129 billion masks around the world have been abandoned. Where did they go in the end?

Under the normalization of the epidemic, the mask has almost become the standard for everyone to go out.

According to the US "Environmental Science and Technology" magazine, the number of masks used and discarded around the world is about 129 billion, most of which are disposable.

These masks that are discarded by domestic garbage after use, where did they go in the end?

In September 2020, volunteers found a malnutant penguin corpse on the Brazilian beach and found a mask in its stomach.

Recently, the "Magazine of Environmental Sanitation" hosted by the China Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published the "Discussion on abandoned medical masks" that the environmental problems brought by abandoned masks were no less than one -time plastic tableware.

How does the mask that protects human beings cause environmental problems? "Life Times" (search for "LT0385" in WeChat can be followed) interviewing experts interviewed and given scientific response methods.

Interviewed expert

Ding Xuejia, a professor at the School of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology

Party Double Lock, Chief Physician of the Department of Infectious Department of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University

Author of this article | Life Times reporter Li Danni

Editor in this article | Zhao Ziying

How many years do you need to degrade a mask?

Data from the World Health Organization showed that since the outbreak, the demand for one -time protective masks around the world has increased by nearly 100 times.

A report released by the International Environmental Organization "Asian Ocean" shows that at least 1.56 billion masks flow into the ocean in 2020, which is equivalent to producing plastic pollution of 4680 tons to 6,240 tons, and abandoned masks were found in a variety of dead marine biological digestive tract.

In October 2020, the photographer captured two macaques that bite the abandoned mask in the mountains near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. They mistakenly made the mask as a food.

One -time masks are non -degraded pollutants. If they are litter at will, the harm caused by environmental and wild animals will be difficult to estimate.

Most of the disposable medical masks are composed of waterproof layers, filter layers, ear bands (elastic materials) and nasal clips (metal or polymer materials).

Ding Xuejia said that the filtering material in the mask main body mainly uses a melting spray cloth produced by polypropylene, which is essentially a plastic, which takes up to 450 years to decompose.

Two major problems caused by abandoned masks

The abandoned mask has a large amount, a wide range of abandonment, and has not yet ended. The abandoned masks produced by ordinary people's daily wear are beyond the category of pure medical waste. It is also difficult to strictly implement the medical waste treatment process, which brings tremendous pressure on the environment and hygiene.

Environmental issues

Ding Xuejia introduced that currently dealing with these abandoned protective supplies, the method of incineration and landfill is mainly used, that is, the collected waste protective waste is burned, and the incineration is buried into the soil.

Burning will produce a large amount of toxic and harmful gases, landfills occupy land resources, and also pollute the soil and groundwater sources. These two treatment methods will cause pollution to the environment.

In addition, influenza virus, enterovirus, hepatitis A virus, etc. can exist in the middle of the soil for a long time, and can cause human infection through soil transmission.

Hygiene issue

According to the "Liuye Knife-Microorganisms", the new crown virus can be at least survived at the outer surface of the medical surgical mask for 7 days, and it still has a pathogenic ability.

The party's dual lock said that wearing a mask can effectively block the spread of the epidemic, but the mask used to carry pathogenic microorganisms can increase the risk of epidemic transmission in improper treatment.

How to deal with the environmental pressure brought by the mask?

Faced with the environmental pressure brought by abandoned masks, experts said that they need to seek new ways to solve problems.

Production degradable mask

Ding Xuejia said that using degradable materials to make masks can effectively alleviate the pressure of abandoned masks on the ecological environment.

For example, polyal acid masks, mask filter film uses PLA biological base, and renewable biodegradable materials; renewable plant resources (such as corn, cassava, etc.) can be decomposed into water and carbon dioxide by microbial, which is friendly to the environment.

However, the impact of the degradation cycle to the mask filtration efficiency needs to be further studied. For example, the degradation cycle is shortened, and the filtering efficiency of the mask will have an impact.

Enhance the life of the mask

During the epidemic, Professor Zhang Liqun, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and Professor Zhang Liqun of Beijing University of Chemical Technology, developed a new type of melting and spray polypropylene. This new type of reused mask was continued by water above 60 ° C and soaked for 30 minutes. Or the hair dryer can be used and can be used again. The service life can be extended by 3 to 6 times compared to the disposable mask.

Centralized recycling treatment

The "Discussion on the Abolition of Medical Mask" pointed out that at present, the abandoned medical masks are treated with reference to medical waste in professional places such as medical institutions, but most of them are directly mixed with domestic waste to discard or even discard them at will.

It is recommended to carry out independent centralized recycling for abandoned medical masks generated by dense occasions such as community, production and operation units, and public places.

Sub -crowd handling mask

Ordinary healthy people: You can directly throw the mask into the trash can again.

People with symptoms such as a cold, cough, sneezing: After the mask can be installed with a sealed bag, discard it to the trash can not recycle.

High -risk areas may have been exposed to suspected infection, isolated observers: masks should be managed by special personnel in order to perform special treatment.

Reduce excessive protection

The party's dual lock said that in low -risk areas and non -public places, such as alone, home, and open occasions, you can consider not wearing masks to avoid excessive protection of the waste of masks.

However, it should be noted that due to the flow of personnel, many cases that appear in low -risk areas are inputs in high -risk areas, so it is recommended that people in low -risk areas wear masks in public places.In high -risk areas, such as stations, medical venues, and crowd gathering areas, masks must be worn, and they should be replaced with more than 4 hours.

Editor in this issue: Xu Menglian

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