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Fate of Microplastics Released by DiscardedDisposable Masks

Polish Journal of Environmental Studies 2022 2 citations ? Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count.
Chang Liu, Siyang Li, Qianli Ma, Lihong Liu, Yilin Wang, Jianyu Chen, Li Zhu, Huiyuan Zhong

Summary

Researchers simulated the degradation of disposable face masks under UV irradiation and found that after 28 days, masks released large numbers of microplastic particles, with the main chain structure of mask polymers breaking down. The findings raise concerns about the significant additional microplastic pollution generated by the billions of masks discarded during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The pandemic of COVID-19 has led to a surge increase in the production of masks. Due to the rapid propagation of COVID-19 and the long survival time of plastic surfaces, a large number of masks are discharged into the environment without treatment. In this paper, the release of microplastics (MPs) in nature was simulated by using mask samples irradiated by ultraviolet (UV) light. After 28 days of ultraviolet radiation, part of the main chain of the mask was broken and a large number of transparent MPs fell off. The longer the UV irradiation time, the larger the proportion of small particle MPs. The middle layer of surgical mask is the most difficult to release MPs due to charge treatment, and N95 mask is the most difficult to degrade the inner material.

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