ArticleThe Science of the total environment2022
First landscape-scale survey of the background level of COVID-19 face mask litter: Exploring the potential for citizen science data collection during a 'pollution pilgrimage' of walking a 250-km roadside transect.
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 8 papers.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 24 citations in OpenAlex.
- Article
- Material flow analysis-based assessment of polypropylene-fiber-containing microplastics released from disposable masks: Characterizing distribution in the environmental media.The Science of the total environment · 2023Article
- Global face mask pollution: threats to the environment and wildlife, and potential solutions.The Science of the total environment · 2023Review
- Current knowledge on the presence, biodegradation, and toxicity of discarded face masks in the environment.Journal of environmental chemical engineering · 2023Review
- Disposable surgical masks affect the decomposition of Zostera muelleri.Marine pollution bulletin · 2023Article
- Density variability of COVID-19 face mask litter: A cautionary tale for pandemic PPE waste monitoring.Journal of hazardous materials advances · 2023Article
- Strengthening citizen science partnerships with frontline sanitation personnel to study and tackle plastic pollution.Environmental science & policy · 2022Article
- The case of "public congregation vs. COVID-19 PPE pollution": Evidence, lessons, and recommendations from the annual pilgrimage to the Catholic Holy Site in Mexico City, Mexico.The Science of the total environment · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has generated a global problem through the cavalier or deliberate disposal of personal protective equipment (PPE) by the general public. This has raised concerns that the billions of discarded face masks pose a threat to wildlife through entanglement or, when broken down, through ingestion of derived microplastics. Previous quantitative surveys of the magnitude of such litter have focused on areas where people congregate, such as tourist beaches and large cities. The present survey is the first to provide data on the background level of face mask litter through a landscape of variable land-use. A 250-km transect along an historic road between Montreal and Quebec City (Canada) was surveyed during a walking pilgrimage, revealing an overall density of 0.0001 ± 0.00006 face masks m
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Registered trials
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