Implications of Global Climate Change for the Assessment and Management of Human Health Risks of Chemicals in the Natural Environment

Details

• Personal Author:
  Balbus JM ; Boxall ABA ; Fenske RA ; McKone TE ; Zeise L
• Description:
  Global climate change (GCC) is likely to alter the degree of human exposure to pollutants and the response of human populations to these exposures, meaning that risks of pollutants could change in the future. The present study, therefore, explores how GCC might affect the different steps in the pathway from a chemical source in the environment through to impacts on human health and evaluates the implications for existing risk-assessment and management practices. In certain parts of the world, GCC is predicted to increase the level of exposure of many environmental pollutants due to direct and indirect effects on the use patterns and transport and fate of chemicals. Changes in human behavior will also affect how humans come into contact with contaminated air, water, and food. Dietary changes, psychosocial stress, and coexposure to stressors such as high temperatures are likely to increase the vulnerability of humans to chemicals. These changes are likely to have significant implications for current practices for chemical assessment. Assumptions used in current exposure-assessment models may no longer apply, and existing monitoring methods may not be robust enough to detect adverse episodic changes in exposures. Organizations responsible for the assessment and management of health risks of chemicals therefore need to be more proactive and consider the implications of GCC for their procedures and processes. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Behavior Climate Change Environmental Exposure Environmental Pollution Hazardous Substances Occupational Health Risk Assessment Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Toxicology Chemical Hazards Climate Change Environmental Exposure Environmental Pollution Exposure Pathway Risk Assessment Risk Management Vulnerability
• ISSN:
  0730-7268
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California ; Maryland ; OSHA Region 10 ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 9 ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  62-78
• Volume:
  32
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20054694
• Citation:
  Environ Toxicol Chem 2013 Jan; 32(1):62-78
• Contact Point Address:
  John M. Balbus, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
• Email:
  john.balbus@nih.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2013
• Performing Organization:
  University of Washington
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry
• End Date:
  20250630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:291d947b01fef00315bbed895347255a678a12c569fb2b2e1fea69ec31da87b25e4c6d74f1b959167698847015a94c50ed940f8d50409c5190116f5a33883054
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/217147/cdc_217147_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 216.58 KB ]