Marine Pollution Bulletin 178 (2022) 113587 Available online 6 April 2022 0025-326X/© 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Physical and chemical degradation of littered personal protective equipment (PPE) under simulated environmental conditions Gabriel Enrique De-la-Torre a , Diana Carolina Dioses-Salinas a , Sina Dobaradaran b, c, d, * , J¨ org Spitz e , Mozhgan Keshtkar b , Razegheh Akhbarizadeh b , Delaram Abedi c , Abbasali Tavakolian b a Grupo de Investigaci´ on de Biodiversidad, Medio Ambiente y Sociedad, Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola, Lima, Peru b Systems Environmental Health and Energy Research Center, The Persian Gulf Biomedical Sciences Research Institute, Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, Bushehr, Iran c Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Faculty of Health and Nutrition, Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, Bushehr, Iran d Instrumental Analytical Chemistry and Centre for Water and Environmental Research (ZWU), Faculty of Chemistry, University of Duisburg-Essen, Universit¨ atsstr. 5, Essen, Germany e Akademie fur Menschliche Medizin GmbH, Schlangenbad, Germany A R T I C L E INFO Keywords: Mask Glove PPE Degradation Polymer Plastic ABSTRACT Investigations of the physicochemical degradation of personal protective equipment (PPE) under controlled environmental conditions are largely lacking. Here the chemical and physical changes of face masks and gloves (recovered from the marine environment) were evaluated after exposure time up to 60 days of simulated environmental conditions. The results suggested that the polymer backbone of PPE suffers typical changes induced by sun exposure. Changes in the intensity of diffraction peaks indicated shifts in the crystallinity of PPE, possibly altering their thermal behavior. Signs of physical degradation in PPE, such as ruptures, and rough surfaces, which exacerbated over time were also detected. Additionally, signals of some elements of concern, such as Cu and Mo, and elements typically found in seawater were detected. The results of this study allowed us to better understand the degradation of typical PPE items in the marine environment, ultimately resulting in the release of microplastics and chemical contaminants. 1. Introduction Since the massifcation of synthetic plastics in the late 1950s, their production has continuously increased to this day (Torres and De-la- Torre, 2021). For instance, global plastic production reached 368 million tons in 2019 (PlasticsEurope, 2020) and around 50% of all the produced plastics are meant for rapid disposal (discarded less than a year of their purchase) (Singh and Sharma, 2016). Solid waste man- agement systems and infrastructure are unable to cope with the amount of waste produced, resulting in a signifcant amount of waste reaching the marine environment (Phelan et al., 2020). It is estimated that 8 million tons of plastics reach the ocean annually (Jambeck et al., 2015), which represents ~2.2% of all plastic produced in 2019. Marine plastic pollution causes multiple impacts on the environment and biota. Some of the most notable examples are the entanglement or entrapment of macrofauna (Gregory, 2009; Kühn and van Franeker, 2020), ingestion of plastic debris (Savoca et al., 2021; Wilcox et al., 2018), and colonization of plastic substrata and subsequent transportation of potentially invasive species (De-la-Torre et al., 2021a; Rech et al., 2018). Given its increasing production, lack of suffcient waste management systems, and detri- mental effects on biota, plastic pollution has become one of the major environmental challenges in modern days (De-la-Torre et al., 2021b). The COVID-19 pandemic led to a sanitary, economic, and environ- mental crisis. The use of personal protective equipment (PPE), such as face masks, face shields, and gloves, has been enforced by most gov- ernments to this day in order to control the infection (Scott et al., 2021). Early global estimations suggested that the monthly use of face masks and gloves reached 129 billion and 65 billion, respectively (Prata et al., 2020). Ultimately, adding a heavy burden to traditional solid waste management systems (Sarkodie and Owusu, 2021). As expected, * Corresponding author at: Systems Environmental Health and Energy Research Center, The Persian Gulf Biomedical Sciences Research Institute, Bushehr Uni- versity of Medical Sciences, Bushehr, Iran. E-mail address: s.dobaradaran@bpums.ac.ir (S. Dobaradaran). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Marine Pollution Bulletin journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/marpolbul https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.113587 Received 28 January 2022; Received in revised form 15 March 2022; Accepted 17 March 2022