About this Research Topic
There has been great interest, recently, in the consequences of climate change for public health. Much of this work has dealt with physical hazards and communicable disease. Much less focus has been put on the specific area of toxics, toxicants, and environmental health. This Research Topic will explore this domain but with an openness to multiple and varied aspects of the intersection of climate and toxic substances. The latter term is all-inclusive, covering both natural toxins, industrial toxicants, and others. The thrust is to survey recent work, explore emerging ideas, and suggest future areas of research.
The goal of this Research Topic is to advance emergent research directions at the intersection of climate and toxics, especially as these relate to environmental health.
We welcome contributions from varied scientific or social-scientific perspectives. Scientific contributions are welcome from any field, whether it be from the perspective of the fate and transport of pollutants, (eco-)toxicology, epidemiology, or pollution control. For example:
- How might climate change foster sediment re-suspension, permafrost thawing, sheet runoff, and other mechanisms that can release contaminants to the environment?
- Will a changing climate have consequences for the bioavailablility and toxicity of pollutants?
Likewise, contributions from the social sciences are most welcome, on themes that include environmental justice and ethics, the sociology/anthropology of vulnerability, political economy, or other aspects. For example:
- How are communities traditionally prone to adverse impacts from air toxics made even more vulnerable by climate change?
- Would reducing carbon emissions inadvertently increase the release of other pollutants?
- And what are the co-benefits of reducing carbon emissions in terms of simultaneously reducing toxics?
Contributions can include review, perspective, opinion, and original research articles.
The goal of this Research Topic is to advance emergent research directions at the intersection of climate and toxics, especially as these relate to environmental health.
We welcome contributions from varied scientific or social-scientific perspectives. Scientific contributions are welcome from any field, whether it be from the perspective of the fate and transport of pollutants, (eco-)toxicology, epidemiology, or pollution control. For example:
- How might climate change foster sediment re-suspension, permafrost thawing, sheet runoff, and other mechanisms that can release contaminants to the environment?
- Will a changing climate have consequences for the bioavailablility and toxicity of pollutants?
Likewise, contributions from the social sciences are most welcome, on themes that include environmental justice and ethics, the sociology/anthropology of vulnerability, political economy, or other aspects. For example:
- How are communities traditionally prone to adverse impacts from air toxics made even more vulnerable by climate change?
- Would reducing carbon emissions inadvertently increase the release of other pollutants?
- And what are the co-benefits of reducing carbon emissions in terms of simultaneously reducing toxics?
Contributions can include review, perspective, opinion, and original research articles.
Keywords: climate change, toxic substances, environmental health, co-benefits, fate and transport
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
