Cross-contamination by COVID-19 mask microfibers during microlitter analysis of marine biota

Torre, Michele; Kafritsa, Maria Eleni; Anastasopoulou, Aikaterini

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.113883

Cited by 7 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 50 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…At the microscopic level, microfiber is a vital part of surgical masks that can finally result in microliters. Microfiber contamination by facial masks leads to an increase in the risk of largescale contamination in many aspects, such as soil and marine biota [6]. For instance, the two smallest sizes of applied mask fragments caused different, concentrationdependent alterations in the lateral root numbers, whereas the larger polypropylene mask fragments at 1% concentration clearly restricted primary root length in soil [7].…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Analysis of Soil Contamination Related to Mask Production and Consumption during COVID-19 Pandemic

Dong

2023

E3S Web Conf.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This paper focuses on the analysis of possible sources of soil contamination related to mask production, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. The target of the study is to analyze two possible sources, mask production and mask consumption, to evaluate their contributions to soil contamination. Based on the analysis of current studies, one of the composites of surgical masks, polypropylene, is harmful to the environment. Considering that researching the universal situation of soil contamination can be too broad to investigate soil contamination, this paper proposes that China performs a good case study. Using statistics on mask production and particulate matter pollution led to the conclusion that only mask consumption and disposal result in contamination instead of the manufacturing process of masks in industries. At last, China’s response to soil contamination is also examined. Therefore, this paper concludes and discusses several possible actions that could be adopted to combat soil contamination in China.

show abstract

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%