Environmental and health problems due to sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission are serious issues in China. In this study, we developed a model to assess the total economic and environmental impact on an area subsequent to installation of desulfurization facilities. A model based on the number of new patients with respiratory illness in Shenyang City, China and the corresponding environmental SO2 concentration was first constructed and subsequently integrated into an air diffusion model for SO2. Changes in the SO2 concentration and the number of patients were then simulated, and the effects of desulfurization by-products on salt-affected soil amelioration were assessed in a number of scenarios where desulfurization facilities were installed in combustion plants. From the data, it is projected that the introduction of a wet limestone-gypsum process in large plants, an integrated desulfurization and water-film dust collection process in medium-and small-scale plants, and coal bio-briquettes in households should result in SO2 concentrations below the stipulated SO2 limit for urban residential areas in China. Moreover, a large decrease in the number of new patients and in the total number of patients at the year-end was forecasted for the years following the introduction of these facilities. Additionally, the present findings indicate that amelioration of salt-affected soil using desulfurization by-products is a prospectively effective method for increasing corn and rice production for potential alleviation of food shortages in China.