From Evaluation to Practice: Bridging the Gap Between Air Pollution Health Risk Assessment and Policy-Making in China.

Abstract

This article systematically reviews the significant progress China has made in the field of air pollution health risk assessment since 2013, including the establishment of the national monitoring network, the improvement of relevant laws and formulation of technical guidelines. The paper focuses on an in-depth discussion of the current core challenges: the disconnection between health risk and decision-making, the lack of a multi-sectoral coordination mechanism, the imperfection of the technical system (particularly for mixed exposures and emerging pollutants), and the novel risks posed by global climate change. Based on this analysis, we prospectively propose fundamental pathways to advance the field: 1) constructing a robust management mechanism and coordination framework; 2) promoting the integration of the full environmental health risk assessment process into the decision-making pipeline (an "assessment-management interaction" paradigm); and 3) strengthening interdisciplinary collaboration and leveraging innovative technologies to refine the technical assessment system.