Face masks had been the most used protective shields against COVID-19 throughout the pandemic. It saved human lives far better than we can imagine, and even though many people are still skeptical about the protection it could bring, numerous studies have already backed up the efficacy of the face mask against COVID's airborne transmission.
The use of face masks has increased since the beginning of the outbreak. However, almost 129 billion masks are being used per month on a global scale. According to a new study, the easiest protection we available already caused a major disposal issue. It could inflict long-term problems not just with ecology but with human health.
Face Mask Garbage in Oceans
Concordia University experts have recently researched the problem of face mask disposal. Based on their examinations, 1.5 million microplastics are released to the aquatic environment in every instance that a single face mask is exposed to a natural setup. The findings are concerning, especially amidst the plastic problems we already have at hand today.
Concordia's building, civil, and environmental experts Zheng Wang and Chunjiang An, led the investigation to understand more how the process of microplastic disintegration work. According to PhysOrg, the experts were able to specify the effects of excessive face mask wastes on the marine ecosystem and the threat it insinuates to human health. The observation included the changes recorded from three distinct mask layers that degraded under natural factors such as UV exposure and sand abrasion.
According to the study, the shoreline is among the known receptors of disposable masks from being discarded garbage to uncontrollable plastic particles. The shoreline environment was crucial for understanding the breakdown procedures that discarded face masks undergo. It was then compared to a control group to differentiate the data. The laboratory experiments involved face mask specimens exposed under ultraviolet lights in a span of 48 hours. On the other hand, the control specimens were sealed in aluminum foil and placed under UV lights. Other phases of the observation included the separation of each layer and additional irradiation exposures with the sand present.
After a series of tests, the face masks were examined at a microscopic level through electron and atomic force imaging. A particle analyzer is also known as LISST-200X was also utilized to identify the specific distribution of each particle size produced by face masks.
Microplastic Pollution from Disposed Face Masks
Noticeably on the fiber surfaces of both the inner and outer layers of masks, weathering was seen after 18 hours. Additionally, further damages to the mask's middle layers fibers, although six times smaller than the outer and inner layers, were noticeably more severe. Its surfaces have become more abrasive, and fracturing has occurred, creating small fiber fragments. The surfaces of the masks show signs of apparent weathering, flakes, cracks, pits, and grooves, with the most severe damages occurring in the middle layer.
Recent findings coincide with the observed increase in the number of microplastics released into the planet's waters after 18 hours of weathering. After 36 hours, researchers say that broken mask fibers easily entered waters observable even with the naked eye as millions of microparticles existed in sample waters. The study was published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials, titled "Disposable masks release microplastics to the aqueous environment with exacerbation by natural weathering."
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