For Publishers
DiscoveryMetadataPeer reviewHostingPublishing
For Researchers
JoinPublishReviewCollect
Register
Blog
About
Search
Advanced search
My ScienceOpen
Search
For Publishers
For Researchers
Blog
About
4
views
14
references
 Top references
cited by
11
    
0 reviews
 Review
0
comments
 Comment
0
recommends
+1 Recommend
1 collections
    0
    shares
      358
      similar
       All similar
      • Record: found
      • Abstract: found
      • Article: not found

      An ecotoxicological perspective of microplastics released by face masks

      research-article

      Read this article at

      ScienceOpenPublisherPMC
      Bookmark
          There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

          Abstract

          The accelerated use, massive disposal, and contamination with face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic have raised new questions regarding their negative impact on the environment emerged. One major concern is whether microplastics (MPs) derived from face masks (FMPs) represent an important ecotoxicological hazard. Here, we discussed the shortcomings, loose ends, and considerations of the current literature investigating the ecotoxicological effects of FMPs on aquatic and terrestrial organisms. Overall, there are multiple uncertainties regarding the true impact of FMPs at a certain concentration due to the presence of uncontrolled or unknown degradation products, such as MPs of various size ranges even nano-sized (<1 µm) and chemical additives. It is apparent that FMPs may induce endocrine-disrupting and behavioral effects in different organisms. However, the results of FMPs should be carefully interpreted, as these cannot be extrapolated at a global scale, by taking into account a number of criteria such as face mask manufacturers, providers, consumer preferences, and type of face masks. Considering these uncertainties, it is still not possible to estimate the contribution of face masks to the already existing MP issue.

          Graphical Abstract

          Related collections

          Most cited references14

          • Record: found
          • Abstract: found
          • Article: not found

          Microplastic Effect Thresholds for Freshwater Benthic Macroinvertebrates

          Paula Redondo-Hasselerharm, Dede Falahudin, Edwin Peeters … (2018)
          Now that microplastics have been detected in lakes, rivers, and estuaries all over the globe, evaluating their effects on biota has become an urgent research priority. This is the first study that aims at determining the effect thresholds for a battery of six freshwater benthic macroinvertebrates with different species traits, using a wide range of microplastic concentrations. Standardized 28 days single species bioassays were performed under environmentally relevant exposure conditions using polystyrene microplastics (20–500 μm) mixed with sediment at concentrations ranging from 0 to 40% sediment dry weight (dw). Microplastics caused no effects on the survival of Gammarus pulex, Hyalella azteca, Asellus aquaticus, Sphaerium corneum, and Tubifex spp. and no effects were found on the reproduction of Lumbriculus variegatus. No significant differences in growth were found for H. azteca, A. aquaticus, S. corneum, L. variegatus, and Tubifex spp. However, G. pulex showed a significant reduction in growth (EC10 = 1.07% sediment dw) and microplastic uptake was proportional with microplastic concentrations in sediment. These results indicate that although the risks of environmentally realistic concentrations of microplastics may be low, they still may affect the biodiversity and the functioning of aquatic communities which after all also depend on the sensitive species.
          Article 0 comments Cited 89 times – based on 0 reviews     Review now
            Bookmark
            • Record: found
            • Abstract: found
            • Article: not found

            Face masks as a source of nanoplastics and microplastics in the environment: Quantification, characterization, and potential for bioaccumulation.

            Jie Ma, Fengyuan Chen, Huo Xu … (2021)
            Billions of disposable face masks are consumed daily due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The role of these masks as a source of nanoplastics (NPs) and microplastics (MPs) in the environment has not been studied in previous studies. We quantified and characterized face mask released particles and evaluated their potential for accumulation in humans and marine organisms. More than one billion of NPs and MPs were released from each surgical or N95 face mask. These irregularly-shaped particles sized from c. 5 nm to c. 600 μm. But most of them were nano scale sized <1 μm. The middle layers of the masks had released more particles than the outer and inner layers. That MPs were detected in the nasal mucus of mask wearers suggests they can be inhaled while wearing a mask. Mask released particles also adsorbed onto diatom surfaces and were ingested by marine organisms of different trophic levels. This data is useful for assessing the health and environmental risks of face masks.
            Article 0 comments Cited 72 times – based on 0 reviews     Review now
              Bookmark
              • Record: found
              • Abstract: not found
              • Article: not found

              Foliar-applied polystyrene nanoplastics (PSNPs) reduce the growth and nutritional quality of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.)

              Jiapan Lian, Weitao Liu, Lingzuo Meng … (2021)
              Article 0 comments Cited 66 times – based on 0 reviews     Review now
                Bookmark
                All references

                Author and article information

                Journal
                Journal ID (nlm-ta): J Hazard Mater
                Journal ID (iso-abbrev): J Hazard Mater
                Title: Journal of Hazardous Materials
                Publisher: Elsevier B.V.
                ISSN (Print): 0304-3894
                ISSN (Electronic): 1873-3336
                Publication date PMC-release: 27 October 2022
                Publication date (Print): 5 February 2023
                Publication date (Electronic): 27 October 2022
                Volume: 443
                Page: 130273
                Affiliations
                [a ]Faculty of Engineering, San Ignacio de Loyola University, Lima, Peru
                [b ]Biodiversity, Environment, and Society Research Group, San Ignacio de Loyola University, Lima, Peru
                [c ]Systems Environmental Health and Energy Research Center, The Persian Gulf Biomedical Sciences Research Institute, Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, Bushehr, Iran
                [d ]Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Faculty of Health and Nutrition, Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, Bushehr, Iran
                [e ]Instrumental Analytical Chemistry and Centre for Water and Environmental Research (ZWU), Faculty of Chemistry, University of Duisburg-Essen, Universitätsstr. 5, Essen, Germany
                [f ]Department of Biotechnology, School of Chemical and Biotechnology, SASTRA Deemed University, Thanjavur 613401, Tamil Nadu, India
                Author notes
                [* ]Corresponding author.
                Article
                Publisher Item ID: S0304-3894(22)02067-2 Publisher ID: 130273
                DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.130273
                PMC ID: 9605783
                PubMed ID: 36327849
                SO-VID: b04cf266-44ce-4f87-8172-ad8ef840188d
                Copyright © © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
                License:

                Since January 2020 Elsevier has created a COVID-19 resource centre with free information in English and Mandarin on the novel coronavirus COVID-19. The COVID-19 resource centre is hosted on Elsevier Connect, the company's public news and information website. Elsevier hereby grants permission to make all its COVID-19-related research that is available on the COVID-19 resource centre - including this research content - immediately available in PubMed Central and other publicly funded repositories, such as the WHO COVID database with rights for unrestricted research re-use and analyses in any form or by any means with acknowledgement of the original source. These permissions are granted for free by Elsevier for as long as the COVID-19 resource centre remains active.

                History
                Date received : 16 August 2022
                Date revision received : 22 October 2022
                Date accepted : 25 October 2022
                Categories
                Subject: Article

                Keywords: covid-19,personal protective equipment,nanoplastics,polypropylene
                Data availability:
                Keywords: covid-19, personal protective equipment, nanoplastics, polypropylene

                Comments

                Comment on this article

                scite_

                Similar content358

                See all similar

                Cited by11

                See all cited by

                Most referenced authors172

                See all reference authors