Abstract
Coal-fired power plants represent a major anthropogenic source of nanoscale particulate matter, yet conventional mass-based regulations overlook the distinct and potent health risks posed by specific components. Here we combine single-particle elemental profiles (169 plants across China) with cellular toxicity (human lung cells). Using interpretable machine learning, we reveal iron-rich nanoparticles as key toxic driver, explaining 27.4% of the observed oxidative stress and 16.9% of cytotoxicity. We then develop a high-resolution national inventory of iron-rich nanoparticles, estimating total emissions of 236 tons in 2020, with Eastern China as a hotspot contributing 38.2%. Tailored regional strategies could achieve a 77.5% reduction in national emission, with electrostatic precipitator upgrades identified as the most cost-effective measure. Our findings provide an actionable framework to advance air pollution policy beyond total emissions control toward component-specific reduction of the most toxic nanoparticles, ultimately mitigating their associated public health impacts.
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Acknowledgements
We are grateful to the editors and reviewers for their valuable comments, which have significantly strengthened this manuscript. Financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (42125102, 42207428) is gratefully acknowledged. We also thank the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities and the Open Foundation of East China Normal University (ECNU) for additional funding. We thank especially East China Normal University (ECNU) Multifunctional Platform for Innovation (004) for TEM analysis. We appreciate Dr. Jiayuan Wu and Qing Chen at ECNU for the sampling assistance. Y.Y. discloses support for the research and publication of this work from National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number 42125102]. Z.N. discloses support for the research of this work from National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number 42207428]. M.X., X.Y., Z.S., M.W., and X.Z. declare no relevant funding.
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Xu, M., Yang, X., Niu, Z. et al. Targeting key toxic nanoscale particulate matter for precision control of coal power emissions. Commun Earth Environ (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-026-03557-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-026-03557-1
