Impact on Population Exposure to PM2.5 by its Source Factors in China: Provincial Panel Data Analysis

Studying the impacts of PM2.5 concentrations is critical due to health risks associated with PM2.5. This study analyses 2001-2010 provincial panel data of population-weighted PM2.5 exposure and its main sources in China to identify any correlations that may exist. The results show that energy consumption, highway length, and construction positively affect population-weighted PM2.5 exposure, but vehicle possession has a negative effect. Increasing energy consumption, highway length, and construction areas by 1% resulted in 0.11%, 0.12%, and 0.06% increases to PM2.5 population exposure, respectively However, when vehicle possession increased by 1%, population exposure to PM2.5 decreased by 0.20%. Highway length may be a very important factor for the increased PM2.5 concentrations in China. Therefore, China should consider national and provincial factors when developing policies to control PM2.5 emissions.