Faculty of Chemical and Food Engineering, Bahir Dar Institute of Technology-Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.
Mar Pollut Bull. 2020 Oct;159:111517. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111517. Epub 2020 Jul 25.
Although there have been enormous reports on the microplastic pollution from different plastic products, impacts, controlling mechanisms in recent years, the surgical face masks, made up of polymeric materials, as a source of microplastic pollution potential in the ecosystem are not fully understood and considered yet. Current studies are mostly stated out that microplastics pollution should be a big deal because of their enormous effect on the aquatic biota, and the entire environment. Due to the complicated conditions of the aquatic bodies, microplastics could have multiple effects, and reports so far are still lacking. In addition to real microplastic pollutions which has been known before, face mask as a potential microplastic source could be also researching out, including the management system, in detail. It is noted that face masks are easily ingested by higher organisms, such as fishes, and microorganisms in the aquatic life which will affect the food chain and finally chronic health problems to humans. As a result, microplastic from the face mask should be a focus worldwide.
尽管近年来已经有大量关于不同塑料产品、影响和控制机制的微塑料污染报告，但作为生态系统中微塑料污染潜在来源的外科口罩，其组成的聚合材料尚未得到充分理解和考虑。目前的研究大多表明，微塑料污染应该引起重视，因为它们对水生生物和整个环境的影响巨大。由于水体内的情况复杂，微塑料可能会产生多种影响，目前的报告仍然缺乏。除了以前已经知道的真正的微塑料污染外，还需要对面膜作为潜在的微塑料来源进行详细研究，包括管理系统。值得注意的是，口罩很容易被高等生物如鱼类和水生生物中的微生物摄入，这将影响食物链，最终对人类造成慢性健康问题。因此，口罩中的微塑料应该成为全球关注的焦点。
