COVID-19, Personal protective equipment and environmental health Aravind Neelavara Ananthram1,2,*, Karthick Balasubramanian3 1Associate Professor, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), Royal Enclave, Srirampura, Jakkur, Bengaluru560064, India 2Yenepoya Research Centre, Yenepoya (Deemed to be University), University Road, Derlakatte, Mangalore575018, India 3Biodiversity and Palaeobiology Group, Agharkar Research Institute, G.G. Agarkar Road, Pune411004India *Corresponding Author E-mail: aravind@atree.org
Online published on 9 April, 2021. Abstract Personal protective equipment (PPE) is extensively used to protect against aerosols from one person to another during this COVID-19 pandemic. The production of PPE has increased ten folds since January 2020 till date when compared to the last three years. Most of the PPE are polythene based and are disposed of carelessly in developing countries like India, as shown in recent reports. As of today, we do not have information on the impact of PPE per se. Also, most of the PPE is plastic-based, and their impact will be the same as other plastic-based products. In this review, we look at the impact of plastic in general on the environment and suggest the way forward in managing plastics in general and PPE in particular. Top Keywords Biodiversity, Wildlife, Aquatic Ecosystems, Freshwater, Microplastics, Management, Policy implications. Top |