Another casualty of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic—the environmental impact

Abstract

Cemetery leachate generated by the process of cadaveric decomposition is a significant contaminant of several matrices in the cemetery environment (soil, groundwater, and surface water). The biogenic amines cadaverine and putrescine stand out among the cemetery leachate contaminants, since they are potentially carcinogenic compounds. This review article presents a discussion of possible environmental impacts caused by the increase in deaths resulting from COVID-19 as its central theme. The study also aims to demonstrate the importance of considering, in this context, some climatic factors that can alter both the time of bodily decomposition and the longevity of the virus in the environment. Additionally, some evidence for the transmission of the virus to health professionals and family members after the patient’s death and environmental contamination after the burial of the bodies will also be presented. Several sources were consulted, such as scientific electronic databases (NCBI), publications by government agencies (e.g., ARPEN, Brazil) and internationally recognized health and environmental agencies (e.g., WHO, OurWorldInData.org), as well as information published on reliable websites available for free (e.g., CNN) and scientific journals related to the topic. The data from this study sounds the alarm on the fact that an increase in the number of deaths from the complications of COVID-19 has generated serious environmental problems, resulting from Cemetery leachate.

Water Deficit Stress Tolerance Assessment in Barley Cultivars Using Drought Tolerance Indices

“…This could be from the plastic containers used in the storage of the chemicals, the polythene used and also from the paint used in the building that houses the mortuary facilities in all the sites where samples were collected for the study. This finding is a confirmation of the earlier finding of Dent and Kent [8]; Kim, et al [7] and Gonçalves, et al [31] whose result shows that in most mortuaries and cemeteries, the water and soils within the adjoining areas are usually high in Cadmium concentration. This is so because most of the items including the containers used for these chemicals have high amount of Cadmium used in the production of such containers.…”

A review of the antibiotic ofloxacin: Current status of ecotoxicology and scientific advances in its removal from aqueous systems by adsorption technology

“…Due to the population's increase in population and life expectancy, the consumption of pharmaceutical drugs has increased worldwide. Another factor that can aggravate the use of these substances is the emergence of new pandemics, such as COVID-19 [1]. Within this group of drugs are antibiotics.…”

Preliminary Taphonomical Comparison of the Decomposition Process in Simple Burials, Traditional Tombs and Aerated Tombs in an Urban Cemetery in Northern Italy

“…In Italy, cremation has been constantly increasing in the last 20 years, from 10% in 2007 [1] to 33.22% in 2020 [2]. This trend has also been accelerated by the need of handling a large number of deceased in a short period of time, due to the COVID-19 pandemic [3][4][5]. However, many families still choose inhumation (burial in the ground), or entombment (placement in a tomb or mausoleum), for practical reasons (e.g., the logistics of the crematorium), tribal traditions or religious and cultural beliefs.…”