COVID-19 pandemic repercussions on plastic and antiviral polymeric textile causing pollution on beaches and coasts of South America

Autor: Carla Vanesa Spetter, M.G. Ardusso, Melisa Daiana Fernández-Severini, A.D. Forero-López, Natalia Sol Buzzi
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2020
Předmět:
Pollution
Environmental Engineering
Textile
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)
Plastic recycling
media_common.quotation_subject
Otras Ciencias de la Tierra y relacionadas con el Medio Ambiente
COVID-19 pandemic
antiviral polymeric-textiles
010501 environmental sciences
Antiviral Agents
01 natural sciences
Article
Ciencias de la Tierra y relacionadas con el Medio Ambiente
purl.org/becyt/ford/1 [https]
SINGLE-USE PLASTIC
purl.org/becyt/ford/1.5 [https]
plastic pollution
POLLUTION
Environmental protection
ESTUARIES
ANTIVIRAL POLYMERIC-TEXTILES
Pandemic
single-use plastic
Humans
Environmental Chemistry
Pandemics
Waste Management and Disposal
Personal protective equipment
PLASTIC POLLUTION
0105 earth and related environmental sciences
media_common
MICROPLASTICS
SARS-CoV-2
business.industry
Textiles
WASTE MANAGMENT
COVID-19
South America
COVID-19 PANDEMIC
waste management
Business
Plastic pollution
Coastal management
Plastics
CIENCIAS NATURALES Y EXACTAS
Zdroj: The Science of the Total Environment
Science of The Total Environment
CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
instacron:CONICET
ISSN: 1879-1026
0048-9697
Popis: The propagation of the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide has been alarming in the last months. According to recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO), the use of face masks is essential for slowing down the transmission rate of COVID-19 in human beings. This pandemic has generated a substantial increase in the use, as well as in the production, of face masks and other elements (gloves, face protectors, protective suits, safety shoes) manufactured with polymeric materials, including antiviral textiles most of which will end as microplastic pools. Focusing on South America, the use and mismanagement of this type of personal protective equipment (PPE) represents an environmental problem. Added to this issue are the increase in the use of single-use plastic, and the reduction of plastic recycling due to the curfew generated by the pandemic, further aggravating plastic pollution on coasts and beaches. Recently, researchers have developed antiviral polymeric textile technology composed of Ag and Cu nanoparticles for PPE to reduce the contagion and spread of COVID-19. Antiviral polymeric textile wastes could also have long-term negative repercussions on aquatic environments, as they are an important emerging class of contaminants. For this reason, this work provides reflections and perspectives on how the COVID-19 pandemic can aggravate plastic pollution on beaches and coastal environments, consequently increasing the damage to marine species in the coming years. In addition, the potential impact of the pandemic on waste management systems is discussed here, as well as future research directions to improve integrated coastal management strategies.
Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image
Highlights • The unprecedented increase in face mask production is a current global environmental concern caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. • The plastic waste from single use face masks is hazardous for marine species. • Textile fibers impregnated with Ag and Cu nanoparticles could have long-term adverse effects on aquatic environments. • Deficiencies in Solid Waste Management in South America were accentuated during COVID-19. • Recommendations were suggested to improve waste management practices in South American countries.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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