Occurrence of COVID-19 personal protective equipment (PPE) litters along the eastern coast of Palawan Island, Philippines

Abstract

The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has caused worldwide health constraints. This study was conducted to establish a baseline monitoring survey to describe the distribution of PPE litters during the COVID-19 pandemic in the province of Palawan, Philippines. A total of 386 COVID-19-related PPE items were present in 83 % of coastal sampling sites with over a cumulative area of 48,200 m², with a density of 8 × 10^-3 items m^-2. The facemask (98 %; n = 377) was the primary type of PPE, followed by face shield (2 %; n = 9). Meanwhile, the daily density of PPE litters in San Manuel, Puerto Princesa ranged from 0 to 9.9 × 10^-2 items m^-2, with a mean density of 8 × 10^-3 items m^-2. The accumulation rates of PPE items ranged from 3.27 × 10^-1 items to 1.143 items d^-1, with an average rate of 7.29 × 10^-1 items d^-1.

Keywords: Accumulation; Coronavirus; Face shield; Facemask; Microplastic; Pandemic.