5-related mortality from both production and consumption perspectives. The consumption-based effects from food, light industry, equipment, construction, and services sectors, caused 2–22 times higher deaths than those from a production perspective and totally contributed 63% of the national total. From a cross-boundary perspective, 25.7% of China's PM2.5-related deaths were caused by interprovincial trade, with the largest transfer occurring from the central and northern regions to well-developed east coast provinces. Capital investment dominated the cross-boundary effect (56% of the total) by involving substantial equipment and construction products, which greatly rely on product exports from regions with specific resources. This supply chain-based analysis provides a comprehensive quantification and may inform more effective joint-control efforts among associated regions and sectors from a health risk perspective. [Display omitted] •Anthropogenic PM2.5 pollution deaths driven by trade within China were evaluated in great detail.•Food, light industry, equipment, construction and services caused 2–22 times more deaths from supply chain perspective.•Capital investment contributed 56% of the pollution deaths relocation among provinces.•66% of the pollution deaths transferred among regions originated from agricultural, nonmetal, metal and energy sectors.