Global Environmental Injustice: The Workplace and Beyond

Globalization has led to international supply chains and to the shifting of hazardous working conditions in manufacturing to low and middle-income countries (LMICs) that have cheaper labor, contributing to global environmental injustice. In these countries, the lack of work standards and enforcement, occupational protection, and environmental regulations puts both the workers and surrounding populations at a disproportionate risk of disease due to toxic emissions generated at each step of the processes involved in supply chains. Evidence on the association between workplace-generated occupational and environmental air pollution and the health effects in workers and communities is needed in order to inform mitigation and prevention efforts.

The goal of this Research Topic is to publish novel research linking air pollution generated in occupational activities to health effects in workers and surrounding communities, with a focus on but not limited to LMICs, including research on mitigation and prevention strategies.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following: 1) environmental exposure to indoor and outdoor air pollution (from extraction to production and disposal of wastes) and effects on human health (e.g., cardiovascular, allergic, and pulmonary diseases) in workers and communities affected by emissions from industrial processes linked to international trade 2) intervention and mitigation studies as well as risk assessments.

Keywords: Air Pollution, LMIC, Occupational Health, Workers, Global Health

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.