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Generation and consequence of nano/microplastics from medical waste and household plastic during the COVID-19 pandemic
Summary
This review examines how medical waste and household plastics generated during the COVID-19 pandemic contribute to micro- and nanoplastic pollution. Researchers found that approximately 1.6 million tons of plastic waste were generated daily during the pandemic, with single-use items like face masks and gloves containing non-biodegradable materials that fragment into microplastics. The study highlights that these particles can also serve as carriers for pathogenic contaminants, posing long-term risks to ecosystems and human health.
Since the end of 2019, the world has faced a major crisis because of the outbreak of COVID-19 disease which has created a severe threat to humanity. To control this pandemic, the World Health Organization gave some guidelines like wearing PPE (personal protective equipment) (e.g., face masks, overshoes, gloves), social distancing, hand hygiene and shutting down all modes of public transport services. During this pandemic, plastic products (e.g., household plastics, PPE and sanitizer bottles) have substantially prevented the spread of this virus. Since the outbreak, approximately 1.6 million tons of plastic waste have been generated daily. However, single-use PPE like face masks (N95), surgical masks and hand gloves contain many non-biodegradable plastics materials. These abandoned products have created a huge number of plastic debris which ended up as microplastics (MPs) followed by nanoplastics (NPs) in nature that are hazardous to the eco-system. These MPs and NPs also act as vectors for the various pathogenic contaminants. The goal of this review is to offer an extensive discussion on the formation of NPs and MPs from all of these abandoned plastics and their long-term impact on the environment as well as human health. This review paper also attempts to assess the present global scenario and the main challenge of waste management to reduce the potential NP/MPs pollution to improve the eco-systems.