key: cord-0826054-1ymz5tds authors: Aragaw, Tadele Assefa title: Surgical face masks as a potential source for microplastic pollution in the COVID-19 scenario date: 2020-07-25 journal: Mar Pollut Bull DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111517 sha: a256a7fac3379852f7eecdb3a59d59bb43ea0488 doc_id: 826054 cord_uid: 1ymz5tds Although there have been enormous reports on the microplastic pollution from different plastic products, impacts, controlling mechanisms in recent years, the surgical face masks, made up of polymeric materials, as a source of microplastic pollution potential in the ecosystem are not fully understood and considered yet. Current studies are mostly stated out that microplastics pollution should be a big deal because of their enormous effect on the aquatic biota, and the entire environment. Due to the complicated conditions of the aquatic bodies, microplastics could have multiple effects, and reports so far are still lacking. In addition to real microplastic pollutions which has been known before, face mask as a potential microplastic source could be also researching out, including the management system, in detail. It is noted that face masks are easily ingested by higher organisms, such as fishes, and microorganisms in the aquatic life which will affect the food chain and finally chronic health problems to humans. As a result, microplastic from the face mask should be a focus worldwide. J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f The use of plastic polymers has huge societal benefits, but the microplastic (MP) fragments depends on the plastic age' comes with problems for health, and environmental impacts. This issue is due to the improper handling of plastic waste as part of the solid wastes. The mismanagements, also with the high production capacity of plastic products, on the plastic solid waste, raise a prosperity study validates that MP has universally permeated to the aquatic ecosystem nowadays. Because of the huge plastic solid wastes released in the littering as well as aquatic bodies, MP ingestion by aquatic biotas has been increased. Surly, plastics waste in the aquatic system originates from solid waste, also could be from the municipal effluents, and the runoffs across the littering in the cities (Wagner et al., 2014) . Even if the research on MP pollution originated from plastic wastes has been conducted, and limited awareness created by many scholars, there are immense gaps of knowledge regarding medical face masks that are manufactured from plastic polymers and could be a potential source of MP pollution. As like that of the conventional plastic products ( bottles, caps, etc…) as a relevant source for MPs, and have environmental, the surgical face masks should be investigated as a big source of MPs. Therefore, MPs from the face masks are for aquatic system contaminants of emerging concern, and researches should be conducted to assess the environmental risk, comprehensive data on their abundance, fate, sources, and biological effects are needed, and awareness creation is also very important. J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f the crisis will occur. Thus, the peoples as well the governments of different countries are forced to release the lockdown and uses other options. The mass wearing of disposable face masks together with implementing social distancing, good hand hygiene (washing of hands), and avoiding public or crowded spaces (Tran et al., 2020) . Although the disposable face masks were primarily made for the protection of health-care professionals, who are skills how to use and dispose of, to prevent occupational hazards, untrained professionals also use of face masks during the outbreak of SARS in 2003 and COVID-19 in 2019 (Elachola et al., 2020; P. Yang et al., 2011) . The use of these face masks by unprofessional, lead to a severe problem in the environment as a solid waste problem and as microplastic pollution in the marine as well as freshwater ecosystems. In the case of the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers and scientists have promoted the use of face masks in mass until the mode of transmission of Covid-19 is fully understood which already adopted from the influenza pandemic scenario (Schuchat et al., 2011) . It has too been contended that it can offer assistance in decreasing the number of times an individual touch the face/mouth/nose with unwashed hands, which can significantly diminish the chance of contamination. The presentation of face masks (H. Liang Wu et al. 2020 ) as one of the prudent measures to moderate down the transmission rate of Covid-19 from individual to individual has come about in a worldwide deficiency for the foremost respected gather, which are the health care experts (H. Liang Wu et al. 2020) . As per the estimate of WHO, nearly 89 million procedural masks were needed to control COVID 19 each month (WHO, 2020) . This has brought about a phenomenal rise within the worldwide productions of medical masks produced from Polymeric Nanofibers. At this time, not only the medical masks but also non-medical masks have been producing, for those who can't able to buy, from different materials including cotton, silks, etc… which are uncertified by WHO. Major players in face mask production have in this manner scaled up their capacities. The production capacities expected to increase as a COVID-19 infection case will increase globally (Phan and Ching, 2020) . For example, China produces 200 million face masks a day as of June 2020 which is more than twenty times the amount it made at the start of February 2020. Besides, because many countries are decreasing lockdown restriction, it could lead to a drastic increase in infection correspondingly will increase the face mask production capacities. Surgical face masks (use and dispose of) can be manufactured from different J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f polymeric materials. Such as polypropylene, polyurethane, polyacrylonitrile, polystyrene, polycarbonate, polyethylene, or polyester depending on the order of the customers. Those polymeric materials, exactly, have been using as a raw material for different plastic product productions. Disposable masks consist of three layers; an inner layer which is a fibrous material, middle layer (melt gusted filter part), and an outer layer (nonwoven, which are water-resistant and colored). The main filtering layer of the mask is produced by the conventional fabrication fibers, which can be nanofiber and/or microfiber depending on the target particulate matter size with an electrospinning technology (Dutton, 2009 ). The polymer melt materials are electrically charged then after the melted polymer subjected to the electrical field where the polymeric material is removed and 'cropped' from the source in fine structures which form nanofibers (Leung and Sun, 2020) . Fig. 1 shows the Schematics of the electrospinning process for face mask production (SalehHudin et al., 2018) . There may exist some variations in the formation of the products from one brand to the others shown in Table 1 . But, in general, the medical face mask is manufactured from nanofiber plastic materials. Different nations have been upgrading general production capacity due to the increase in the utilization of surgical face masks. The thermogravimetric /differential thermal analysis (TGA/DTA) was used. Separately, the three (inner, middle, and outer) layers were heated from 25 to 600 °C with a heating rate of 15 °C /min in the atmosphere control at a sampling cycle. were measured to calculate the organic matters decomposed. I found that 94 % of the decomposed organics (remain ash=6%) up to 600 0 C temperature. That is the mass loss was recorded as 5.9 mg out of the initial 6.3 mg masses. fishes which a major food web to human existence. Fishes tend to swallow microplastics intentionally on non-intentionally which can reach into foods meant for human consumption, raising a concern on global food safety final will be a consequence in the food scarcity (Fadare et al., 2020) . In the tourism industry, lounges coastal areas J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f are very important for countries' currency. But, once the shore environments have been polluted with plastics and plastic particles, which reduces aesthetic and recreational value thus, impacts to human social and mental stability. The other important aspect of environmental deterioration and degradation up to climate change. The occurrence of plastics and plastic particles in the environment will contribute a drought then after global warming due to carbon emission and disaster risk management will become difficult (Reid et al., 2019; Shen et al., 2020) . Beyond the socio-economy and environmental impacts of face masks as a source of microplastic pollution, the face mask can act as a medium for COVID-19 out breaking. Because the nature of plastic particles tends to proliferate microbes thus, it will disseminate in the food chain and/or direct attacks. The big deal is also arising nowadays as microplastics as a niche for microbial and developing biofilms. The microbial constituents may significantly different as compared with the natural freely living microorganism communities in the surrounding aquatic environment (Yang et al., 2020) . This can affect microbial habitual and the environmental processes in aquatic ecosystems. Microplastic abundance in the globe increases dramatically makes the ecological function consequences for the overall ecosystem and animal health, including humans are under question. Various governance strategies and regulations have been enacted over the years to reduce the sources of plastic pollution in aquatic environments. This project is expected to promote awareness towards plastic particle pollution through the public education program Irregular uses of plastic bags in the black market system make the efficacy of bans and taxes hard to pin down, especially, the African, and Asia countries. For example, the plastic bag use in South Africa dropped 90% after the ban regulation. Even though face masks are one of the plastic solid waste material after use, placing ban regulations on it remains the least option right now. The reason may be considering its positive than the negative impacts in the ongoing global controlling mechanisms against the Covid-19 spreading. Furthermore, strengthening critical thinking in research to provide eco-friendly alternatives for sustainable and effective face mask waste management systems to combat plastic pollution is not timely. This means that mobilization and awareness of Covid-19 prevention, control, and eradication are intensive than plastic pollution across the globe. The present author afraid that the microplastic pollution, being adding face masks together, maybe the next worldwide pandemic. Thus, I suggest that it will indeed be creditable if the awareness on safeguarding our environment through reduction and proper management of our disposable face masks can as well be carried outside by side as like that of COVID-19 prevention mobilization. Microplastics attract recent attention due to it is the emerging contaminants. The occurrence, abundance, and quantity microplastics originated from different personal care produced, but not the face masks, were reported worldwide. However, there are no studies, and knowledge about face masks are plastic polymers which end up as microplastic and/or nanofiber contaminants in water systems. This study evaluates the surgical face mask is a potential source for microplastic contaminants in the littering as well as the water systems. Illustrations on the electrospinning manufacturing processes and the raw materials used for the productions of surgical face mask together with different brand codes were given The three layers of the face mask were experimented and validated by chemical structure, endothermic phase transition analysis as it is The author declares that they have no known competing for financial interests or personal relationships that could influence the work reported in this paper. Antimicrobial polymers containing melamine derivatives. 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The author apologizes to all people, and organizations whose contribution to the field of microplastic pollution may have been reviewed by the fault or not adequately acknowledge.