TY - JOUR
T1 - COVID-19-related personal protective equipment (PPE) contamination in the highly urbanized southeast Brazilian coast
AU - Ribeiro, Victor Vasques
AU - De-la-Torre, Gabriel E.
AU - Castro, Ítalo Braga
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2022/4
Y1 - 2022/4
N2 - This study aimed to report personal protective equipment (PPE) contamination in Santos beaches (Brazil) using standardized procedures for the first time while comparing two periods to understand the progression of PPE contamination. The occurrence of PPE items was ubiquitous in all sampled sites, although the densities were relatively low compared to those in other parts of the world. Unlike previous studies, reusable face masks were the most common type of PPE. PPE density in the studied areas was similar in both sampling seasons, probably because of the influence of tourism, urbanization, and local hydrodynamic aspects. PPE items can release microfibers into the aquatic environment and pose entanglement hazards to marine biota. A wider monitoring of PPE pollution, accompanied by surveys on PPE usage and behavior, as well as chemical characterization of the discarded PPE items, is needed to fully understand this unprecedented form of plastic pollution.
AB - This study aimed to report personal protective equipment (PPE) contamination in Santos beaches (Brazil) using standardized procedures for the first time while comparing two periods to understand the progression of PPE contamination. The occurrence of PPE items was ubiquitous in all sampled sites, although the densities were relatively low compared to those in other parts of the world. Unlike previous studies, reusable face masks were the most common type of PPE. PPE density in the studied areas was similar in both sampling seasons, probably because of the influence of tourism, urbanization, and local hydrodynamic aspects. PPE items can release microfibers into the aquatic environment and pose entanglement hazards to marine biota. A wider monitoring of PPE pollution, accompanied by surveys on PPE usage and behavior, as well as chemical characterization of the discarded PPE items, is needed to fully understand this unprecedented form of plastic pollution.
KW - Coronavirus
KW - Mask
KW - Monitoring
KW - Plastic
KW - Reusable
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85124871864&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.113522
DO - 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.113522
M3 - Artículo
AN - SCOPUS:85124871864
VL - 177
JO - Marine Pollution Bulletin
JF - Marine Pollution Bulletin
SN - 0025-326X
M1 - 113522
ER -
