ArticleThe Science of the total environment2022
Release of tens of thousands of microfibers from discarded face masks under simulated environmental conditions.
Article in The Science of the total environment, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed.
- Face mask littering: environmental impacts, regulatory challenges, and AI-driven waste management strategies for the postpandemic era.Turkish journal of medical sciences · 2026Review
- Release study of microplastic fibres and heavy metals from disposable surgical face masks in aqueous medium: the effect of physio-chemical factors and shear forces.RSC advances · 2025Article
- Abatement of Aerosols by Ionic Wind Extracted From Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma.Environmental health insights · 2024Article
- Different weathering conditions affect the release of microplastics by masks.Environmental science and pollution research international · 2023Article
- Current knowledge on the presence, biodegradation, and toxicity of discarded face masks in the environment.Journal of environmental chemical engineering · 2023Review
- Face Mask: As a Source or Protector of Human Exposure to Microplastics and Phthalate Plasticizers?Toxics · 2023Article
- Environmental impacts of covid-19 pandemic: Release of microplastics, organic contaminants and trace metals from face masks under ambient environmental conditions.Environmental research · 2023Article
- A review of disposable facemasks during the COVID-19 pandemic: A focus on microplastics release.Chemosphere · 2023Review
- Probing nanoplastics derived from polypropylene face masks with hyperspectral dark-field microscopy.The Science of the total environment · 2023Article
- Article
- Insight into the microplastics release from disposable face mask: Simulated environment and removal strategy.Chemosphere · 2022Article
- Release of microplastics and nanoplastics in water from disposable surgical masks after disinfection.Marine pollution bulletin · 2022Article
- Mitigation of microfibers release from disposable masks - An analysis of structural properties.Environmental research · 2022Article
- Microplastic/nanoplastic toxicity in plants: an imminent concern.Environmental monitoring and assessment · 2022Review
- Microfiber releasing into urban rivers from face masks during COVID-19.Journal of environmental management · 2022Article
- Release kinetics of microplastics from disposable face masks into the aqueous environment.The Science of the total environment · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
While mechanical abrasion by water and sediment is a primary and critical step in weathering process, the upsurge of discarded face masks will undoubtedly become a potential source of micro-/nanofibers owing to the spread of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pneumonia. However, effects of mechanical abrasion on discarded face masks have neither been seriously addressed nor understood. Therefore, we conducted a simulated experiment to explore abundance, size distribution and morphology of microfibers released from common, surgical and face filtering piece (FFP) masks after mechanical abrasion. Technologies such as Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, fluorescence microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and confocal laser scanning microscopy were used. Results showed that the abundance of released microfibers followed order of surgical > common > FFP in both water and sediment environments, and the maximum abundance reached 272 ± 12.49 items per square centimeter of mask (items·cm
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Registered trials
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