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. 2021 Jul:168:112386.
doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112386. Epub 2021 Apr 19.

Abandoned Covid-19 personal protective equipment along the Bushehr shores, the Persian Gulf: An emerging source of secondary microplastics in coastlines

Razegheh Akhbarizadeh  1 , Sina Dobaradaran  2 , Iraj Nabipour  3 , Mahbubeh Tangestani  4 , Delaram Abedi  4 , Fatemeh Javanfekr  4 , Faezeh Jeddi  4 , Atefeh Zendehboodi  4
Affiliations

Abandoned Covid-19 personal protective equipment along the Bushehr shores, the Persian Gulf: An emerging source of secondary microplastics in coastlines

Razegheh Akhbarizadeh et al. Mar Pollut Bull. 2021 Jul.

Abstract

During the Covid-19 pandemic, personal protection equipment (PPE) was widely used to control the virus further spared. In this study, the presence of PPE wastes along the coastline of Bushehr port, the Persian Gulf from nine stations was investigated (4 times during 40 days), and their potential for microplastics (MPs) creation was preliminarily assessed. In total, more than 2380 PPE were collected in the study area. No significant differences were found between various beaches regarding their types and common activities. In addition, the estimated disposal rate of PPE per day and year is 350 and 127,750 items, respectively. More than 10% of the collected PPE from Bushehr's coastal areas on each sampling day were damaged. Based on the microscopic analysis, the left surgical masks and torn plastic gloves in the coastal regions are emerging sources of secondary microfibers and MP particles (mostly fragments and films) in the marine environments, respectively.

Keywords: Coronavirus; Face masks; Marine pollution; Micropollutants; Plastic gloves.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Unlabelled Image
Graphical abstract
Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Geographical location of Bushehr port and sampling locations.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Face masks and gloves along the coastlines of Bushehr port, the Persian Gulf.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Spatial distribution of personal protection equipment (PPE) along the coastline of Busher port, Persian Gulf. A: the first time of sampling, B: the second time of sampling (after 1 day), C: the third time of sampling (after 10 days), and D: the fourth time of sampling (after 40 days).
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
PPE along the coastal line of Bushehr port a: the abundance of different types of gloves and b: the abundance of various types of face masks. Note: the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th days of sampling are 1 day, 10 days, and 40 days after the 1st day of sampling, respectively.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
The color diversity of collected PPE along the shores of Busher port: a: gloves, and b: face masks. Note: the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th days of sampling are 1 day, 10 days, and 40 days after the 1st day of sampling, respectively.
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
Dameged masks and gloves from coastal areas of Bushehr port by naked eyes, and binocular microscope.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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