An investigation into the leaching of micro and nano particles and chemical pollutants from disposable face masks - linked to the COVID-19 pandemic

Risks of Covid-19 face masks to wildlife: Present and future research needs

“… Saliu et al (2021) , Sullivan et al (2021) , and Wang et al (2021) provided the first evidence on microfibers and micro and nanoplastics released from disposable face masks. Saliu et al (2021) estimated the release of microfibres from surgical face masks into the marine environment, under the effect of UV light.…”

“… Sullivan et al (2021) evaluated the emission of micro- and nano-plastics from 7 disposable face masks brands in aquatic compartments and hazardous contaminants leachates analysis. Using advanced techniques (Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-Ray analysis, Liquid chromatography / Inductively coupled plasma –mass spectrometry), the authors reported the release of micro and nano polymeric fibres (as also observed by Saliu et al, 2021 ; just characterized by size by SEM, not counted), siliceous fragments, and other irregularly-shaped plastic particles; but also leachable inorganic and organic substances, such as metals (up to 6.79 μg lead/L; 1.92 μg cadmium/L, 393 μg antimony/L, 4.17 μg copper/L) and polar organic species related to plastic additives, surfactant molecules, dye-like molecules, polyamide-66 monomer and oligomers (nylon-66 synthesis), and polyethylene glycol ( Sullivan et al, 2021 ). Anatopoulos and Anastopoulos and Pashalidis (2021) also underline the role of microplastics released from disposable face masks as dye carriers.…”

Uncovering the Release of Micro/nanoplastics from Disposable Face Masks at Times of COVID-19

“…The nonwoven fabric texture with large tiny-filament intervals within each layer, on the one hand, guarantees face mask quality standard (Chua et al, 2020), on the other hand, it makes the filtering PP filament web vulnerable to mechanical damage. After gentle agitation in deionized water, plastic face masks were found to leach microfibers, along with associated heavy metals and organic compounds (Sullivan et al, 2021). Microfiber generation was also demonstrated upon breathing simulation tests (Li et al, 2021), thus raising concern for their potential inhalation and ingestion risk.…”

“…In this study, a consistent number of micro/nanoplastics was immediately released into the aquatic medium following the first second of treatment, and then continued with different trends according to particle size and shape. Although first evidences on plastic fiber release from face mask are provided (Saliu et al, 2021;Sullivan et al, 2021), there is still a lack of knowledge on this potential environmental threat and its contribution to microfiber presence in environment (Xu and Ren, 2021). The generation of microplastic fibers as a function of mechanical stress intensity has been mostly investigated after laundry operation of synthetic textile and clothing, reporting that increasing temperature, wash duration, sequential washing, and the use of detergents promoted the release of microfibers.…”

“…Since the massive use of disposable face masks is likely to persist further beyond the current pandemic, there is urgent need to uncover all possible environmental repercussions. An increasing number of environmental studies are pointing to face masks as an emerging source of plastic pollution that will shortly add-up to the already critical situation (Patrício Sullivan et al, 2021). A preliminary assessment reported thousands of microfibers released from surgical masks following UV irradiation and mechanical stirring into artificial seawater (Saliu et al, 2021).…”