As an important anthropogenic source of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), industrial emissions have a significant impact on air quality and human health. In this study, the characteristics, chemical reactivities, and health risks of VOCs around an industrial park in Zibo were analyzed at two sampling sites. The results showed that the concentrations of total VOCs at Dongzhang Community (DZ) and Special School (SS) sites were 113.12 ppb and 139.40 ppb, respectively, with oxygenated VOCs (OVOCs) as the most abundant species, accounting for 42–45%, followed by alkanes (19.3–19.6%). Diurnal variation of OVOCs exhibited noticeable peaks at 3:00, which may be related to the nighttime sneaky emissions of some enterprises. OVOCs were the species with the highest photochemical activity, with an average contribution of 56.5% to OH radical loss rate and 57% to ozone generation. In addition, OVOCs contributed 40% to secondary organic aerosol formation potential at both sites, second only to aromatics (55%). Acrolein and 1,2-dichloropropane presented the highest non-cancer and cancer risks to human health. The results highlight the importance of OVOCs in some industrial areas.

While air quality in China has improved significantly in recent years, the population is becoming increasingly vulnerable to air pollution due to the aging population. In this study, we assessed premature deaths attributable to long- and short-term exposures to PM_2.5 and O₃, as well as their driving forces in Shandong from 2014 to 2060 based on county-level near-real-time air pollutant concentration datasets and projected concentrations of PM_2.5 and O₃. We found that the concentrations of PM_2.5 and O₃ in most districts and counties from Shandong are still higher than the corresponding concentration limit of Grade II. Premature mortality caused by long- and short-term exposures to PM_2.5 decreased by 13,045 and 8092 in 2020 compared with those in 2014, respectively. Furthermore, premature mortality attributable to short-term exposure to O₃ was 36.08% higher than that due to short-term exposure to PM_2.5 in 2020. The results of the driving force analysis indicate that the health benefits brought about by the improvement in air quality have been offset by the changes in population age structure. In the future, the increase in O₃ concentration and population aging are the top two driving forces having adverse effects on the health burden. This study provides support for controlling the health risks of PM_2.5 and O₃ pollution, especially for the development of dual-pollutant concentration targets and synergistic control strategies.

Ground-level ozone (O₃) pollution in the North China Plain has become a serious environmental problem over the last few decades. The influence of anthropogenic emissions and meteorological conditions on ozone trends have become the focus of widespread research. We studied the long-term ozone trends at urban and suburban sites in a typical city in North China and quantified the contributions of anthropogenic and meteorological factors. The results show that urban O₃ increased and suburban O₃ decreased from 2010 to 2020. The annual 90th percentile of the maximum daily 8-h average of ozone in urban areas increased by 3.01 μgm⁻³year⁻¹ and, in suburban areas, it decreased by 3.74 μgm⁻³year⁻¹. In contrast to the meteorological contributions, anthropogenic impacts are the decisive reason for the different ozone trends in urban and suburban areas. The rapid decline in nitrogen oxides (NO_X) in urban and suburban areas has had various effects. In urban areas, this leads to a weaker titration of NO_X and enhanced O₃ formation, while in suburban areas, this weakens the photochemical production of O₃. Sensitivity analysis shows that the O₃ formation regime is in a transition state in both the urban and suburban areas. However, this tends to be limited to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in urban areas and to NO_X in suburban areas. One reasonable approach to controlling ozone pollution should be to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions while strengthening the control of VOCs.