  China has implemented retrofitting measures in coal-fired power plants
(CFPPs) to reduce air pollution through small unit shutdown (SUS), the
installation of air pollution control devices (APCDs) and power generation
efficiency (PGE) improvement. The reductions in highly toxic Hg emissions and
their related health impacts by these measures have not been well studied. To
refine mitigation options, we evaluated the health benefits of reduced Hg
emissions via retrofitting measures during China's 12th Five-Year Plan by
combining plant-level Hg emission inventories with the China Hg Risk
Source-Tracking Model. We found that the measures reduced Hg emissions by 23.5
tons (approximately 1/5 of that from CFPPs in 2010), preventing 0.0021 points
of per-foetus intelligence quotient (IQ) decrements and 114 deaths from fatal
heart attacks. These benefits were dominated by CFPP shutdowns and APCD
installations. Provincial health benefits were largely attributable to Hg
reductions in other regions. We also demonstrated the necessity of considering
human health impacts, rather than just Hg emission reductions, in selecting Hg
control devices. This study also suggests that Hg control strategies should
consider various factors, such as CFPP locations, population densities and
trade-offs between reductions of total Hg (THg) and Hg2+.
