ABSTRACT
Climate change is altering how toxic chemicals impact our health and the health of the environment. The altered global climate will bring about myriad human health consequences, with particular implications for the manufacture and use of chemicals used in healthcare. This chapter will focus on three aspects of the interaction of climate change and chemicals in healthcare: the life cycle and volume of chemical manufacturing, products used in healthcare and exposure to toxic chemicals. Chemical manufacturing is one of the most energy-intensive industrial sectors. Most chemicals currently rely on fossil fuels as base building blocks. The health sector is one of the largest users of chemicals, primarily as a result of the use of pharmaceuticals. Certain products used in healthcare have high global warming potential (GWP). These include the use of climate-altering chemicals like anaesthetic gases, fumigants, air conditioning and cooling agents. The substitution of chemicals with lower GWP will be an important solution. The implications of climate change that support the importance of eliminating chemicals of concern where possible are also discussed.
