…DFMs are widely used for the control of the virus spreading. DFMs produced from non-degradable petrochemicals are hazardous medical wastes. The alarming rise in facemask usage causes a huge task for disposal this wastes. Recent studies prove the release of MPs from DFMs in aquatic environment, which will induce severe threats and pollution.
…the panic of the public. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) are widely utilized for frontline health workers to face the ongoing epidemic, especially disposable face masks (DFMs) to prevent airborne transmission of coronavirus. The overproduction and massive utilization of DFMs seriously challenge the management of plastic wastes. A huge amount of DFMs are discharged into environment, potentially induced the generation of microplastics (MPs) owing to physicochemical destruction. The MPs release will pose severe contamination burden on environment and human. In this review, environmental threats of DFMs regarding to DFMs fate in environment and DFMs threats to aquatic and terrestrial species were surveyed.
…Approximate 1.56 billion facemasks were discharge into the marine area in 2020
..Each face mask released over one billion of Microplastics. The particles were irregularly-shaped with size from 5 nm to 600 μm, and most of them were nanoscale.
[doing the math… 1.56 quintillion microplastic particles from masks in 2020.]
the Ocean Plastic Pollution Problem
…COVID-19 triggered an estimated global use of 129 billion face masks and 65 billion gloves every month. If we stitched together all of the masks manufactured already, and projected to be produced, we’d be able to cover the entire landmass of Switzerland.
…The practical problems with gloves and masks finding their way into our rivers and oceans is that they can easily be mistaken for jellyfish, a favorite food of sea turtles. Because of their elastic components, masks also have increased risks of entanglement for a wide variety of fish, animals and birds.
