A health-oriented strategy for identifying and controlling high-risk PM_2.5 sources: Case study of Heze

Fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) remains a critical public health issue in China, where existing control strategies primarily rely on prioritization based on mass concentration or source contribution, which may fail to adequately capture the actual public health burden arising from toxicity differences among emission sources. In this study, we develop a health-oriented source management framework that integrates long-term chemical composition monitoring, source apportionment, and quantitative health risk assessment to derive emission reduction targets directly linked to acceptable health risk thresholds. A one-year observation campaign conducted in Heze, a representative industrial city, is used to demonstrate the application of the proposed framework.The results indicate that, to reduce source-specific lifetime carcinogenic risks below acceptable thresholds, the required emission reductions are estimated to be 85.96% for industrial sources, 64.03% for combustion-related sources, and 14.53% for vehicle emissions. However, achieving an overall acceptable health risk level requires an integrated reduction of 89.90% in total PM_2.5 emissions, corresponding to a target concentration of approximately 5.24 μg m^-3. The proposed framework provides a transferable, health-based tool for aligning emission control strategies with public health protection.