ArticleEnvironmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987)2021
An emerging source of plastic pollution: Environmental presence of plastic personal protective equipment (PPE) debris related to COVID-19 in a metropolitan city.
Article in Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987), 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 99 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
99 citing papers in PubMed.
- Hybrid Mortar Composites Incorporating Oyster Shell Filler and Recycled Fibers from Disposable Masks.Materials (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Commentary: What have we learnt about the sourcing of personal protective equipment during pandemics? Leadership and management in healthcare supply chain management: a scoping review.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Biobased Compostable Plastics End-of-Life: Environmental Assessment Including Carbon Footprint and Microplastic Impacts.Polymers · 2024Article
- Harnessing photosynthetic microorganisms for enhanced bioremediation of microplastics: A comprehensive review.Environmental science and ecotechnology · 2024Review
- Advance Analysis of the Obtained Recycled Materials from Used Disposable Surgical Masks.Polymers · 2024Article
- Experimental Study on the Mechanical Properties of Disposable Mask Waste-Reinforced Gangue Concrete.Materials (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Review
- The Fate of Microplastics, Derived from Disposable Masks, in Natural Aquatic Environments.Toxics · 2024Article
- Inter-observer reliability in transect-based observations of environmental waste in greater accra and kisumu: implications for waste management.International journal of environmental science and technology : IJEST · 2024Article
- Personal protective equipment-derived pollution during Covid-19 era: A critical review of ecotoxicology impacts, intervention strategies, and future challenges.The Science of the total environment · 2023Review
- Abundance, spatial distribution, and chemical characterization of face masks on the beaches of SE Kanyakumari, India.Marine pollution bulletin · 2023Article
- A novel investigations on medical and non-medical mask performance with influence of marine waste microplastics (polypropylene).Marine pollution bulletin · 2023Article
- Biogenic production of silver, zinc oxide, and cuprous oxide nanoparticles, and their impregnation into textiles with antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Personal protective equipment and micro-nano plastics: A review of an unavoidable interrelation for a global well-being hazard.Hygiene and environmental health advances · 2023Review
- Assessing the challenges to medical waste management during the COVID-19 pandemic: Implications for the environmental sustainability in the emerging economies.Socio-economic planning sciences · 2023Article
- COVID-19 personal protective equipment (PPE) contamination in coastal areas of Granada, Spain.Marine pollution bulletin · 2023Article
- Impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on microplastic abundance along the River Thames.Marine pollution bulletin · 2023Article
- Current knowledge on the presence, biodegradation, and toxicity of discarded face masks in the environment.Journal of environmental chemical engineering · 2023Review
- Facemask: Protection or threat?Marine pollution bulletin · 2023Article
- Personal protective equipment (PPE) disposal during COVID-19: An emerging source of microplastic and microfiber pollution in the environment.The Science of the total environment · 2023Review
39 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in an unprecedented surge of production, consumption, and disposal of personal protective equipment (PPE) including face masks, disposable gloves, and disinfectant wipes, which are often made of single use plastic. Widespread public use of these items has imposed pressure on municipalities to properly collect and dispose of potentially infectious PPE. There has been a lack of structured monitoring efforts to quantify the emerging trend of improperly disposed of PPE debris. In this study, we present a baseline monitoring survey to describe the spatial distribution of PPE debris during the COVID-19 pandemic from the metropolitan city of Toronto, Canada. Our objectives were to: (1) quantify PPE debris types among surveyed areas and; (2) identify PPE debris densities and accumulation of surveyed areas. A total of 1306 PPE debris items were documented, with the majority being disposable gloves (44%), followed by face masks (31%), and disinfecting wipes (25%). Of the face masks, 97% were designed for single use while only 3% were reusable. Of the surveyed locations, the highest daily average densities of PPE debris were recorded in the large and medium-sized grocery store parking lots and the hospital district (0.00475 items/m
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