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Fate of face masks after being discarded into seawater: Aging and microbial colonization.
Ma, Jie; Chen, Fengyuan; Xu, Huo; Liu, Jingli; Chen, Ciara Chun; Zhang, Zhen; Jiang, Hao; Li, Yanping; Pan, Ke.
  • Ma J; Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Marine Microbiome Engineering, Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060 Guangdong, China.
  • Chen F; Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Marine Microbiome Engineering, Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060 Guangdong, China.
  • Xu H; Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Marine Microbiome Engineering, Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060 Guangdong, China.
  • Liu J; Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Marine Microbiome Engineering, Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060 Guangdong, China.
  • Chen CC; Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Marine Microbiome Engineering, Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060 Guangdong, China.
  • Zhang Z; Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Marine Microbiome Engineering, Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060 Guangdong, China.
  • Jiang H; Key Laboratory of Aquatic Botany and Watershed Ecology, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074 Hubei, China.
  • Li Y; Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Marine Microbiome Engineering, Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060 Guangdong, China.
  • Pan K; Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Marine Microbiome Engineering, Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060 Guangdong, China. Electronic address: panke@szu.edu.cn.
J Hazard Mater ; 436: 129084, 2022 08 15.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1819539
ABSTRACT
Billions of discarded masks have entered the oceans since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Current reports mostly discuss the potential of masks as plastic pollution, but there has been no study on the fate of this emerging plastic waste in the marine environment. Therefore, we exposed masks in natural seawater and evaluated their aging and effects on the microbial community using a combination of physicochemical and biological techniques. After 30-day exposure in natural seawater, the masks suffered from significant aging. Microbial colonizers such as Rhodobacteraceae Flavobacteriaceae, Vibrionaceae and fouling organisms like calcareous tubeworms Hydroides elegans were massively present on the masks. The roughness and modulus of the mask fiber increased 3 and 5 times, respectively, and the molecular weight decreased 7%. The growth of biofouling organisms caused the masks negatively buoyant after 14-30 days. Our study sheds some light on the fate of discarded masks in a coastal area and provides fundamental data to manage this important plastic waste during COVID-19 pandemic.
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Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Main subject: Seawater / Masks Type of study: Experimental Studies / Observational study Limits: Humans Language: English Journal: J Hazard Mater Journal subject: Environmental Health Year: 2022 Document Type: Article Affiliation country: J.jhazmat.2022.129084

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Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Main subject: Seawater / Masks Type of study: Experimental Studies / Observational study Limits: Humans Language: English Journal: J Hazard Mater Journal subject: Environmental Health Year: 2022 Document Type: Article Affiliation country: J.jhazmat.2022.129084