Instituto do Mar, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Santos, Brazil.
Grupo de Investigación de Biodiversidad, Medio Ambiente y Sociedad, Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola, Lima, Peru.
Mar Pollut Bull. 2022 Apr;177:113522. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.113522. Epub 2022 Mar 10.
This study aimed to report personal protective equipment (PPE) contamination in Santos beaches (Brazil) using standardized procedures for the first time while comparing two periods to understand the progression of PPE contamination. The occurrence of PPE items was ubiquitous in all sampled sites, although the densities were relatively low compared to those in other parts of the world. Unlike previous studies, reusable face masks were the most common type of PPE. PPE density in the studied areas was similar in both sampling seasons, probably because of the influence of tourism, urbanization, and local hydrodynamic aspects. PPE items can release microfibers into the aquatic environment and pose entanglement hazards to marine biota. A wider monitoring of PPE pollution, accompanied by surveys on PPE usage and behavior, as well as chemical characterization of the discarded PPE items, is needed to fully understand this unprecedented form of plastic pollution.
本研究旨在首次采用标准化程序报告桑托斯海滩（巴西）的个人防护装备（PPE）污染情况，并比较两个时期以了解 PPE 污染的进展。在所采样的所有地点均普遍存在 PPE 物品，但与世界其他地区相比，其密度相对较低。与以往的研究不同，可重复使用的口罩是最常见的 PPE 类型。在两个采样季节，研究区域的 PPE 密度相似，这可能是由于旅游业、城市化和当地水动力方面的影响。PPE 物品会向水生环境中释放微纤维，并对海洋生物造成缠结危害。需要更广泛地监测 PPE 污染情况，并对 PPE 使用和行为进行调查，以及对丢弃的 PPE 物品进行化学特征描述，以充分了解这种前所未有的塑料污染形式。
