Microplastic pollution and associated health hazards: Impact of COVID-19 pandemic

Bikash Ranjan Tiwari; Joanna Lecka; Rama Pulicharla; Satinder Kaur Brar

doi:10.1016/j.coesh.2023.100480

Microplastic pollution and associated health hazards: Impact of COVID-19 pandemic

Curr Opin Environ Sci Health. 2023 Aug:34:100480. doi: 10.1016/j.coesh.2023.100480. Epub 2023 May 15.

Authors

Bikash Ranjan Tiwari¹, Joanna Lecka¹, Rama Pulicharla², Satinder Kaur Brar²

Affiliations

¹ Institut National de La Recherche Scientifique - Centre Eau Terre Environnement, Université Du Québec, Quebec City, Canada.
² Department of Civil Engineering, Lassonde School of Engineering, York University, North York, Toronto, Canada.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic led to an increase in plastic used for medical purposes such as personal protective equipment and packaging materials. A very low share of plastics is recycled while the majority is sent to landfills. This plastic may degrade over time to form microplastics which may pollute land, air, and water sources. An increase in microplastics can increase the disease risk in human well-being's. The ultimate fate of microplastic is accumulation inside the human body posing the risk of different health conditions like cancer, diabetes, and allergic reactions. Hence, proper detection and disposal methods should be devised to deal with the rise in microplastic pollution.

Keywords: COVID-19; Carcinogenicity; Genotoxicity; Microplastics; Single-use plastics.

Publication types

Review