ABSTRACT
Objective: This study is intended to evaluate the knowledge, attitude and practice towards use, reuse and disposal of face masks amongst university students of Karachi. Methods: A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted in a period of 1 month on the students of Jinnah Sindh Medical University, Bahria University of Medical and Dental College, Liaquat National Hospital and Medical College, Iqra University, SZABIST, Bahria University, and Karachi University. Non-probability convenience sampling was used to conduct an online questionnaire survey assessing personal information, knowledge and attitude toward face mask disposal. Results: A total of 386 valid questionnaires were included in the study. 87.3 % of participants wear face masks regularly. Only 24.4 % of students had adequate knowledge about face masks disposal. The majority of participants discarded the face masks in general trash bins, which is very alarming for public health. 39.1 % showed a positive attitude towards cooperating always with relevant authorities on face masks disposal. 69.2 % were very concerned about hazards associated with improper face masks disposal. Conclusion: This study emphasizes the necessity of policies and strict implementation should be introduced by relevant authorities to ensure the proper use and disposal of face masks in order to narrow the gap the university students have towards the knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding use, reuse and disposal of face masks. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Annals of Abbasi Shaheed Hospital & Karachi Medical & Dental College is the property of Knowledge Bylanes and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)
ABSTRACT
Before Covid-19 and up to January 2020, the majority of facemasks, in addition to most other PPE items such as surgical gowns, medical scrubs, caps shoe covers, and disposable bedding were treated as commodity textiles and made in Asia, and most of them in China. All of them are single-use products based on synthetic fibres derived from petrochemicals, primarily polypropylene. This resulted in a 15,000-ton mountain of waste being created every 24h - most of which at present has to be incinerated. This does not even start to touch the huge amount of consumer facemasks which are now suddenly required, having been made compulsory for many activities and situations in many countries. This is the issue which now needs to be addressed at the fibre and fabric level - as well as with new end-of-life solutions - for items of PPE to become truly smart products. © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
At the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the estimated daily use of face masks was at its highest, thereby creating huge public health and environmental challenges associated with the indiscriminate disposal of used ones. The present study assessed Abu Dhabi University students' handling and disposal of single-use face masks during the pandemic. A cross-sectional study using an online survey questionnaire was used to gather data from 255 students from the target group. Face mask type was found to be significantly influenced by both the student's gender and age, while the participant's habit of hand washing after handling a used face mask was found to be significantly influenced by the student's age. The student's educational level significantly influenced group decisions regarding the most appropriate face mask to use, as well as environmental and health consequences awareness of indiscriminate face mask disposal. While the students are adequately aware of COVID-19's impact and had good knowledge of face mask use, a high proportion professed to the unsafe disposal of used face masks in public areas, thereby adding to microplastic pollution in the environment and its associated impacts. The study alluded to the need for strengthening the participant's knowledge, attitude, and practices as precautionary measures that mitigate the environmental effect of the indiscriminate disposal of used face masks. The findings also call for a collaborative partnership among stakeholders toward designing effective educational campaigns to minimize the environmental impacts posed by face mask disposal. © 2023 by the authors.
ABSTRACT
The covid-19 pandemic era was characterized by heavy usage and disposal of medical face masks, now estimated at over 1.24 trillion. Few studies had attempted to demonstrate the release of microplastics from face masks using simulated conditions and application of mechanical forces, far different from the effects experienced by face masks dumped in the open environment, in landfills and dumpsites. In the current study, we monitored the release of microplastics, organic contaminants and toxic metals from medical face masks degraded under normal outdoor environmental conditions, over a period of 60 weeks. We showed that face mask's decomposition proceeded via sunlight (UV) - initiated oxidative degradation, leading to the replacement of methylene (CH2-) and alkyl (CH3-) groups in face mask's polypropylene backbone with hydroxyl and ketonic functional groups. Organic compounds released from decaying face masks into the surrounding soil included alkanes, alkenes, carboxylic acids/diesters and phthalate esters. Mean maximum concentration of phthalates in the soil ranged from 3.14 mg/kg (diethyl phthalate) to 11.68 mg/kg di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate. Heavy metals, including Cu, Pb, Cd, As, Sn and Fe, were released into the soil, leading to contamination factors of 3.11, 2.84, 2.42, 2.26, 1.80 and 0.99, respectively. Together, the metals gave a pollution load index (PLI) of 2.102, indicating that they constitute moderate pollution of the soil surrounding the heap of face masks. This study provides a realistic insight into the fate and impacts of the enormous amounts of face masks, disposed or abandoned in soil environments during the covid-19 pandemic.
ABSTRACT
The mandatory face mask wearing was implemented in the Czech Republic and Slovakia shortly after the COVID-19 outbreak in Central Europe. So far, the number of COVID-19-associated deaths per 100,000 individuals is far lower in these countries as compared with other neighbouring or close countries. The use of face masks in public may not protect the general public from contracting the virus, however, presumptively decreases the viral load and contributes to a favourable clinical outcome in COVID-19 disease. A certain time is required for antigen-specific T cells and B cells to fully develop. Obligatory face mask wearing in public favours the virus transmission through oral mucosa and/or conjunctival epithelium, which enables the adaptive immune responses to evolve. In the case of inhalation of high loads of SARS-CoV-2, the time for the development of fully protective adaptive immune responses seems to be insufficient. Then, a less specific and more damaging innate immune response prevails.