Atmospheric emissions of respirable quartz from industrial activities in China

Abstract

Quartz is classified as a group 1 carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Atmospheric emissions of respirable quartz in particulate matter released from industrial activities are important for evaluating human exposure. Here we quantified the mass concentrations of quartz as a constituent of particulate matter collected from 118 full-scale industrial plants, comprising 13 main source categories, with the aim of identifying primary industrial contributors. The sources with the highest quartz mass concentrations are waste incineration and electric-arc furnace steelmaking, with average values of 16,924 μg g−1 and 12,005 μg g−1, respectively. Total atmospheric emissions of quartz from the investigated industrial sources are 24,581.3 t. Cement kiln co-processing solid waste, coking plants, pig-iron blast furnaces, iron-ore sintering and steelmaking electric-arc furnaces were identified as the major industrial sources contributing to quartz emissions in China. Quartz emissions arising from the 13 industrial sources could generate up to 77.2% increment in cancer risk for China owing to the high density of these activities. These results provide important fundamental data to assess exposure risks in the general population and enhance sustainability of industrial development. Quartz is a well-known carcinogen of particular concern to industrial workers exposed to particulate quartz. Industrial atmospheric emissions across multiple sectors, however, are found to include respirable quartz, posing a threat to the public health of surrounding populations.