4.7 Article

Generation of environmental persistent free radicals (EPFRs) enhances ecotoxicological effects of the disposable face mask waste with the COVID-19 pandemic

期刊

ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
卷 301, 期 -, 页码 -

出版社

ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2022.119019

关键词

COVID-19 pandemic; Plastic face masks (DPFs); Leachate; Microplastics (MPs); Heavy metals; Health risk; Environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFRs)

资金

  1. National Natural Science Foundation of China [42077351]
  2. National Key R&D Program of China [2019YFC1804203]
  3. Shaanxi Key R&D Program of China [2019ZDLNY01-02-01]
  4. One Hundred Talents program of Shaanxi Province [SXBR9171]
  5. Shaanxi Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars [2019JC-18]

向作者/读者索取更多资源

A large amount of microplastics and toxic substances were found in the leachates of disposable plastic face masks (DPFs). These DPFs leachates were confirmed to cause cytotoxicity and oxidative stress, and environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFRs) were generated. Surgical masks were shown to have higher risk than N95 respirators after exposure to water, releasing more microplastics, metals, and organic compounds, and generating more EPFRs.
A large amount of disposable plastic face masks (DPFs) is produced and used during the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic, which results in an inevitable consequence of the dramatic increase of DPFs waste. However, the impact of DPFs exposure to the environment on their toxicity is rarely considered. In this study, a range of 76-276 items/L microplastics (MPs) was detected in the DPFs leachates, and fibrous (> 80.3%) and polypropylene (PP, > 89.2%) MPs were dominant. Co, Cu, Ni, Sr, Ti and Zn, were commonly detected in all leachates of the tested DPFs. Organics, such as acetophenone, 2,4-Di-tert-butylphenol, benzothiazole, bisphenol-A and phthalide, were found in the DPFs leachate, which were including organic solvents and plasticizer. Besides, we first found an emerging environmental risk substance, namely environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFRs), was generated in the DPFs leachates. The characteristic g-factors of the EPFRs was in a range of 2.003-2.004, identified as mixture of carbon-and oxygen-centered radicals. By means of in vitro toxicity assay, the DPFs leachate were confirmed to cause cytotoxicity and oxidative stress. Significantly, it is found that the formed EPFRs could contribute more toxic effects. Furthermore, when compared to N95 respirators, the tested surgical masks tend to release more MPs, leach more metals and organics, and generate more EPFRs. Surgical masks were thus showed higher risk than N95 respirators after exposure to water. This work highlights the importance of understanding the chemical complexity and possible toxicity of DPFs for their risk assessment.

作者

我是这篇论文的作者
点击您的名字以认领此论文并将其添加到您的个人资料中。

评论

主要评分

4.7
评分不足

次要评分

新颖性
-
重要性
-
科学严谨性
-
评价这篇论文

推荐

暂无数据
暂无数据