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Microplastic pollution and associated health hazards: Impact of COVID-19 pandemic
Summary
This review explores how the COVID-19 pandemic led to a surge in single-use plastic waste from masks, gloves, and packaging, increasing microplastic pollution in the environment. Microplastics from this waste can enter land, air, and water, ultimately accumulating in the human body. The study highlights the need for better plastic waste detection, recycling, and management to reduce health risks from pandemic-driven microplastic contamination.
The COVID-19 pandemic led to an increase in plastic used for medical purposes such as personal protective equipment and packaging materials. A very low share of plastics is recycled while the majority is sent to landfills. This plastic may degrade over time to form microplastics which may pollute land, air, and water sources. An increase in microplastics can increase the disease risk in human well-being's. The ultimate fate of microplastic is accumulation inside the human body posing the risk of different health conditions like cancer, diabetes, and allergic reactions. Hence, proper detection and disposal methods should be devised to deal with the rise in microplastic pollution.