Atmospheric emissions of Cu and Zn from coal combustion in China: Spatio-temporal distribution, human health effects, and short-term prediction

China has become the largest coal consumer and important emitter of trace metals in the world. A multiple-year inventory of atmospheric copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) emissions from coal combustion in 30 provinces of China and 4 economic sectors (power plant, industry sector, residential sector, and others) for the period of 1995–2014 has been calculated. The results indicated that the total emissions of Cu and Zn increased from 5137.70 t and 11484.16 t in 1995–7099.24 t and 14536.61 t in 2014, at an annual average growth rate of 1.90% and 1.33%, respectively. The industrial sector ranked as the leading source, followed by power plants, the residential use, and other sectors. The emissions of Cu and Zn were predominantly concentrated in the northern and eastern regions of China due to the enormous consumption of coal by the industrial and the power sectors. The emissions of Cu and Zn were closely associated with mortality and life expectancy (LE) on the basis of multiple regression analysis. Spatial econometric models suggested that Cu and Zn emissions displayed significantly positive relevance with mortality, while they exhibited negative correlation with LE. The influence of the Cu emission peaked in the north of China for both mortality and LE, while the impacts of the Zn emission on mortality and LE reached a maximum value in Xinjiang Province. The results of the grey prediction model suggested that the Cu emission would decrease to 5424.73 t, whereas the Zn emissions could reach 17402.13 t in 2020. Analysis of more specific data are imperative in order to estimate the emissions of both metals, to assess their human health effects, and then to adopt effective measures to prevent environmental pollution.