Once used, their external layer may become covered with germs. Face masks have a particular interest as the dominant COVID-19 related litter found in the environment (as discussed in Section 2). ), peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus), swans (Cygnus olor), mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), American robins (Turdus migratorius), crabs (Carcinus maenas), bats (Eptesicus serotinus), foxes (Vulpes vulpes), hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus), checkered pufferfish (Sphoeroides testudineus) (as reviewed by Hiemstra et al., 2021; and data available at https://www.covidlitter.com). 55-73. Some of the mentioned hazardous chemicals (metals, surfactants, plasticisers, additives) and microplastics (fibres) as only stressors induce ecotoxicological effects (Issac and Kandasubramanian, 2021). Disposable face masks also contain additives to enhance some fashionable properties, such as antiviral and antibacterial barriers, dye compounds, fragrances. : conceptualisation, supervision, writing - review and editing. Ardusso M., Forero-Lpez A.D., Buzzi N.S., Spetter C.V., Fernndez-Severini M.D. The same phenomenon has been observed with respirators, with the price of a box of 20 increasing from USD17 to USD70. Zettler E.R., Mincer T.J., Amaral-Zettler L.A. Life in the plastisphere: microbial communities on plastic marine debris. Sullivan G.L., Delgado-Gallardo J., Watson T.M., Sarp S. An investigation into the leaching of micro and nano particles and chemical pollutants from disposable face masks - linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. With a great contribution from petrochemical polymers with high molecular weight, disposable face masks do not readily (bio)degrade in open environments (Prata et al., 2020). Occurrence and density of disposable face masks during COVID-19 pandemic in urbanised and natural environments. Another bottleneck in the face mask GVC during COVID-19 is seen at the distribution stage. Gut microbiota dysbiosis. Wheat gluten biopolymer (a by-product or co-product of cereal industries) has also been considering a promising solution for biodegradable masks (Das et al., 2020). In China, there was no regulation prohibiting exports but a form of compulsory purchase, with all orders in January and February going to the government and exports resuming in March. Critical Component of Protective Masks in Short Supply, Wall Street Journal, 7 March 2020. Such polymer allied with lanosol (a naturally occurring substance that imparts fire and microbe resistance) can be electrospun into nanofibre membranes and subsequently carbonised to form masks. Impact of microplastic beads and fibers on waterflea (, Elsevier Public Health Emergency Collection, https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7007e1.htm?s_cid=mm7007e1_w, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/78223555.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst, https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/masks-globes-wipes-creating-garbage-1.5600870, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1103510/south-korea-types-face-mask-used-due-to-coronavirus/, https://oceansasia.org/beach-mask-coronavirus/, https://www.wwf.it/chi_siamo/organizzazione/. The smooth operation of transportation infrastructure and logistics, especially air cargo, is critical to support the face masks value chain during the crisis. Polyester-derived microfibre impacts on the soil-dwelling earth- worm. Countries are also tightening investment screening for firms identified as strategic and that may be subject to hostile takeovers. Surgical masks are basic products and are relatively cheap (when they are not in short supply).6 However, their production involves several types of inputs and the assembly of different parts in a relatively sophisticated process.7 The filtering property of masks is a function of a multi-layered structure made of non-woven fabric. China may have imported up to 2 billion masks during the COVID-19 crisis. Measures facilitating trade should also be extended to inputs and co-ordination across countries could facilitate specialisation and division of labour to avoid a situation where companies having invested in being able to produce masks are unable to do so because of limited access to inputs. Thanks are due to CESAM (UIDP/50017/2020 + UIDB/50017/ 2020), with the financial support from FCT/MCTES through national funds. Bethesda, MD 20894, Web Policies Masks are therefore effective only for a few hours (four hours for surgical masks and one day for N95 respirators) and there is a risk of contamination when manipulating them or re-using them. Primarily made to protect healthcare workers from preventing occupational hazards, the use of disposable masks also became a preferential option for non-medical professionals based on their higher filtration capacity over reusable alternatives (Prata et al., 2021). The government can co-ordinate such efforts and provide subsidies or financial incentives for private companies to participate in a contingency programme. Based on these studies and considering that millions of disposable masks find their way into the freshwater waterways (where currents and turbulence can occur) and sea (where the waves' action can be quite sharp), one can predict that thousands of microfibres can be released daily. At the end of March, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an emergency use authorisation for a decontamination system developed by the Battelle Memorial Institute that allows certain types of N95 respirators to be re-used. They are part of the personal protective equipment (PPE) used by health workers and are different from other types of masks used to protect from pollution or dust.1 Surgical masks are loose fitting and designed to trap sprays and droplets from coughing and sneezing.2 N95 respirators fit more tightly and can also protect from smaller airborne particles. Tavares D.C., da Costa L.L., Rangel D.F., de Moura J.F., Zalmon I.R., Siciliano S. Nests of the brown booby (. Manufacture of PP non-woven fabric is also quite widespread, as it is used in baby diapers, feminine hygiene products, and disposable wipes, as well as in the automotive and construction industries. Export bans are harmful for countries without production capacity, but can also backfire on the country imposing them when they need to import inputs, additional masks or other essential goods. Sullivan et al. Over 200 species, including marine mammals, sea turtles, and seabirds, are reported to have been entangled or ingested plastic litter (Khn et al., 2015). [. Rasmussen G. CBC News; 2020. For example, In Jakarta, Indonesia, approximately 250 disposable masks might be entering aquatic environments daily (Cordova et al., 2021). Ingestion of plastic microfibers by the crab. As masks are sterile, they need to be properly packaged when transported. Plastic mismanagement during the COVID-19 pandemic has escalated plastic pollution worldwide. Even when considering improper disposal of just 1% of disposable face masks by the world population, it would release to the environment ~10 million face masks (30,00040,000 kg) (WWF International, 2020). Robust supply chains can ensure that masks can be produced during a crisis by maintaining operations. Since January 2020 Elsevier has created a COVID-19 resource centre with free information in English and Mandarin on the novel coronavirus COVID-19. An open trade environment is key for the diffusion of such technologies. Impact of microplastic fibers from the degradation of nonwoven synthetic textiles to the Magdalena River water column and river sediments by the city of Neiva, Huila (Colombia). Several countries are now implementing measures to curb prices and protect consumers. In urbanised areas, hospital and parking lots seem to present 5 times higher levels of disposable face masks than in residential areas (Ammendolia et al., 2021) (Table 1). Indeed, adverse effects of microplastics are often related to the formation of reactive oxygen species and consequent oxidative stress as the major molecular initiating event (Jeong et al., 2017). Most of the potential new manufacturers are currently held back by the shortage in PP non-woven fabric.10. access to foreign suppliers for redundancy). Types of Face Masks Used Due to COVID-19 South Korea 2020. Polyester (361387 40 um) obtained from cushion. Once in open environments, single-use-masks will likely undergo fragmentation by physicochemical (e.g., UV radiation, wind, currents) and biochemical (enzymatic activity) processes (Fadare and Okoffo, 2020; Prata et al., 2020), resulting in a myriad of small particles such as micro- and nano-plastics (< 5 mm in size and < 1um in size, respectively; Frias and Nash, 2019). 45005000 items (~254.7246 items/day), 5.364.92% representing face masks. COVID-19 has elevated our dependency on plastic products, such as face masks, to ensure safety against infection. Malafaia G., Nascimento .F., Estrela F.N., Guimares A.T.B., Ribeiro F., da Luz T.M., de Lima Rodrigues A.S. Green toxicology approach involving polylactic acid biomicroplastics and neotropical tadpoles: (eco)toxicological safety or environmental hazard? Thus, it is reasonable to expect that some plastic waste is ingested along with food waste, affecting survival, feeding, health status, and fitness. No effects on survival and absence of pathological symptoms. This is achieved through firm strategies that prioritise risk assessment and planning, information sharing, redundancy in suppliers, agility and reactivity.21 Some companies might prefer to rely on domestic suppliers to ensure the robustness of their supply chains. Ingestion (even of relatively low quantities) of plastic debris by seabird Ardenna carneipes induced a significant negative effect on bird morphometrics and blood calcium levels, along with an increment in the uric acid, cholesterol, and amylase concentrations (Lavers et al., 2019), revealing that it may have a negative impact on fitness. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the hbbd```b``k*j"!, Lahens L., Strady E., Kieu-Le T.-C., Dris R., Boukerma K., Rinnert E., Gasperi J., Tassin B. Macroplastic and microplastic contamination assessment of a tropical river (Saigon River, Vietnam) transversed by a developing megacity. For example, EU guidance issued on 25 March encouraged Member States to make full use of FDI screening mechanisms for investment in healthcare-related industries, and also encouraged Member States that currently do not have a screening mechanism to set one up.20. Countries banning exports are not all producers or exporters of masks (see Figure 2 for the main exporters); non-producers can be motivated by a desire to prevent hoarding or to avoid the export of masks already imported to be sold at a higher price abroad. Learn more Respirators have a similar production process, with two differences. The presence of such items in bird nests can later result in the entanglement or ingesting by the chicks (or the parents), compromising nutritional requirements and development (Tavares et al., 2016). Sabour M.R., Alam E., Hatami A.M. China Delays Mask and Ventilator Exports After Quality Complaints, New York Times, 11 April 2020. Terrestrial organisms also proved to ingest microfibres, such as the soil-dwelling (detritivore), annelids (Lumbricus terrestris) and the shredder snails (Achatina fulica) (Kutralam-Muniasamy et al., 2020) (Table 2 of lower grade) for the general population. National Library of Medicine The ingestion and consequential effects of microfibres (particularly PP, PE, and polyesters which are also the most common polymers found on disposable face masks) have been reported in several organisms from aquatic environments and with different feeding guilds, such as crabs (Carcinus maenas, Eremita analoga), small crustaceans (Hyalella Azteca, Gammarus fossarum, Daphnia magna), and bivalves (Mytillus edulis, Corbicula fluminea) as filtrators; anemones (Aiptasia pallida) and fish (Danio rerio) as predators; annelids (Tubidex tubidex) as sediment-dwelling (detritivores) (as reviewed by Kutralam-Muniasamy et al., 2020; Singh et al., 2020). Coppock R.L., Galloway T.S., Cole M., Fileman E.S., Queirs A.M., Lindeque P.K. Thousands of tons of disposable face masks are ending up in natural environments worldwide; where they can scale up microfibres and hazardous chemicals contamination, with the potential to induce severe effects on their inhabitants, from invertebrates to vertebrates and at different levels of biological systems. PET (< 5 mm) obtained from pink PET fleece, Adult mortality and adverse embryonic development, Nylon and PET (10 4 m; 23 100 m; 17 60 m; 23 70 m) purchased from Goodfellow, Compromised feeding activity, alteration in sinking rates, Nylon, polyester and PP (501000 30 um) obtained from fluorescent ropes. A biomonitoring study carried out in Songkhla Lake, Thailand, during the COVID-19 on fish (Arius maculatus) and shrimps (Parapenaeopsis hardwickii and Metapenaeus brevicornis) reported a higher occurrence of microplastics (particularly PE and polyester fibres, with high numbers on black or blue colour) in the gut of the organisms, along with trace metals (cadmium, lead, arsenic) (Pradit et al., 2021). Alteration in intestinal metabolism and gut microbiota, increased inflammation. D.B. Chowdhury H., Chowdhury T., Sait S.M. China pushes all-out production of face masks in virus fight, Nikkei Asian Review, 19February 2020. Even if the whole population may not need one mask per day, governments who give masks to their whole population (e.g. Covid-19 face masks: a potential source of microplastic fibers in the environment. Assuming that only around one third of healthcare workers need a mask (accounting for the fact that not all countries are affected at the same time, and not all health workers are in contact with COVID-19 patients), and that each health worker uses on average two masks per day, global demand for surgical masks would be around 28million per day. endstream endobj startxref The new PMC design is here! Saliu F., Veronelli M., Raguso C., Barana D., Galli P., Lasagni M. The release process of microfibers: from surgical face masks into the marine environment. The regular use of masks in the population (as a protection against pollution or during the flu season) can also make production economically sustainable (and is one reason production capacity was higher in East Asia than in the rest of the world at the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis). Inputs are as important as final products. For instance, some disposable face masks are being optimised for antimicrobial, self-cleaning, and skin protector properties (Chua et al., 2020), which can also leach to the environment. Plastic pollution is one of the greatest environmental challenges, with known adverse ecological, economic and human health effects (De-la-Torre et al., 2021). will also be available for a limited time.
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