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Personal protective equipment (PPE) pollution driven by COVID-19 pandemic in Marina Beach, the longest urban beach in Asia: Abundance, distribution, and analytical characterization.
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This study surveyed COVID-19 personal protective equipment littered on Marina Beach in India, finding over 1,150 items with face masks making up the vast majority. The authors measured the chemical composition of the discarded PPE and raised concerns about masks becoming a significant new source of microplastic pollution as they degrade in coastal environments.
COVID-19 pandemic has enforced the use of personal protective equipment (PPE, masks and gloves). However, the mismanagement of litter are exacerbating the increasing plastic issue worldwide. In the present study, we sampled discarded PPE in 10 sites along Marina Beach, India. We characterized the litter types by chemical analysis techniques. A total of 1154 COVID-19-associated PPE items were found on Marina beach. The highest number of items were face masks (97.9 %) and the mean PPE density in the sites studied was 4 × 10 PPE m. The results demonstrate that poor solid waste management and lack of awareness are the main causes of pollution at Marina beach. FTIR spectroscopy revealed that face masks and gloves were principally made of polypropylene and latex, respectively. The FTIR spectra also showed signs of chemical degradation. Our results suggest that plastic pollution is increasing, possibly becoming more impactful to marine biota. Beach management measures were discussed.
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Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.