Assessing the direct occupational and public health impacts of solar radiation management with stratospheric aerosols
- Abstract
Geoengineering is the deliberate large-scale manipulation of environmental processes that affects the Earth’s climate, in an attempt to counteract the effects of climate change. Injecting sulfate aerosol precursors and designed nanoparticles into the stratosphere to (i.e., solar radiation management [SRM]), has been suggested as one approach to geoengineering. Although much is being done to unravel the scientific and technical challenges around geoengineering, there have been few efforts to characterize the potential human health impacts of geoengineering, particularly with regards to SRM approaches involving stratospheric aerosols. This paper explores this information gap. Using available evidence, we describe the potential direct occupational and public health impacts of exposures to aerosols likely to be used for SRM, including environmental sulfates, black carbon, metallic aluminum, and aluminum oxide aerosols.
- Resource Type
- Peer-reviewed article
- Authors
- Utibe Effiong Richard L. Neitzel
- Publication
- Environmental Health
- Journal Abbr.
- Environ Health
- Volume
- 15
- Issue
- 7
- DOI
- 10.1186/s12940-016-0089-0
- Organization Type
- Academic
- Health and Human Impact
- Occupational health
- Climate and Environmental Impact
- Overview/general
- Solution
- Geoengineering