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A review on enhanced microplastics derived from biomedical waste during the COVID-19 pandemic with its toxicity, health risks, and biomarkers
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This review examined the increase in microplastic pollution derived from biomedical waste during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study discusses how discarded personal protective equipment and other medical plastics break down into microplastics through sunlight, oxidation, and biodegradation, and explores the associated toxicity, health risks, and potential biomarkers for monitoring exposure in organisms and humans.
The COVID-19 pandemic led to the explosion of biomedical waste, a global challenge to public health and the environment. Biomedical waste comprising plastic can convert into microplastics (MPs, < 5 mm) by sunlight, wave, oxidative and thermal processes, and biodegradation. MPs with additives and contaminants such as metals are also hazardous to many aquatic and terrestrial organisms, including humans. Bioaccumulation of MPs in organisms often transfers across the trophic level in the global food web. Thus, this article aims to provide a literature review on the source, quantity, and fate of biomedical waste, along with the recent surge of MPs and their adverse impact on aquatic and terrestrial organisms. MPs intake (ingestion, inhalation, and dermal contact) in humans causing various chronic diseases involving multiple organs in digestive, respiratory, and reproductive systems are surveyed, which have been reviewed barely. There is an urgent need to control and manage biomedical waste to shrink MPs pollution for reducing environmental and human health risks.
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