Environmental hazard of polypropylene microplastics from disposable medical masks: acute toxicity towards Daphnia magna and current knowledge on other polypropylene microplastics

Summary

Researchers assessed the acute toxicity of polypropylene microplastics derived from disposable medical masks to Daphnia magna water fleas. They found that mask-derived microplastics caused toxic effects at environmentally relevant concentrations. The study raises concerns that the massive increase in disposable face mask use during the pandemic has introduced a new source of harmful microplastic pollution into aquatic environments.