No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.
Covid-19 face masks: A potential source of microplastic fibers in the environment
Supplementary resources (2)
... Different types of face masks have been used, including disposable medical or singleuse face masks and N95 masks, as well as cotton gowns and sponges, which are reusable after washing [16].Single-use face masks are produced from polymers and polymer fibers, such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, polyurethane, polyacrylonitrile (PAN), polystyrene, and polycarbonate, among others [3,14,44]. They consist of three layers [14]: an inner layer made of soft fibers; a middle layer, which is the main filtering layer; and a water-resistant outer layer, usually colored and made of nonwoven fibers [44]. ...
... Different types of face masks have been used, including disposable medical or singleuse face masks and N95 masks, as well as cotton gowns and sponges, which are reusable after washing [16].Single-use face masks are produced from polymers and polymer fibers, such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, polyurethane, polyacrylonitrile (PAN), polystyrene, and polycarbonate, among others [3,14,44]. They consist of three layers [14]: an inner layer made of soft fibers; a middle layer, which is the main filtering layer; and a water-resistant outer layer, usually colored and made of nonwoven fibers [44]. In the case of N95 masks, they are made of plastics, such as polypropylene and polyethylene terephthalate [5]. ...
... Because the composition of PPE is based on plastic [2], the interactions of waste in open environments lead to their physical and physico-chemical degradation [79]. PPE waste will slowly degrade into microplastics (MPs) (5 mm-1 µm) and nanoplastics (NPs) (<1 µm) due to physicochemical (e.g., UV radiation, wind, currents) and biochemical (enzymatic activity) processes [3,14], contributing to the mounting problem of MP and NP pollution [16], in addition to leachable inorganic and organic chemicals' production, which are associated with textiles and plastic additives that have an adverse impact on human health and the environment [80], especially in marine water, resulting in the popularity of the terms marine pollution and environmental impact in our thematic maps (Figures 13b and 14). ...
Using a science mapping approach, we analyzed the exponential increase in the number of scientific documents about the negative environmental impacts produced by waste from personal protective equipment (PPE), especially face masks, used to reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission worldwide. Our results revealed that India, China, and Canada are leaders in this research field, which is clearly related to environmental issues, but also the solutions developed from an engineering point of view. Our analysis of the most-relevant documents in the field uncovered the considerable negative effects of PPE waste in aquatic media, its contribution to greenhouse gas emissions, effects on wildlife, etc. To reduce the negative environmental impacts of PPE waste, we need to implement innovative ecodesign strategies for their green production, including their re-use as and the use of recycling materials, but also a collaboration with the population to reduce PPE waste at its source. Both action lines could be materialized by establishing a collective, extended producer responsibility system for PPE to ensure their sustainable production and consumption. These well-implemented strategies will contribute to maintaining progress towards achieving sustainable development goals.
... Facemasks, on the other hand, are the most common type of PPE found on beaches (Akhbarizadeh et al., 2021;Haddad et al., 2021;Chand et al., 2021;Rakib et al., 2021;Ribeiro et al., 2022;Silva et al., 2021a;Thiel et al., 2021). It consist of three layers designed and constructed as follows: the outer layer is made of a non-absorbent material that protects against liquid splashes, the middle layer is made up of non-woven and non-absorbent fabrics created through a melt-blowing process, which prevent droplets and aerosols through an electrostatic effect, and the inner layer is made of absorbent material such as cotton to absorb vapor (Aragaw, 2020;Fadare and Okoffo, 2020;Xu and Ren, 2021). Upon entering the environment, the facemask is subjected to weathering conditions such as sunlight exposure, abrasion from wave action and collision with natural substrates, and biological interaction. ...
... These conditions cause the polymeric material to degrade chemically and physically (De-la-Torre et al., 2022b;Pizarro-Ortega et al., 2020). In the scientific literature, the possible risks posed by facemasks as a source of microplastics and/or nanofibers have already been highlighted by several authors (Aragaw, 2020;Du et al., 2022;Fadare and Okoffo, 2020;Rubio-Armendáriz et al., 2022;Saliu et al., 2021;Silva et al., 2021a). The generated PPE waste from this pandemic is a new phenomenon of which we have no prior knowledge and lack established waste management practices (Adusei-Gyamfi et al., 2022;Ammendolia et al., 2021;Kutralam-Muniasamy et al., 2022). ...
... Commercially available 3-ply surgical facemasks are primarily composed of polypropylene (PP). In contrast, different types of facemasks contain other synthetic polymers, such as polystyrene (PS), polycarbonate (PC), polyethylene (PE), and polyester (Aragaw, 2020;Chua et al., 2020;Fadare and Okoffo, 2020). The polypropylene (PP) weight in a single surgical mask is 4.5 g (Abbasi et al., 2020). ...
Facemasks were widely used as a protection against SARS-COV-2, which significantly reduced COVID-19 transmission during the pandemic. However, concerns have been raised regarding its adverse impacts on human health due to intense use and mismanagement. Although rampant plastic littering was the norm before the pandemic, the magnitude of the problem is worsening as potentially COVID-19-infected facemasks are thrown along the shoreline. This study assessed the discarded facemasks on the most popular beach destinations in Mati City, Davao Oriental, Philippines. A total of N = 284 discarded facemasks were found in a cumulative area of 22,500 m2, with an average density of 8.4 × 10-4 items/m2. The surgical facemask (82 %; n = 234) was the most abundant type of facemask found in the areas, followed by KF94 (16 %; n = 45) and KN95 (2 %; n = 5). The Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) showed significant differences in the visual counts of facemasks on the three beaches (p < 0.05).
... Patrício Silva et al. and Prata et al. [15,16] discuss the repercussions of the use and management of plastics during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fadare and Okoffo [13] depict face masks' potential source of microplastics in the environment. ...
... Among the 920 authors' keywords (Table 1), the ten most popular ones are as follows (number of occurrences in parenthesis): COVID-19 (190), SARS-CoV-2 (129), coronavirus (44), wastewater (26), pandemic (18), wastewaterbased epidemiology (17), sewage (13), waste management (13), plastic pollution (11), and plastic waste (9). These most frequent authors' keywords represent the trends in the literature about plastic effects during the COVID-19 pandemic (up to the research date). ...
... The improper disposal of these PPEs used to save lives contaminates water bodies. Face mask is a powerful source of microplastics released into the environment [13,35]. In addition to releasing microplastics, they can release other contaminants such as iron, copper, aluminum, zinc, barry, and manganese [36]. ...
COVID-19 is the official name of the disease provoked by a coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2. Since the advent of the first cases of the new coronavirus, our society has been completely changed. Due to the changes, new environmental challenges were imposed, principally due to the considerable growth in using plastic materials in packages and personal protective equipment such as face masks. The impact of plastic during the COVID-19 pandemic was discussed in the present work from the point of view of the environmental science area. Bibliometric analysis and mapping were performed based on Scopus database search results. Emphasis was placed on analyzing the authors' keywords of the publications. The main concern of the research area concerning the use of plastic during the COVID-19 pandemic is the pollution of water bodies by plastic.
... Personal protective equipment such as face masks and gloves, and the excessive usage of plastic shopping bags to prevent cross-contamination gave a sharp rise in plastic waste generation (Gorrasi et al., 2021). While in contrast, before the COVID-19 era many countries proposed to ban at least partly the usage of non-biodegradable single-use plastic bags (Fadare and Okoffo 2020;. In addition, medical waste has risen up to 370% and the demand for plastic packaging has grown up to 40% during the pandemic (Silva et al., 2021). ...
... imposed on the population such as wearing face masks, self-isolation, and limited mobility access, no transparent instructions and disposing mechanisms were provided for PPE waste items. Proper disposal of such waste is crucial and seldom it is found to be discarded in the appropriate places (Cordova et al., 2021;De-la-Torre and Aragaw, 2021;Fadare and Okoffo, 2020;Kalina and Tilley, 2020;Saliu et al., 2021;Selvaranjan et al., 2021). Cordova et al. (2021) reported a 5% rise in the number of waste items in the Cilincing and Marunda Rivers at Jakarta Bay, Indonesia. ...
... Aquatic living organisms and the food web will be impacted heavily due to the discarded facemasks and other PPE items that are mainly made up of plastic materials. Studies reported that the recent emergence of microplastics (MPs) in the environment is from disposable face masks (Saliu et al., 2021;Aragaw, 2020;Fadare and Okoffo, 2020). Contamination of MPs with emerging contaminants poses a great threat which increases more with the polluting ability of face masks as they are the forum for disease outbreaks (Fadare and Okoffo, 2020). ...
... Personal protective equipment such as face masks and gloves, and the excessive usage of plastic shopping bags to prevent cross-contamination gave a sharp rise in plastic waste generation (Gorrasi et al., 2021). While in contrast, before the COVID-19 era many countries proposed to ban at least partly the usage of non-biodegradable single-use plastic bags (Fadare and Okoffo 2020;. In addition, medical waste has risen up to 370% and the demand for plastic packaging has grown up to 40% during the pandemic (Silva et al., 2021). ...
... imposed on the population such as wearing face masks, self-isolation, and limited mobility access, no transparent instructions and disposing mechanisms were provided for PPE waste items. Proper disposal of such waste is crucial and seldom it is found to be discarded in the appropriate places (Cordova et al., 2021;De-la-Torre and Aragaw, 2021;Fadare and Okoffo, 2020;Kalina and Tilley, 2020;Saliu et al., 2021;Selvaranjan et al., 2021). Cordova et al. (2021) reported a 5% rise in the number of waste items in the Cilincing and Marunda Rivers at Jakarta Bay, Indonesia. ...
... Aquatic living organisms and the food web will be impacted heavily due to the discarded facemasks and other PPE items that are mainly made up of plastic materials. Studies reported that the recent emergence of microplastics (MPs) in the environment is from disposable face masks (Saliu et al., 2021;Aragaw, 2020;Fadare and Okoffo, 2020). Contamination of MPs with emerging contaminants poses a great threat which increases more with the polluting ability of face masks as they are the forum for disease outbreaks (Fadare and Okoffo, 2020). ...
... Personal protective equipment such as face masks and gloves, and the excessive usage of plastic shopping bags to prevent cross-contamination gave a sharp rise in plastic waste generation (Gorrasi et al., 2021). While in contrast, before the COVID-19 era many countries proposed to ban at least partly the usage of non-biodegradable single-use plastic bags (Fadare and Okoffo 2020;. In addition, medical waste has risen up to 370% and the demand for plastic packaging has grown up to 40% during the pandemic (Silva et al., 2021). ...
... imposed on the population such as wearing face masks, self-isolation, and limited mobility access, no transparent instructions and disposing mechanisms were provided for PPE waste items. Proper disposal of such waste is crucial and seldom it is found to be discarded in the appropriate places (Cordova et al., 2021;De-la-Torre and Aragaw, 2021;Fadare and Okoffo, 2020;Kalina and Tilley, 2020;Saliu et al., 2021;Selvaranjan et al., 2021). Cordova et al. (2021) reported a 5% rise in the number of waste items in the Cilincing and Marunda Rivers at Jakarta Bay, Indonesia. ...
... Aquatic living organisms and the food web will be impacted heavily due to the discarded facemasks and other PPE items that are mainly made up of plastic materials. Studies reported that the recent emergence of microplastics (MPs) in the environment is from disposable face masks (Saliu et al., 2021;Aragaw, 2020;Fadare and Okoffo, 2020). Contamination of MPs with emerging contaminants poses a great threat which increases more with the polluting ability of face masks as they are the forum for disease outbreaks (Fadare and Okoffo, 2020). ...
Today, the challenge that humans are facing in the form of the COVID-19 pandemic is possibly originating due to unprecedented harm caused to nature. Thus, it can be said that nature is taking revenge from uncontrolled inhumanity and, in the mean while it has tried to self-rejuvenate the global environment. The temporary restrictions on the movement of people, halts in traffic, social distancing, and lockdown measures implemented to control the spread of novel coronavirus have slowed economic activity but at the same time, the exploitation of natural resources was reduced and several considerable positive impacts on the environment were also evidenced. The improved air and water quality and reduced noise pollution resulted in a clean, calm, and green environment along with blooming wildlife and biodiversity at the time of lockdown. These positive effects were observed for a short duration only, but the indirect adverse impacts in the form of biomedical wastes and other domestic wastes cannot be ignored and they will show their long-term impacts in the future also in the form of soil and water pollution. In this review, we have discussed indirect positive and negative impacts of the COVID-19-induced lockdown on environmental quality by reviewing the recently published data from various scientific literatures. Based on such studies and the current scenario after the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, it has been realized that nature can easily revive in the absence of human interactions. So now is the time to think about doing something for nature, and the implementations of some strict strategies might be needed globally.
... Apart from sufferings of entire country and globe due to the pandemic especially the people by all sort of social level, economic and psychologic effects in day-today life, the pandemic either directly or indirectly had contributed positively and negatively to environment. The negative affects by the Covid-19 are sudden spike in use of personal protective equipment (PPE) like face mask, face shield, hand gloves, gowns, and others, and their chaotic disposal increases environmental burden [5]. Positive effects of Covid-19 toward environment are improvement of air and water quality, reduction of noise and restoration of ecology [6]. ...
... The pollutant's BOD and SS or other parameter's concentration examined in term of milligram per liter (mg/l) as per depicted in Eq. (4). The pollutant source volume measured in term of meter cubic per day (m 3 /day) as depicted in Eq. (5). If there is more than one same type pollutant that locates separately with the river basin, the cumulative concentration calculated as per depicted in Eq. (6). ...
Environment quality is essential aspects of life on earth, any changes in the quality have a significant impact on human beings. The implementation unprecedented Movement Control Order (MCO), which halted social, economic, and other activities except essential services contributed to opportunities for the earth to rejuvenate itself and build a better blue sky, peaceful wildlife, controlled noise pollution, and improved environmental features. Although the unprecedented Movement Control Order (MCO) due to COVID-19 pandemic posed some adverse effects on the environment, but there are also some benefits on the environment. One of the significant positive effects by the MCO is that the environment had rejuvenated during this period, especially significant water quality improvement. Many reports worldwide, including Malaysia, had reported that the environment including water quality had shown signification improvement. With controlled activities, MCO recognized contributed to river water quality rejuvenation amidst one of the main essential service sewage treatment plant operating at its fullest capacity. Amidst of various river pollution sources, Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) effluent discharge loading was identified as one of the main water resource polluters, and the MCO phenomenon turn raises the question of whether the STP effluent discharge loading onto river resources is the main culprit to the river pollution. This is a new challenge for water resources management to examine the impact of sewage treatment effluent discharge loading on water resource pollution loading in Malaysia. This study investigates the influence of sewerage treatment plant effluent loading from the Kuala Lumpur sewerage catchment to the Klang River basin within the Kuala Lumpur City Centre. The river’s natural self-carrying loading was investigated to evaluate the influence of sewerage effluent loading on the selected river basin. The STPs within the study area were identified and segregated based on its tributary river basin. The individual STP’s Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Suspended Solid (SS) average effluent discharge loading of the year 2020 analyzed against the study River’s BOD and SS average self-loading of the year 2020. The STP and River loading were analyzed to investigate the fraction of STP effluent discharge loading against River loading in the study river basin during MCO.
... This research specifically looked at the short-term impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on MP abundance within the river Thames, and every water sample contained microplastics. A difference was not expected immediately in MP abundance within the river Thames upon the announcement and implementation of Lockdown 1 due to plastics taking many years to degrade (Aragaw, 2020;Fadare and Okoffo, 2020;Saliu et al., 2021). Saliu (et al., 2021) suggested that face masks could degrade into MPs within two years. ...
... Studies focusing on macroplastics found an increase in PPE waste over time within riverine environments. For example, the presence of gloves and masks within river outlets increased at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in Hong Kong (Fadare and Okoffo, 2020), Indonesia (Cordova et al., 2021), and Italy (Wang et al., 2021) to name a few. Studies investigating microplastics also found similar results to this study. ...
In April 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic changed human behaviour worldwide, creating an increased demand for plastic, especially single-use plastic in the form of personal protective equipment. The pandemic also provided a unique situation for plastic pollution studies, especially microplastic studies. This study looks at the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and three national lockdowns on microplastic abundance at five sites along the river Thames, UK, compared to pre-Covid-19 levels. This study took place from May 2019-May 2021, with 3-L water samples collected monthly from each site starting at Teddington and ending at Southend-on-Sea. A total of 4480 pieces, the majority of fibres (82.1 %), were counted using light microscopy. Lockdown 2 (November 2020) had the highest average microplastic total (27.1 L-1). A total of 691 pieces were identified via Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). Polyvinyl chloride (36.19 %) made up the most microplastics identified. This study documents changes in microplastic abundance before, during and after the Covid-19 pandemic, an unprecedented event, as well as documenting microplastic abundance along the river Thames from 2019 to 2021.
... This research specifically looked at the short-term impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on MP abundance within the river Thames, and every water sample contained microplastics. A difference was not expected immediately in MP abundance within the river Thames upon the announcement and implementation of Lockdown 1 due to plastics taking many years to degrade (Aragaw, 2020;Fadare and Okoffo, 2020;Saliu et al., 2021). Saliu (et al., 2021) suggested that face masks could degrade into MPs within two years. ...
... Studies focusing on macroplastics found an increase in PPE waste over time within riverine environments. For example, the presence of gloves and masks within river outlets increased at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in Hong Kong (Fadare and Okoffo, 2020), Indonesia (Cordova et al., 2021), and Italy (Wang et al., 2021) to name a few. Studies investigating microplastics also found similar results to this study. ...
... A high concentration of microplastics on head hair can be correlated with atmospheric fallout. Recently, COVID-19 attributed to the use of facemask which increased their consumption and production across the world and have introduced new risks to human health and environmental challenges by adding vast amounts of polymers such as polypropylene, polyurethane, polyacrylonitrile, polystyrene, polycarbonate, polyethene, or polyester in the environment (Fadare and Okoffo, 2020;Aragaw, 2020). The WHO estimates that approximately 89 million medical masks are required monthly to respond to COVID-19 (WHO, 2020;Fadare and Okoffo, 2020). ...
... Recently, COVID-19 attributed to the use of facemask which increased their consumption and production across the world and have introduced new risks to human health and environmental challenges by adding vast amounts of polymers such as polypropylene, polyurethane, polyacrylonitrile, polystyrene, polycarbonate, polyethene, or polyester in the environment (Fadare and Okoffo, 2020;Aragaw, 2020). The WHO estimates that approximately 89 million medical masks are required monthly to respond to COVID-19 (WHO, 2020;Fadare and Okoffo, 2020). Microplastics are now regarded as an emerging component of air pollution due to their inhalation and interaction with other pollutants such as heavy metals (mercury, lead), PAHs, pesticides (DDT, hexachlorobenzene), pharmaceuticals product, etc. Puckowski et al., 2021). ...
... Mapping the impacts of essential parameters such as income inequality, gender inequality, median income, and nurse practitioners on spatial variation of infection rates provides significant visions to legislators. Fadare and Okoffo (2020) evaluated the environment of microplastic fibers, specifically face masks, and suggested reinforcement of critical thinking in the study to offer ecofriendly replacements to find a sustainable waste management solution for plastic pollution. Also, Silvaa et al. (2021) studied the challenges of plastic pollution and suggested some recommendations for the plastic increase during the current pandemic considering short-and long-run phases. ...
... In addition, open burning of PP and PE may release heavy metals into the environment [12]. Further, open disposal of PPE made of PP and PE will release microplastics to the environment upon their degradation [3,21]. Therefore, emerging challenges in managing waste associated with PPE need to be addressed during the pandemic as well as after the pandemic. ...
Personal protective equipment (PPE) is a critical step in preventing the spread of COVID 19. It is a relatively new phenomenon in many countries, including Sri Lanka. However, used PPE is classified as hazardous waste due to the possibility of pathogen contamination, and the majority of them are made of PET, making them non-biodegradable waste. This study estimated the daily disposal of PPE waste and gathered data on the disposal techniques used by people, ultimately estimating the environmental impact of this newly added waste stream. Data collection was solely based on a questionnaire circulated online. Almost 12 million face masks, 0.2 million gloves, and 0.3 million face shields are used in a single day in Sri Lanka. In addition, as empty sanitizer bottles, 0.7 million PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles are discarded. The estimated annual climate change impact of PPE use across the country was nearly 100 kT CO2 eq. Open burning is the most common method of disposal for face masks and gloves used by households; nearly half of all used face masks and gloves are burned. Transferring waste to municipal solid waste collections also results in waste ending up in open dumps with other waste. As a result of the toxins released into the air during open burning and the release of microplastics during photovoltaic degradation, PPE disposal practices in Sri Lanka have a massive environmental and public health impact. Nevertheless, PPE can be used to generate energy through incineration or pyrolysis, reducing environmental impacts while providing economic benefits if proper plans and policies are in place.
... Also, microplastics resulting from PPE are said to be the future challenge deriving from mismanaged PPE waste [18]. Face masks are found to degrade into small fibres/particles (<5 mm) which pose a potential threat to microplastic pollution [19]. Restrictions on public movement, workplace, office and school closures, increased healthcare demands, quarantine facilities and all other precautions taken during the pandemic have, nevertheless partially, shifted the sources of waste from their conventional ones. ...
A large number of people got infected and many lost their lives due to COVID-19. The increased volume and source-shuffling of the waste generated during the pandemic have challenged the current waste management facilities. The major sources of infectious waste not only include hospitals but also houses and quarantine facilities that lack in source-management thereby increasing the spread of the virus. This article focuses on waste collection and disposal techniques as major aspects of COVID-19 waste management. Also, it discusses the various waste disinfection technologies along with waste management strategies formulated by different organisations. The non-pharmaceutical intervention strategies have also been identified. Alongside this, various challenges and opportunities in COVID-19 waste management are reviewed. Accordingly, recommendations to achieve efficient waste management are stated. Waste management in case of such a pandemic requires proper segregation, storage, collection and treatment. Usage of multiple processes like pyrolysis, chemical treatment, microwave and radio wave is needed to be found for treatment of infectious waste. Increased amount of mixed waste creates the need to have method that is flexible enough. Large amount of PPE waste needs to be taken care of. Development of materials that can provide hygiene and have recyclability is essential.
... Face masks have been used to reduce COVID-19 transfer from one person to another. Therefore, this protective equipment's global production and consumption have increased significantly [3]. As of 22 November 2020 [4], the amount of medical waste, comprising face masks, gloves, clothing, goggles, sanitizer, and disinfectant containers, imposed a 54,000 t/d environmental burden. ...
The COVID-19 pandemic brought a period of high consumption of protective masks and an increase in their waste. Therefore, it was necessary to look at possibilities for their disposal. This article is focused on the disposal of FFP2 masks in the form of pellets blended with sawdust. Further, their ash melting behavior was observed. The method of ash preparation can impact the resulting values of melting temperatures. Therefore, this article investigates the resulting values of ash melting temperatures determined during different ash preparations, such as temperatures (550 °C and 815 °C) and ash size (non-sifted, smaller than 50 µm and 100 µm). All measured deformation temperatures were higher than 1100 °C and even higher than 1200 °C for some samples. Moreover, the presence of FFP2 masks in pellets only insignificantly affected the values of melting temperatures compared to pure wood pellets. The measured values also showed that increasing the temperature of ash preparation from 550 to 815 °C can increase the resulting values of melting temperature. The most significant proportion of the fraction size on the resulting melting temperatures was observed for beech with 5% and 10% of masks at an ash temperature of 550 °C and for spruce with 10% of masks at an ash temperature of 815 °C.
... As a result of lacking effective management, disposable face masks (DFM) might become a disease transmission channel [26,27]. Due to their inability to degrade, they got deteriorate into microplastics having less than 5 mm fragments [28] causing various hazardous concern to terrestrial (disturb soil parameters, halt sewers, enters food web) and aquatic ecosystems (entanglement, a diseasecausing agent, bio-accumulation, ingestion) [29,30]. To eliminate the difficulties made with inappropriate disposal, DFM was thermally converted into carbonised compound (CC) through pyrolysis [31] and used as a novel adsorbent for the removal toxic synthetic dyes. ...
Water resources are being heavily contaminated due to the huge load of toxic pollutants released by industrial activities. Among various physical and chemical methods, adsorption is considered as a promising method for rapidly removing contaminants from wastewater. In the present study, a novel carbon-based adsorbent was prepared through controlled pyrolysis of disposable facemasks. The properties of carbonized compound (CC) were characterized by FTIR, XRD, SEM and EDX. The pollutant removal efficiency of CC was initially investigated with synthetic dyes Malachite Green (MG) and Congo Red (CR). The peaks observed in FTIR spectra corresponding to C=O and C=C and C–N functional groups on adsorbed CC surface confirm the interaction between dye and CC. The XRD spectra of CC showed strong peaks at 2θ = 26.629, 27.488, 27.810 and 29.404 which correspond to the disordered graphitic plane. The SEM images of CC showed good porosity nature. A quadratic model was developed through response surface methodology by conducting a series of Box–Behnken design experiments. Adequacy of this model variables was ensured by ANOVA tests at P-value <0.05. The lower P-value (<0.0001) and higher F-value (44.54) of the quadratic model showed it was a significant model for dye removal. Finally, the optimal condition to obtain maximum MG removal (rate >99%) was identified by desirability function as CC 1000 and MG 212 mg/L and adsorption time 180 min. Adsorption kinetic study indicates that a pseudo second-order kinetic model showed the best fit with R2 = 0.999.
... A recent estimate says 79 % of the plastic wastes are treated through landfills, while 12 % are incinerated and only 9 % are recycled (Geyer et al., 2017). This massive waste has the potential to become a major source of microplastics in environment (Fadare and Okoffo, 2020;Hasan et al., 2021). ...
During the COVID-19 pandemic billions of face masks were used since they became a necessity in everyone's lives. But these were not disposed properly and serve as one of the most significant sources of micro and nano plastics in the environment. The effects of mask leached plastics in aquatic biota remains largely unexplored. In this work, we quantified and characterized the released microplastics from the three layers of the mask. The outer layer of the face mask released more microplastics i.e., polypropylene than middle and inner layers. We investigated and compared the acute toxic effects of the released microplastics between Scenedesmus obliquus and Chlorella sp. The results showed a decrease in cell viability, photosynthetic yield, and electron transport rate in both the algal species. This was accompanied by an increase in oxidative stress markers such reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA) content. There was also a significant rise of antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) in both the algal cells. Furthermore, morphological changes like cell aggregation and surface chemical changes in the algae were ascertained by optical microscopy and FTIR spectroscopy techniques, respectively. The tests confirmed that Scenedesmus obliquus was more sensitive than Chlorella sp. to the mask leachates. Our study clearly revealed serious environmental risk posed by the released microplastics from surgical face masks. Further work with other freshwater species is required to assess the environmental impacts of the mask leachates.
... The principal sources of MPs in urban stormwater runoff include tire particles (in high numbers [137]), artificial turf, air deposition, industrial paved surfaces, and litter [134]. Moreover, face masks are also a significant source of MPs following their widespread use after the outbreak of COVID-19 [138,139]. There is heterogeneity in MP concentrations because the sources of MP are not uniform across land uses. ...
Bioretention cells (BRCs) are a promising low-impact development (LID) practice that are commonly used in urban settings to improve the water quality and mitigate the hydrological effects of stormwater runoff. BRCs have been the subject of extensive research in order to better comprehend their function and improve their effectiveness. However, BRC performance differs greatly among regions in terms of hydrologic performance and quality enhancement. Due to this variance in BRC effectiveness, the current study conducted a comprehensive systematic review to answer the question, “Are BRCs an effective LID method for urban catchment stormwater management?”. This review study analyzed the effectiveness of BRCs in mitigating hydrologic impacts and enhancing the quality of stormwater runoff in urban catchments. A review of 114 field, laboratory, and modeling studies on BRCs found that the promising BRCs may be one of the most successful approaches to restore urban hydrology cycle and improve stormwater water quality. With further development of BRCs, their performance in terms of quantity and quality will become more reliable, helping to develop long-term solutions to stormwater urban drainage issues. At the end of this review, the knowledge gaps and future prospects for BRC research are presented. In addition to providing a foundational grasp of BRC, this review study outlines the key design recommendations for BRC implementation in order to address the issues raised by certain BRC design errors.
... The spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) poses a huge threat and has caused severe damage worldwide, with unpredictable adverse effects on human physical and mental health. Masks and medical waste, such as gloves, have accelerated environmental pollution [1][2][3][4] . The biological effects of SARS-CoV-2 are governed by the interaction of viral homotrimeric spike (S) glycoproteins with cognate receptors on human cells. ...
Patients have different responses to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections and these may be life-threatening for critically ill patients. Screening components that act on host cell receptors, especially multi-receptor components, is challenging. The in-line combination of dual-targeted cell membrane chromatography and a liquid chromatography-mass spectroscopy (LC-MS) system for analyzing angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and cluster of differentiation 147 (CD147) receptors based on SNAP-tag technology provides a comprehensive solution for screening multiple components in complex samples acting on the two receptors. The selectivity and applicability of the system were validated with encouraging results. Under the optimized conditions, this method was used to screen for antiviral components in Citrus aurantium extracts. The results showed that 25 µmol /L of the active ingredient could inhibit virus entry into cells. Hesperidin, neohesperidin, nobiletin, and tangeretin were identified as antiviral components. In vitro pseudovirus assays and macromolecular cell membrane chromatography further verified the interaction of these four components with host-virus receptors, showing good effects on some or all of the pseudoviruses and host receptors. In conclusion, the in-line dual-targeted cell membrane chromatography LC-MS system developed in this study can be used for the comprehensive screening of antiviral components in complex samples. It also provides new insight into small-molecule drug-receptor and macromolecular-protein-receptor interactions.
... Moreover, surgical accessories such as face masks, hand gloves, and gowns are dispensed after single use as these are non-reusable. They are made up of polypropylene, polyurethane, polyacrylonitrile, polyethylene, and polyethylene terephthalate that take several years to decompose (Fadare & Okoffo, 2020). Globally, 129 billion face masks and 65 billion gloves were used per month during the COVID-19 pandemic (Prata et al., 2020;Zhang et al., 2021). ...
With the advancement of science, better monitoring of soil and water quality has become possible. Many contaminants have been reported in the recent past that influence the quality of soil and water negatively. However, the consideration of these pollutants or contaminants is still in the initial stage and needs to be explored in detail for a better understanding of their activity as contaminants. Emerging contaminants such as agrochemicals, nanomaterials, pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and micro- or nanoplastics have been found to show several harmful impacts on soil or water quality. Emerging contaminants are known to have adverse effects on plants and human beings too. The risk of their entry into the crops, food chain, and any possible interaction to human health should be properly monitored. The concentration of these contaminants in soil and water should also be monitored on a regular basis to avoid the significant damages arising from them. Future study may also be taken into consideration to avoid the possible concerns to natural resources, plants, and human wellbeing.
... As a result of lacking effective management, disposable face masks (DFM) might become a disease transmission channel [26,27]. Due to their inability to degrade, they got deteriorate into microplastics having less than 5 mm fragments [28] causing various hazardous concern to terrestrial (disturb soil parameters, halt sewers, enters food web) and aquatic ecosystems (entanglement, a diseasecausing agent, bio-accumulation, ingestion) [29,30]. To eliminate the difficulties made with inappropriate disposal, DFM was thermally converted into carbonised compound (CC) through pyrolysis [31] and used as a novel adsorbent for the removal toxic synthetic dyes. ...
Water resources are being heavily contaminated due to the huge load of toxic pollutants released by industrial activities. Among various physical and chemical methods, adsorption is considered as a promising method for rapidly removing contaminants from wastewater. In the present study, a novel carbon-based adsorbent was prepared through controlled pyrolysis of disposable facemasks. The properties of carbonized compound (CC) were characterized by FTIR, XRD, SEM, and EDX. The pollutant removal efficiency of CC was initially investigated with synthetic dyes Malachite Green (MG) and Congo Red (CR). The peaks observed in FTIR spectra corresponding to C = O and C = C and C-N functional groups on adsorbed CC surface confirm the interaction between dye and CC. The XRD spectra of CC showed strong peaks at 2θ=26.629, 27.488, 27.810, and 29.404 which correspond to the disordered graphitic plane. The SEM images of CC showed good porosity nature. A quadratic model was developed through response surface methodology by conducting a series of Box-Behnken design experiments. Adequacy of this model variables was ensured by ANOVA tests at P value <0.05. The lower P value (<0.0001) and higher F value (44.54) of the quadratic model showed it was a significant model for dye removal. Finally, the optimal condition to obtain maximum MG removal (rate >99%) was identified by desirability function as CC 1000 mg/L and MG 212 mg/L and adsorption time 180 minutes. Adsorption kinetic study indicates that a Pseudo second-order kinetic model showed the best fit with R2= 0.999.
... The Istituto Superiore della Sanit a (Italian Higher Institute of Health) suggested including masks coming from households as urban unsorted waste with European List of Waste Code EER 200301, whereas all others to EER 150203 "absorbents, filter materials, rags and protective clothing" (ISS, 2020). Market pressure has increased both the consumption and the production of masks and increased risks of soil and marine pollution from microplastics (Fadare and Okoffo, 2020) and recycled urban green waste (Spennemann, 2022). Disposable single-use masks provide higher protection, although carrying environmental burdens. ...
Purpose
International outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 infection has fostered the Italian government to impose the FFP2 protective facial masks in closed environments, including bar, restaurants and, more in general, in the food sector. Protective facial masks are rocketing, both in mass and in costs, in the food sector imposing efforts in fostering reuse strategies and in the achievement of sustainable development goals. The scope of the present paper is to depict possible strategies in manufacturing and reuse strategies that can reduce the carbon footprint (CF) of such devices.
Design/methodology/approach
To implement circular economy strategies in the protective facial masks supply chain, it was considered significant to move towards a study of the environmental impact of such devices, and therefore a CF study has been performed on an FFP2 facial mask used in the food sector. Different materials besides the mostly used polypropylene (PP) (polyethylene (PE), polycarbonate (PC), poly (lactic acid) (PLA), cotton, polyurethane (PUR), polystyrene (PS) and nylon 6,6) and different sanitisation alternatives as reuse strategies (both laboratory and homemade static oven, ultraviolet germicidal irradiation) readily implemented have been modelled to calculate the CF of a single use of an FFP2 mask.
Findings
The production of textiles in PP, followed by disposal was the main contributor to CF of the single-use FFP2 mask, followed by packaging and transportations. PP and PE were the least impacting, PC, cotton and Nylon 6-6 of the same weight results the worst. PLA has an impact greater than PP and PE obtained from crude oil, followed by PUR and PS. Static laboratory oven obtained an 80.4% reduction of CF with respect to single use PP-made FFP2 mask, whereas homemade oven obtained a similar 82.2% reduction; UV cabinet is the best option, showing an 89.9% reduction.
Research limitations/implications
The key strategies to reduce the environmental impacts of the masks (research for new materials and reuse with sanitisation) should ensure both the retention of filtering capacities and the sanitary sterility of the reused ones. Future developments should include evaluations of textile recycling impacts, using new materials and the evaluation of the life cycle costs of the reused masks.
Practical implications
This paper intends to provide to stakeholders (producers, consumers and policy makers) the tools to choose the best option for producing and reuse environmentally friendly protective facial masks to be used in the food sector, by using both different materials and easily implemented reuse strategies.
Social implications
The reduction of the CF of protective facial masks in the food sector surely will have relevant positive effects on climate change contributing to reach the goals of reducing CO 2 emissions. The food sector may promote sustainable practices and attract a niche piece of clients particularly sensible to such themes.
Originality/value
The paper has two major novelties. The first one is the assessment of the CF of a single use of an FFP2 mask made with different materials of the non-woven filtering layers; as the major contribution to the CF of FFP2 masks is related to the non-woven textiles manufacturing, the authors test some other different materials, including PLA. The second is the assessment of the CF of one single use of a sanitised FFP2 mask, using different sanitation technologies as those allowed in bars or restaurants.
... First, during the disposing process, these items can release microplastics that can contaminate different parts of the environment, such as bodies of water. 39 On the other hand, crosscontamination might occur if they are not disposed J Health Sci Surveillance Sys January (Supplement) 2023; Vol 11; No 1 of safely. PPE used by the public should be sealed in one or two plastic bags before being thrown away; however, in poorer countries where people were not trained to dispose of PPE, masks, and gloves safely, were discarded in the trash -bins without being sealed. ...
The COVID-19 pandemic has induced some negative environmental issues, especially in the waste management sector. In developing countries, handling waste is carried out by two groups: waste workers and waste pickers who are exposed to possible hazards of infected waste. In the present narrative review, we searched for high-quality English publications in PubMed, Scopus, and Embase databases. The COVID-19 pandemic led to several problems in waste management systems, especially in developing countries. Due to poor management systems, waste workers and pickers are likely exposed to health risks related to unhealthy waste handling. The support of governments is urgently required to properly inform ordinary people about the correct ways of disposing of PPE and also train sanitation workers and waste pickers to reduce the hazardous possibilities. Additionally, financial support can also act as a suppressive agent to reduce the number of waste pickers.
... ¡ Mental health crises and increased rates of suicide 38,39 ¡ Increased domestic violence 40,41 ¡ Educational deficiencies and inequities 42 ¡ Perpetuation of health inequities 43 ¡ Inability to physically distance or work from home 36,44 ¡ Loss of employment (highly correlated with poor health) 45,46 ¡ Harm due to excessive hygiene by some 36,47,48 and lack of access to soap and clean water by others 49 ¡ The environmental impact of increased use of single-use materials 50,51 Tolle totum -Consider the Whole ...
... The structure of the inner and outer layers is commonly very similar, while the fibres in the middle mask layer are significantly thinner and the mesh is more compact and interwoven Kwak and An, 2021). There is a wide variety of medical masks on the market that are made of different polymers, such as polyurethane, polyacrylate, polyester, polyethylene and polypropylene, which remains by far the most common material and has been traditionally used (Aragaw, 2020;Fadare and Okoffo, 2020). ...
... Te better fltering efciency shown by N95 FFRs and SMs against various sizes of particulate matter [28,46,69] are sources of plastic pollution [70][71][72] because they are polymer products [73,74]. Such PP facemasks harm the environment, human health, and aquatic life and can jeopardize global food safety [75][76][77]. N95 FFRs are costly and cannot be reused multiple times. ...
Inexpensive cloth masks are widely used to reduce particulate exposures, but their use became ubiquitous after the outbreak of COVID-19. A custom experimental setup (semiactive at 5.1 m/s airflow rate) was fabricated to examine the efficiency of different types of commercial facemasks collected randomly from street vendors. The sample (N = 27) including (n = 16) cloth masks (CMs), (n = 7) surgical masks (SMs), and (n = 4) N95 filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs), of which SMs and N95 FFRs taken as a standard for efficiency comparison were all tested against ambient aerosols (PM2.5 and PM10 μg/m3). The prototype cloth masks (PTCMs) (N = 5) design was tailored, and their performance was assessed and compared with that of standard commercial masks. The filtering efficiency tested against ambient coarse particulates (PM10) ranged from (5% to 34%) for CMs with an average of 16%, (37% to 46%) for SMs with an average of 42%, (59% to 72%) for PTCMs with an average of 65%, and (70% to 75%) for N95 FFRs with an average of 71%, whereas against fine particulates (PM2.5), efficacy ranged from (4% to 29%) for CMs with an average of 13%, (34% to 44%) for SMs with an average of 39%, (53% to 68%) for PTCMs with an average of 60%, and (68% to 73%) for N95 FFRs with an average of 70%, respectively. The efficiency followed the order N95 FFRs > PTCMs > SMs > CMs showing poor exposure reduction potential in CMs and high exposure reduction potential in N95 FFRs and PTCMs. Amendment in existing CMs using eco-friendly cotton fabric with better facial adherence can protect human health from exposure to fine particulates <2.5 μm and can reduce the risk of micro-plastic pollution caused by polypropylene (PP) facemasks.
... Plastic use in the past few decades has caused environmental issues through the lack of sound recycling and treatment measures. Widespread plastic pollution is considered to be a global threat to human and animal health, especially during the period of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) when increased use of masks and surgical gloves led to the generation of a large amount of medical waste [2][3][4][5]. ...
Extensive environmental pollution by microplastics has increased the risk of human exposure to plastics. However, the biosafety of polypropylene microplastics (PP-MPs), especially of PP particles < 10 μm, in mammals has not been studied. Thus, here, we explored the mechanism of action and effect of exposure to small and large PP-MPs, via oral ingestion, on the mouse intestinal tract. Male C57BL/6 mice were administered PP suspensions (8 and 70 μm; 0.1, 1.0, and 10 mg/mL) for 28 days. PP-MP treatment resulted in inflammatory pathological damage, ultrastructural changes in intestinal epithelial cells, imbalance of the redox system, and inflammatory reactions in the colon. Additionally, we observed damage to the tight junctions of the colon and decreased intestinal mucus secretion and ion transporter expression. Further, the apoptotic rate of colonic cells significantly increased after PP-MP treatment. The expression of pro-inflammatory and pro-apoptosis proteins significantly increased in colon tissue, while the expression of anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptosis proteins significantly decreased. In summary, this study demonstrates that PP-MPs induce colonic apoptosis and intestinal barrier damage through oxidative stress and activation of the TLR4/NF-κB inflammatory signal pathway in mice, which provides new insights into the toxicity of MPs in mammals.
... Many governments, including the UK, instituted mask mandates as a method of limiting transmission of the virus. As such the use of non-medical disposable face coverings became commonplace, with a huge concomitant increase in the amount of facemask waste being generated [2], much of this waste is deemed unrecyclable and is destined for incineration, landfilling or the planets rivers and oceans [3]. ...
Non-recyclable waste disposable facemasks used to reduce transmission of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 have been milled into a form suitable for inclusion into the rotary hearth furnace as a way of reducing iron oxides in steelmaking by-products. Self-reducing briquettes were prepared of powdered Fe2O3, coal and facemask plastic and the stepwise reduction of iron oxide to metallic iron was studied thermogravimetrically and through atmospheric furnace experiments. The reduction efficiency of coal and coal treated with waste facemasks is comparable and the resultssuggest a synergistic effect where the pyrolysis products of plastic decomposition deposit as soot on Fe2O3 particles, supplying additional reductant to higher temperature reduction reactions.
... Phthalate esters (PAEs), a common kind of plastic additives, have been detected in facemasks with a level up to 38 µg/g [9]. Used masks undergo oxidation or weathering into microplastics after discarding them into the environment when not properly disposed of, contributing to the ubiquitous occurrence of chemical additives and microplastics in nature [10,11]. ...
Wearing masks has become the norm during the Coronavirus disease pandemic. Masks can reportedly interface with air pollutants and release microplastics and plastic additives such as phthalates. In this study, an experimental device was set up to simulate the impact of five kinds of masks (activated-carbon, N95, surgical, cotton, and fashion masks) on the risk of humans inhaling microplastics and phthalates during wearing. The residual concentrations of seven major phthalates ranged from 296 to 72,049 ng/g (median: 1242 ng/g), with the lowest and the highest concentrations detected in surgical (median: 367 ng/g) and fashion masks (median: 37,386 ng/g), respectively. During the whole inhalation simulation process, fragmented and 20–100 μm microplastics accounted for the largest, with a rapid release during the first six hours. After one day’s wearing, that of 6 h, while wearing different masks, 25–135 and 65–298 microplastics were inhaled indoors and outdoors, respectively. The total estimated daily intake of phthalates with indoor and outdoor conditions by inhalation and skin exposure ranged from 1.2 to 13 and 0.43 to 14 ng/kg bw/d, respectively. Overall, surgical masks yield a protective effect, while cotton and fashion masks increase human exposure to microplastics and phthalates both indoors and outdoors compared to no mask wearing. This study observed possible risks from common facemasks and provided suggestions to consumers for selecting suitable masks to reduce exposure risks from microplastics and phthalate acid.
... Polypropylene was the most common polymer (66% of all particles) in all seasons and environmental media (water and sediment) ( Figure 4d). Polypropylene is a nonbiodegradable plastic commonly used for single-use food containers, ropes, bottle caps and fishing gear [36,37], including PP fibers from face masks for COVID-19 prevention [38]. Polypropylene microplastics were mainly present as fragments and fibers, while polyethylene microplastics were only found in sediment samples near agriculture, fishing and tourism activities (MP2, 4, 10, and 12). ...
Microplastic pollution has been identified as a potential threat to the aquatic environment and humans globally, with widespread occurrence in ecosystems, including reservoirs that constitute a key role in ecosystem services for humans. However, the evaluation of microplastic pollution in reservoirs is limited, especially in inland fishing ground reservoirs. The spatial and temporal distributions of microplastics in surface water and sediment at 13 stations of the Ubolratana Reservoir, Thailand, were assessed during the wet and dry seasons. The abundance and morphological characteristics of the microplastics were identified and classified by color, shape, size and polymer type. Microplastic abundance in surface water and sediment ranged between 25 and 3363 particles/m3 and 6 and 81 particles/kg, respectively. Seasonal variations impacted microplastic abundance in surface water, while tourism activity in the reservoir also influenced the abundance and morphological characteristics of microplastics. A microplastic risk assessment showed that the pollution load index reached extremely high levels in surface water during the dry season in tourist areas. The results provide a database to assess the risk of microplastic contamination and to monitor plastic pollution in lentic ecosystems, including preserving the health of aquatic habitats.
... Plastic availability also encourages the creation of microplastics by uncontrolled degradation resulting from irresponsible plastic disposal. In addition, the increased use of masks and disposable food wrappers and containers [33] also encourages the generation of microplastics in the environment and is at risk of entering the human body through many mechanisms, ranging from inhalation to food ingestion and consumption of drinking water exposed to microplastics [7,11,34]. The incidence of microplastic inhalation is more frequent than that of other pathways and has a risk of exposure to important organs such as the lungs [35]. ...
Microplastic contamination gain recognition in recent years. Microplastic is found within many parts of human tissue and thus provides potential health hazards. Although microplastic pollution ranges across the land, air, and water ecosystem, this review only exposes the existence of microplastic within the marine environment, which includes the marine territories of Kupang City, Indonesia, and its proximity. In this review, we assess any scientific literature related to microplastic issues in Kupang City. The purpose of this review article is to analyze and combine the results from the researchers who discuss the existence of microplastics and the characteristics of the microplastics studied in Kupang City. In order to achieve a comprehensive explanation, each aspect of expertise in previous research will be carried within a human health point of view. As a result, seven papers published in 2019 to 2022 referring to microplastic problems in Kupang City were found, proposing the presence of filament-shaped and black microplastics in almost all related studies.
... Additionally, many communities stalled or reversed policies that limited the use of single-use products, further increasing global plastic waste. 2 Already, masks and other COVID-19 associated plastic wastes have been found in the environment. 3,4 The transport and accumulation of plastics when they enter the environment can change further as they modified through fragmentation, photodegradation, biofouling, or coagulation, ultimately forming microplastics (plastic particles < 5 mm in size) and nanoplastics. 5,6 The increase in the global demand for plastics is a major concern for the future of plastic waste pollution and microplastics. ...
The increase in the global demand for plastics, and more recently during the pandemic, is a major concern for the future of plastic waste pollution and microplastics. Efficient microplastic monitoring is imperative to understanding the long-term effects and progression of microplastic effects in the environment. Numerical models are valuable in studying microplastic transport as they can be used to examine the effects of different parameters systematically to help elucidate the fate and transport processes of microplastics, thus providing a holistic view of microplastics in the ocean environment. By incorporating physical parameters (such as size, shape, density, and identity of microplastics), numerical models have gained better understanding of the physics of microplastic transport, predicted sinking velocities more accurately, and estimated microplastic pathways in marine environments. However, availability of large amounts of information about microplastic physical and chemical parameters is sparse. Machine learning and computer-vision tools can aid in acquiring environmental information and provide input to develop more accurate models and verify their predictions. More accurate models can further the understanding of microplastic transport, facilitate monitoring efforts, and thus optimize where more data collection can take place to ultimately improve machine learning tools. This review offers a perspective on how image-based machine learning can be exploited to help uncover the physics of microplastic transport behaviors. Additionally, the authors hope the review inspires studies that can bridge the gap between numerical modeling and machine learning for microplastic analysis to exploit their joined potential.
... Concomitantly, it also became an icon of COVID-19 pollution. Several studies have been addressing the implications of face masks to the environment, considering their i) production, use, and disposal (including Life Cycle Assessment) and implications on the environmental footprint [8,9]; ii) presence and distribution in natural ecosystems [10][11][12][13][14][15]; iii) presence and release of contaminants that compose them [16][17][18][19][20]; and iv) the potential toxicity of such released contaminants on aquatic and terrestrial organisms [19,21]. Recent reviews have also critically discussed their short-and long-term environmental implications, but mostly considering their end-of-life options [18,22,23] and how to mitigate/minimize their impact on environmental and human health. ...
During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, facemasks became mandatory, with a great preference for disposable ones. However, the benefits of face masks for health safety are counteracted by the environmental burden related to their improper disposal. An unprecedented influx of disposable face masks entering the environment has been reported in the last two years of the pandemic, along with their implications in natural environments in terms of their biodegradability, released contaminants and ecotoxicological effects. This critical review address several aspects of the current literature regarding the (bio)degradation and (eco)toxicity of face masks related contaminants, identifying uncertainties and research needs that should be addressed in future studies.
While it is indisputable that face mask contamination contributes to the already alarming plastic pollution, we are still far from determining its real environmental and ecotoxicological contribution to the issue. The paucity of studies on biodegradation and ecotoxicity of face masks and related contaminants, and the uncertainties and uncontrolled variables involved during experimental procedures, are compromising eventual comparison with conventional plastic debris. Studies on the abundance and composition of face mask-released contaminants (microplastics/fibres/ chemical compounds) under pre- and post-pandemic conditions should, therefore, be encouraged, along with (bio)degradation and ecotoxicity tests considering environmentally relevant settings. To achieve this, methodological strategies should be developed to overcome technical difficulties to quantify and characterise the smallest MPs and fibres, adsorbents, and leachates to increase the environmental relevancy of the experimental conditions.
... Most of these items are single-use and must be appropriately disposed. According to a recent online survey, approximately 9 % of people worldwide discarded used masks improperly (Fadare and Okoffo, 2020). According to one study, 1 % of all used masks are incorrectly disposed of in the environment, which equates to 10 million disposable masks each month, resulting in 30 to 40 tons of plastic waste (Kwak and An, 2021), that posing a threat to living species ((Lee and Kim, 2022;Neto et al., 2021;Prata et al., 2020). ...
The global health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in massive plastic pollution from the use of personal protection equipment (PPE), with polypropylene (PP) being a major component. Owing to the weathering of exposed PPEs, such contamination causes microplastic (MP) and nanoplastic (NP) pollution and is extremely likely to act as a vector for the transportation of COVID-19 from one area to another. Thus, a post-pandemic scenario can forecast with certainty that a significant amount of plastic garbage combined with MP/NP formation has an adverse effect on the ecosystem. Therefore, updating traditional waste management practices, such as landfilling and incineration, is essential for making plastic waste management sustainable to avert this looming catastrophe. This study investigates the post-pandemic scenario of MP/NP pollution and provides an outlook on an integrated approach to the recycling of PP-based plastic wastes. The recovery of crude oil, solid char, hydrocarbon gases, and construction materials by approximately 75, 33, 55, and 2 %, respectively, could be achieved in an environmentally friendly and cost-effective manner. Furthermore, the development of biodegradable and self-sanitizing smart PPEs has been identified as a promising alternative for drastically reducing plastic pollution.
To develop intelligent wearable protection systems is of great significance to human health engineering. An ideal intelligent air filtration system should possess reliable filtration efficiency, low pressure drop, healthcare monitoring function, and man-machine interactive capability. However, no existing intelligent protection system covers all these essential aspects. Herein, we developed an intelligent wearable filtration system (IWFS) via advanced nanotechnology and machine learning. Based on the triboelectric mechanism, the fabricated IWFS exhibits a long-lasting high particle filtration efficiency and bacteria protection efficiency of 99% and 100%, respectively, with a low-pressure drop of 5.8 mmH2O. Correspondingly, the charge accumulation of the optimized IWFS (87 nC) increased to 3.5 times that of the pristine nanomesh, providing a significant enhancement of the particle filtration efficiency. Theoretical principles, including the enhancement of the β-phase and the lower surface potential of the modified nanomesh, were quantitatively investigated by molecular dynamics simulation, band theory, and Kelvin probe force microscopy. Furthermore, we endowed the IWFS with a healthcare monitoring function and man-machine interactive capability through machine learning and wireless transmission technology. Crucial physiological signals of people, including breath, cough, and speaking signals, were detected and classified, with a high recognition rate of 92%; the fabricated IWFS can collect healthcare data and transmit voice commands in real time without hindrance by portable electronic devices. The achieved IWFS not only has practical significance for human health management but also has great theoretical value for advanced wearable systems.
Disposable medical masks are widely used to prevent respiratory infections due to their ability to block virus particles from entering the human body. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic highlighted the importance of medical masks, leading to their widespread use around the world. However, a large number of disposable medical masks have been discarded, some carrying viruses, which have posed a grave threat to the environment and people's health, as well as wasting resources. In this study, a simple hydrothermal method was used for the disinfection of waste medical masks under high-temperature conditions as well as for their transformation into high-value-added carbon dots (CDs, a new type of carbon nanomaterial) with blue-emissive fluorescence, without high energy consumption or environmental pollution. Moreover, the mask-derived CDs (m-CDs) could not only be used as fluorescent probes for sensing sodium hydrosulfite (Na2S2O4), which is widely used in the food and textile industries but is seriously harmful to human health, but also be used for detecting Fe3+ which is harmful to the environment and human health due to its wide use in industries.
The continuous endemic of the new SARS-CoV-2 virus brought a halt to the world’s activities from February 2020. Our study intends to gauge public perceptions on the consequences of post-pandemic changes on the marine environment, particularly as they are related to tourist beach amenities. Totally, 16 nations’ knowledge and views on various environmental viewpoints over the effects of epidemic were gathered through public polls live on social media during social confinement in 2020. The results indicate that around 85% of respondents were most concerned about the alarming sights of widespread plastic trash and the increase of dangerous biomedical wastes through wastewater in the marine ecosystem. The outcomes of this study will undoubtedly aid in the establishment of a management strategy and for future studies on the consequences of any epidemic on the beaches.
Graphical Abstract
Since 2020, with the global spread of major respiratory infectious diseases, such as COVID–19, the demand and consumption of personal protective equipment, such as masks, have increased dramatically worldwide. The environmental pollution caused by numerous waste disposable face masks has gradually attracted people’s attention. In this study, the mechanical properties of mask–chip–reinforced soil are evaluated from a new perspective, through the uniaxial, biaxial, conventional triaxial, and true triaxial compression tests on reshaped sandy soil samples mixed with different contents of mask chips. The experimental results show that the mechanical properties of the sandy soil can be improved by the mask chips. With the proper content of mask chips, the failure strength is substantially improved, and the failure of soil is delayed. Meanwhile, the strength and stiffness are significantly affected by the stress path and the content of mask chips, even if the soil samples with the same mask–chip content can also show different mechanical properties under different stress paths. Additionally, the mechanical properties of soil are not necessarily improved constantly with the increasing content of mask chips. The failure strength of sandy soil samples under conventional and true triaxial stress paths decreases when the mass content of mask chips exceeds 0.3% and 0.5%, respectively. This study confirms the potential of mask chips applied to subgrade, slope, and other engineering construction fields in a sustainable way.
Coronavirus disease (COVID)-19 is a viral and transferable disease caused by severe respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2. It can spread through breathing droplets in human beings. It caused 5.32 million deaths around the world at the end of 2021. COVID-19 has caused several positive impacts as well, such as a reduction in air, water, and noise pollution. However, its negative impacts are by far critical such as increased death rate, increased release of microcontaminants (pesticides, biocides, pharmaceuticals, surfactants, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), flame retardants, and heavy metals), increased biomedical waste generation due to excessive use of safety equipment and its disposal, and municipal solid waste generation. Environmental pollution was significantly reduced due to lockdown during the COVID-19 period. Therefore, the quality of air and water improved. COVID-19 affected all sections of the population, particularly the most vulnerable members of society, and thus pushed more people into poverty. At the world level, it increased risks to food safety by increasing prices and lowering revenues, forcing households to reduce their food consumption in terms of quantity and quality. COVID-19 also upset various exercises e.g., horticulture, fisheries, domesticated animals, and agribusiness hence prohibiting the development of merchandise for poor-country ranchers. Most of the patients can self-recover from COVID-19 if they do not have any other diseases like high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart problems. Predictably, the appropriate execution of the proposed approaches (vaccination, wearing face masks, social distancing, sustainable industrialization) is helpful for worldwide environmental sustainability.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) plays a vital role in the pollution of micro-plastic. Currently, the increase in the use of polypropylene-based face masks has been an issue in waste management. This scenario will someday cause big environmental problems if the wastes are improperly managed. Thus, this review is aimed at analyzing the waste contributed by face masks and studying the factors that help fasten the degradation of face masks. These findings were analyzed according to the degradation of the polypropylene-based face mask under a few headings. The results have been presented and fallen into respective categories, and it shows that polypropylene does undergo deterioration in the landfill burial under the dumping site soil. It has been confirmed that there was heavy colonization of microbial communities from the used face masks. Thus, it is recommended that more research need to be done further to test the microbial effects of polypropylene-based face masks.
Outbreak of COVID 19 has caused an abrupt surge in the consumption of disposable face masks around the world. WHO has stated that wearing a face mask in public reduces the chances of being exposed to COVID 19 virus. With unchecked disposal of these used masks, a new kind of pollutant has emerged in the environment. Since these masks are generally made of polypropylene and polyurethane material, they can be considered as a potential source of microplastics (MPs) in the environment. In this study, we have evaluated the release of MPs particles from these face masks (namely from N95 and surgical masks) in deionized (DI) water and tap water over the span of 1 to 180 days. More specifically, a systematic study has been carried out to see the effect of temperature on release of MPs in water. MPs particles released in tap water (837 ± 113 particles/piece in 30 days) were significantly higher than that in DI water (564 ± 37 particles/piece in 30 days). When these masks were kept at a constant temperature of 45 °C for 30 Days, highest amount of MPs release (N95 899 ± 65 particles, Surgical 1038 ± 65 particles/piece) was observed as compared to other conditions. Most of the MPs particles released were polypropylene which were transparent and white in case of N95 while for surgical mask they were found to be of blue and white colour. With the aging of masks in water, quantity of MPs release was increased with simultaneous reduction in their size. Our study indicates that these disposable face masks are emerging to be a prominent source of MPs release in the environment and more hazardous for the tropical climate.
COVID‐19 pandemic is still one of the biggest obstacles to meeting the Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs. Helping the world retrieve from the pandemic and reviving activities require expeditiously examining the comprehensive SDG schemes. This paper draws on existing information and a thorough examination of the research to emphasize continuing challenges confronting the SDGs. It also determines the impact of COVID‐19 on sustainable development goal advancements and suggest a standardized framework to encourage the accomplishment of them in the post‐pandemic era. Before the pandemic started the advancement towards accomplishing the SDGs was lagging. Global problems and the unequal supply of food, water and energy evidently pose a threat to the achievement of the SDGs. An evaluation is provided on the execution of the SDGs and factors such as the instability of the global political climate, geographical disparities, and exchange. Additionally, an insight is provided for post‐pandemic SDG actions on "Classification‐Coordination‐Collaboration" template in order to better understand the global picture. The current state of advancement is presented based on the emergency of SDG accomplishments considering regulations through categorization with science and research, which can realign the SDGs to their original course. The analysis suggests that attaining the SDGs necessitates a coordinated effort from all stakeholders, and collaboration is crucial to bolstering economic relations, encouraging technical development, and constructing a sustainable world. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Wearing a face mask is strongly advised to prevent the spread of the virus causing the COVID-19 pandemic, though masks have produced a tremendous amount of waste. As masks contain polypropylene and other plastics products, total degradation is not achievable, and masks may remain in the form of microplastics for several years in the environment. Therefore, this urgent issue ought to be addressed by properly handling waste face masks to limit their environmental impact. In relation to this goal, a novel application of recycled mask fiber (MF) derived from COVID-19 single-use surgical face masks (i.e., shredded mask fiber-SMF and cut mask fiber-CMF) has been undertaken. Eighteen mortar mixes (9 for water and 9 for 10% CO2 concentration curing) were fabricated at 0%, 0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5%, and 2.0% of both SMF and CMF by volume of ordinary Portland cement-based mortar. The compressive strength, flexural strength, ultrasonic pulse velocity, shrinkage, carbonation degree, permeable voids, and water absorption capabilities were assessed. The outcomes reveal that the compressive strength decreased with an increased percentage of MFs due to increased voids of the mixes with MFs as compared to a control mix. In contrast, significantly higher flexural strength was noted for the mortar with MFs, which is augmented with an increased percentage of MFs. Furthermore, the inclusion of MFs decreased the shrinkage of the mortar compared to the control mix. It was also found that MFs dramatically diminished the water absorption rate compared to the control mix, which reveals that MFs can enhance the durability of the mortar.
Background
Up to 31 March 2020, 105,792 COVID-19 cases were confirmed in Italy including 15,726 deaths which explains how worst the epidemic has affected the country. After announcing lockdown in Italy on the 9 March 2020, situation is becoming stable since last days of March. In view of this, it is important to forecast the evolution of the Italy situation and the possible effects if this lock down would continue for another two months.
Methods
Patient statistics were extracted from Italian Health Ministry website where the COVID-19 outbreak of reproductive cases and recovered cases based on last 45 days are reported. Adoption of seasonal ARIMA encompasses the forecast package in R to predict.
Results
Predictions were done with 93.75% of accuracy for registered case models and 84.4% of accuracy for recovered case models. The forecasting of positive cases might reach the value of 182,757 and forecasting of recovered cases might reach the value of 81,635 at end of May if the lock down is continuous.
Conclusions
This study highlights the necessity of country lock down and self isolation to control disease transmissibility among Italian population through data driven model analysis. Our findings suggest that nearly 35% of decay in positive cases and 66% of growth in recovered cases could be possible.
Background
A novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak due to the severe respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) infection occurred in China in late December 2019. Facemask wearing with proper hand hygiene is considered an effective measure to prevent SARS-CoV-2 transmission, but facemask wearing has become a social concern due to the global facemask shortage. China is the major facemask producer in the world, contributing to 50% of global production. However, a universal facemask wearing policy would put an enormous burden on the facemask supply.
Methods
We performed a policy review concerning facemasks using government websites and mathematical modelling shortage analyses based on data obtained from the National Health Commission (NHC), the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and General Administration of Customs (GAC) of the People's Republic of China. Three scenarios with respect to wearing facemasks were considered: (1) a universal facemask wearing policy implementation in all regions of mainland China; (2) a universal facemask wearing policy implementation only in the epicentre (Hubei province, China); and (3) no implementation of a universal facemask wearing policy.
Findings
Regardless of different universal facemask wearing policy scenarios, facemask shortage would occur but eventually end during our prediction period (from 20 Jan 2020 to 30 Jun 2020). The duration of the facemask shortage described in the scenarios of a country-wide universal facemask wearing policy, a universal facemask wearing policy in the epicentre, and no universal facemask wearing policy were 132, seven, and four days, respectively. During the prediction period, the largest daily facemask shortages were predicted to be 589·5, 49·3, and 37·5 million in each of the three scenarios, respectively. In any scenario, an N95 mask shortage was predicted to occur on 24 January 2020 with a daily facemask shortage of 2·2 million.
Interpretation
Implementing a universal facemask wearing policy in the whole of China could lead to severe facemask shortage. Without effective public communication, a universal facemask wearing policy could result in societal panic and subsequently, increase the nationwide and worldwide demand for facemasks. These increased demands could cause a facemask shortage for healthcare workers and reduce the effectiveness of outbreak control in the affected regions, eventually leading to a pandemic. To fight novel infectious disease outbreaks, such as COVID-19, governments should monitor domestic facemask supplies and give priority to healthcare workers. The risk of asymptomatic transmission and facemask shortages should be carefully evaluated before introducing a universal facemask wearing policy in high-risk regions. Public health measures aimed at improving hand hygiene and effective public communication should be considered along with the facemask policy.
Single-use plastics, or SUPs (plastic bags, microbeads, cutlery, straws and polystyrene) are substantial sources of plastic marine pollution, yet preventable via legislative and non-legislative interventions. Various international legislative strategies have been reported to address plastic marine pollution from plastic bags and microbeads, but these have since been accompanied by recent increasing public awareness triggered by international agencies and organizations. The Sixth International Marine Debris Conference highlighted increasing intervention strategies to mitigate SUP pollution. This study presents new multi-jurisdictional legislative interventions to reduce SUPs since 2017 and incorporates emergence of new non-legislative interventions to mitigate other types of SUPs at individual and private-sector levels that complement or influence legislative interventions. Further, effectiveness of SUP bag interventions (e.g., bans vs. levies) to help reduce SUP marine pollution are presented and range between 33-96% reduction in bag use.
Objectives: The risk of acquisition and transmission of respiratory infections is high among attendees of mass gatherings (MGs). Currently used interventions have limitations yet the role of facemask in preventing those infections at MG has not been systematically reviewed. We have conducted a systematic review to synthesise evidence about the uptake and effectiveness of facemask against respiratory infections in MGs.
Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted according to the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines using major electronic databases such as, Medline, EMBASE, SCOPUS and CINAHL.
Results: Of 25 studies included, the pooled sample size was 12710 participants from 55 countries aged 11 to 89 years, 37% were female. The overall uptake of facemask ranged from 0.02% to 92.8% with an average of about 50%. Only 13 studies examined the effectiveness of facemask, and their pooled estimate revealed significant protectiveness against respiratory infections (relative risk [RR] = 0.89, 95% CI: 0.84-0.94, p
Electrospinning is a versatile technique that has gained popularity for various biomedical applications in recent years. Electrospinning is being used for fabricating nanofibers for various biomedical and dental applications such as tooth regeneration, wound healing and prevention of dental caries. Electrospun materials have the benefits of unique properties for instance, high surface area to volume ratio, enhanced cellular interactions, protein absorption to facilitate binding sites for cell receptors. Extensive research has been conducted to explore the potential of electrospun nanofibers for repair and regeneration of various dental and oral tissues including dental pulp, dentin, periodontal tissues, oral mucosa and skeletal tissues. However, there are a few limitations of electrospinning hindering the progress of these materials to practical or clinical applications. In terms of biomaterials aspects, the better understanding of controlled fabrication, properties and functioning of electrospun materials is required to overcome the limitations. More in vivo studies are definitely required to evaluate the biocompatibility of electrospun scaffolds. Furthermore, mechanical properties of such scaffolds should be enhanced so that they resist mechanical stresses during tissue regeneration applications. The objective of this article is to review the current progress of electrospun nanofibers for biomedical and dental applications. In addition, various aspects of electrospun materials in relation to potential dental applications have been discussed.
Surgical face masks are an important component of surgical apparel. The masks are expected to perform as barriers and provide increased protection to the patients and health care workers. In this study, the Bacterial Filtration Efficiency (BFE) of six commercially available surgical face masks was determined for two microorganisms. Fabric characteristics (weight, thickness, pore size, and resistance to synthetic blood strike through) thought to influence the barrier effectiveness were measured and the relationship between these characteristics and BFE was examined. Two challenge microorganisms, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli were evaluated in this study. For five of the six masks evaluated, the BFE against the challenge microorganism S. aureus was higher than when the challenge microorganism was E. coli. The mask with the lowest mean pore size and lowest maximum pore size had the highest BFE for both microorganisms evaluated, indicating that a relationship exists between pore size and BFE.
The aim of the study was to determine rates of mask-wearing, of respiratory infection and the factors associated with mask-wearing and of respiratory infection in healthcare workers (HCWs) in Beijing during the winter of 2007/2008.
We conducted a survey of 400 HCWs working in eight hospitals in Beijing by face to face interview using a standardized questionnaire.
We found that 280/400 (70.0%) of HCWs were compliant with mask-wearing while in contact with patients. Respiratory infection occurred in 238/400 (59.5%) subjects from November, 2007 through February, 2008. Respiratory infection was higher among females (odds ratio [OR], 2.00 [95% confidence interval {CI}, 1.16-3.49]) and staff working in larger hospitals (OR, 1.72 [95% CI, 1.092.72]), but was lower among subjects with seasonal influenza vaccination (OR, 0.46 [95% CI, 0.280.76]), wearing medical masks (reference: cotton-yarn; OR, 0.60 [95% CI, 0.39-0.91]) or with good mask-wearing adherence (OR, 0.60 [95% CI, 0.37-0.98]). The risk of respiratory infection of HCWs working in low risk areas was similar to that of HCWs in high risk area.
Our data suggest that female HCWs and staffs working in larger hospitals are the focus of prevention and control of respiratory infection in Beijing hospitals. Mask-wearing and seasonal influenza vaccination are protective for respiratory infection in HCWs; the protective efficacy of medical masks is better than that of cotton yarn ones; respiratory infection of HCWs working in low risk areas should also be given attention.
Plastics debris is accumulating in the environment and is fragmenting into smaller pieces; as it does, the potential for ingestion by animals increases. The consequences of macroplastic debris for wildlife are well documented, however the impacts of microplastic (< 1 mm) are poorly understood. The mussel, Mytilus edulis, was used to investigate ingestion, translocation, and accumulation of this debris. Initial experiments showed that upon ingestion, microplastic accumulated in the gut. Mussels were subsequently exposed to treatments containing seawater and microplastic (3.0 or 9.6 microm). After transfer to clean conditions, microplastic was tracked in the hemolymph. Particles translocated from the gut to the circulatory system within 3 days and persisted for over 48 days. Abundance of microplastic was greatest after 12 days and declined thereafter. Smaller particles were more abundant than larger particles and our data indicate as plastic fragments into smaller particles, the potential for accumulation in the tissues of an organism increases. The short-term pulse exposure used here did not result in significant biological effects. However, plastics are exceedingly durable and so further work using a wider range of organisms, polymers, and periods of exposure will be required to establish the biological consequences of this debris.
This study hypothesized that national population health literacy might reflect on their keywords searching. We applied Google searches for “wash hands” and “face mask” during January 19 to February 18 as a surrogate of national population health literacy among 21 countries, and examine whether google searches for “wash hands” and “face masks” would protect from increased numbers of confirmed cases of among 21 countries We found the increased google searches for “wash hands” from January 19 to February 18, 2020, correlated with a lower spreading speed of COVID-19 from February 19 to March 10, 2020 among 21 countries (Pearson's correlation coefficient of -0.70, P < 0.001). The result highlights the importance of public awareness of hand washing in preventing COVID-19 disease spreading.
Public health measures were decisive in controlling the SARS epidemic in 2003. Isolation is the separation of ill persons from non-infected persons. Quarantine is movement restriction, often with fever surveillance, of contacts when it is not evident whether they have been infected but are not yet symptomatic or have not been infected. Community containment includes measures that range from increasing social distancing to community-wide quarantine. Whether these measures will be sufficient to control 2019-nCoV depends on addressing some unanswered questions.
The reliance on plastic for a vast number of consumer products, many of them single-use, results in their continuous entry into aquatic environments. Plastic waste can fragment into smaller debris, some with a diameter < 5 mm (microplastics). Microplastics are of growing concern especially since 2014, however to date research on microplastic pollution has mainly focused on marine environments, partly because it has been mistakenly thought that sewage treatment plants could remove all plastic debris. To understand the impact of microplastic pollution in freshwater environments, an assessment of research on the sources, distribution and effects of microplastics, and trends in their analysis and policy has been carried out. Main sources of microplastic found in freshwater environments include synthetic textiles, personal care products, industrial raw materials and the improper disposal of plastic waste. Microplastic pollution is a global issue that presents with a broad range of concentration: for example, 3.5 × 10^3 microplastic units·L−1 were reported in sediment of Lake Huron, in the US and as low as 1.2×10−4 units·L−1 in countries with sparse population such as Mongolia. The main polymer constituents of microplastics found in freshwaters have been identified as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET), accounting for 70% of the total, each with a very similar frequency of occurrence. Despite microplastics being relatively inert, they are found to cause some effects in aquatic organisms. Future work should focus on monitoring microplastic pollution in regions from where there is currently scarce published data (e.g. South America, Africa and North Asia) and the study of their sources, stability, transport and effects to freshwater ecosystems. The establishment of standardized monitoring methods will allow for the comparison of data from different geographic areas. This information will inform measures to reduce the release and occurrence of microplastics in aquatic environments.
Global climate change has attracted worldwide attention. The ocean is the largest active carbon pool on the planet and plays an important role in global climate change. However, marine plastic pollution is getting increasingly serious due to the large consumption and mismanagement of global plastics. The impact of marine plastics on ecosystem responsible for the gas exchange and circulation of marine CO2 may cause more greenhouse gas emissions. Consequently, in this paper, threats of marine microplastics to ocean carbon sequestration are discussed. Marine microplastics can 1) affect phytoplankton photosynthesis and growth; 2) have toxic effects on zooplankton and affect their development and reproduction; 3) affect marine biological pump; and 4) affect ocean carbon stock. Phytoplankton and zooplankton are the most important producer and consumer of the ocean. As such, clearly, further research should be needed to explore the potential scale and scope of this impact, and its underlying mechanisms.
In the 12 years since Dudgeon et al. (2006) reviewed major pressures on freshwater ecosystems, the biodiversity crisis in the world's lakes, reservoirs, rivers, streams and wetlands has deepened. While lakes, reservoirs and rivers cover only 2.3% of the Earth's surface, these ecosystems host at least 9.5% of the Earth's described animal species. Furthermore, using the World Wide Fund for Nature's Living Planet Index, freshwater population declines (83% between 1970 and 2014) continue to outpace contemporaneous declines in marine or terrestrial systems. The Anthropocene has brought multiple new and varied threats that disproportionately impact freshwater systems. We document 12 emerging threats to freshwater biodiversity that are either entirely new since 2006 or have since intensified: (i) changing climates; (ii) e‐commerce and invasions; (iii) infectious diseases; (iv) harmful algal blooms; (v) expanding hydropower; (vi) emerging contaminants; (vii) engineered nanomaterials; (viii) microplastic pollution; (ix) light and noise; (x) freshwater salinisation; (xi) declining calcium; and (xii) cumulative stressors. Effects are evidenced for amphibians, fishes, invertebrates, microbes, plants, turtles and waterbirds, with potential for ecosystem‐level changes through bottom‐up and top‐down processes. In our highly uncertain future, the net effects of these threats raise serious concerns for freshwater ecosystems. However, we also highlight opportunities for conservation gains as a result of novel management tools (e.g. environmental flows, environmental DNA) and specific conservation‐oriented actions (e.g. dam removal, habitat protection policies, managed relocation of species) that have been met with varying levels of success. Moving forward, we advocate hybrid approaches that manage fresh waters as crucial ecosystems for human life support as well as essential hotspots of biodiversity and ecological function. Efforts to reverse global trends in freshwater degradation now depend on bridging an immense gap between the aspirations of conservation biologists and the accelerating rate of species endangerment.
Microplastic research in recent years has shown that small plastic particles are found almost everywhere we look. Besides aquatic and terrestrial environments, this also includes aquatic species intended for human consumption and several studies have reported their prevalence in other food products and beverages. The scientific as well as public debate has therefore increasingly focused on human health implications of microplastic exposure. However, there is a big discrepancy between the magnitude of this debate and actual scientific findings, which have merely shown the presence of microplastics in certain products. While plastics can undoubtedly be hazardous to human health due to toxicity of associated chemicals or as a consequence of particle toxicity, the extent to which microplastics in individual food products and beverages contribute to this is debatable. Considering the enormous use of plastic materials in our everyday lives, microplastics from food products and beverages likely only constitute a minor exposure pathway for plastic particles and associated chemicals to humans. But as this is rarely put into perspective, the recent debate has created a skewed picture of human plastic exposure. We risk pulling the focus away from the root of the problem: the way in which we consume, use and dispose of plastics leading to their widespread presence in our everyday life and in the environment. Therefore we urge for a more careful and balanced discussion which includes these aspects.
Marine microscopic plastic (microplastic) debris is a modern societal issue, illustrating the challenge of balancing the convenience of plastic in daily life with the prospect of causing ecological harm by careless disposal. Here we develop the concept of microplastic as a complex, dynamic mixture of polymers and additives, to which organic material and contaminants can successively bind to form an ‘ecocorona’, increasing the density and surface charge of particles and changing their bioavailability and toxicity. Chronic exposure to microplastic is rarely lethal, but can adversely affect individual animals, reducing feeding and depleting energy stores, with knock-on effects for fecundity and growth. We explore the extent to which ecological processes could be impacted, including altered behaviours, bioturbation and impacts on carbon flux to the deep ocean. We discuss how microplastic compares with other anthropogenic pollutants in terms of ecological risk, and consider the role of science and society in tackling this global issue in the future.
Microplastic litter is a pervasive pollutant present in aquatic systems across the globe. A range of marine organisms have the capacity to ingest microplastics, resulting in adverse health effects. Developing methods to accurately quantify microplastics in productive marine waters, and those internalized by marine organisms, is of growing importance. Here we investigate the efficacy of using acid, alkaline and enzymatic digestion techniques in mineralizing biological material from marine surface trawls to reveal any microplastics present. Our optimized enzymatic protocol can digest >97% (by weight) of the material present in plankton-rich seawater samples without destroying any microplastic debris present. In applying the method to replicate marine samples from the western English Channel, we identified 0.27 microplastics m(-3). The protocol was further used to extract microplastics ingested by marine zooplankton under laboratory conditions. Our findings illustrate that enzymatic digestion can aid the detection of microplastic debris within seawater samples and marine biota.
This paper is a comprehensive review of the meltblown process and parameters. The meltblown process is complex because of the many parameters and interrelationships between those parameters. Due to the competitiveness of the industry, process settings and polymers used are secretive, but there are several key researchers that have published studies on the interactions of meltblown variables. A majority of the research conducted has been on the relationship of process parameters and mean fiber diameter in order to understand how to produce smaller and higher quality fibers. This paper offers suggestions for future research on specific meltblown parameters.
- C C Leung
- T H Lam
- K K Cheng
Leung, C.C., Lam, T.H., Cheng, K.K., 2020. Correspondence. Lancet 395, 945.
- H Elachola
- A M Assiri
- Z A Memish
Elachola, H., Assiri, A.M., Memish, Z.A., 2014. Int. J. Infect. Dis. 20, 77-78.
COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic
- Worldometer
Worldometer, 2020. COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic. May, 07. https://www.
worldometers.info/coronavirus/ (Retrieved May 7, 2020).
China focus: mask makers go all out in fight against novel coronavirus
- Xinhuanet
Xinhuanet, 2020. China focus: mask makers go all out in fight against novel coronavirus.
February, 06. http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-02/06/c_138760527.htm.