School of Environment and Natural Resources, Renmin University of China, No. 59 Zhongguancun Street, Beijing 100872, China.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Dec 5;19(23):16299. doi: 10.3390/ijerph192316299.
Marine microplastic pollution (MMP) is becoming one of the most pressing environmental problems facing humanity today. The novel coronavirus epidemic has raised the issue of environmental contamination caused by large-scale improper disposal of medical waste such as disposable masks (DMs). To assess the impact of MMP caused by DMs and to seek solutions for the prevention and control of MMP, this study uses the Driving force-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) framework to establish a causal chain of MMP caused by DMs. The conclusion shows that the novel coronavirus epidemic has led to a surge in the use of DMs, which has brought pressure on resource constraints and environmental pollution at the same time. Improperly DMs enter the environment and eventually transform into MMP, which not only endangers the marine ecological system but also poses potential human health risks as well as economic and social hazards. In addition, further research on environmentally friendly masks (cloth masks and biodegradable masks) is essential to mitigate the environmental damage caused by the large-scale global use of DMs. This study provides a scientific and theoretical basis for the assessment of MMP from discarded DMs, and the findings of this study will provide a reference for the formulation of relevant policies.
海洋微塑料污染（MMP）正成为当今人类面临的最紧迫的环境问题之一。新冠疫情大流行引发了人们对一次性口罩（DMs）等医疗废物大规模不当处理造成的环境污染问题的关注。为了评估由 DMs 引起的 MMP 的影响，并寻求预防和控制 MMP 的解决方案，本研究使用驱动力-压力-状态-影响-响应（DPSIR）框架，建立了由 DMs 引起的 MMP 的因果链。研究结果表明，新冠疫情大流行导致 DMs 的使用量激增，这给资源约束和环境污染带来了压力。不当处理的 DMs 进入环境，最终转化为 MMP，这不仅危及海洋生态系统，还对人类健康以及经济和社会构成潜在风险。此外，还需要进一步研究环保型口罩（布口罩和可生物降解口罩），以减轻全球大规模使用 DMs 造成的环境破坏。本研究为评估由废弃 DMs 引起的 MMP 提供了科学和理论基础，研究结果将为制定相关政策提供参考。
