The harm of disposable masks to the environment

Since the start of the new crown pneumonia pandemic last year, masks and other personal protective equipment have become a necessity for medical staff

All these masks have to bear economic and environmental costs

A new study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) calculated the economic and environmental costs of several different mask usage scenarios, and the results showed that the use of reusable masks can greatly reduce this loss

"Perhaps it is not surprising that the approach to reusable aspects not only saves the most cost, but also significantly reduces waste," said Giovanni Traverso, an MIT assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Brigham and Women's Hospital.

The study also found that fully reusable silicone N95 masks can be more effective in reducing waste

Jacqueline Chu is a doctor at Massachusetts General Hospital, and she is the lead author of the study

Reduce and reuse

At the beginning of the new crown pneumonia pandemic, N95 masks were in short supply

Last year, Traverso and his colleagues began to develop a reusable N95 mask, which is made of silicone rubber and contains an N95 filter that can be discarded or sterilized after use

"Our vision is that if we have a reusable system, we can reduce costs," Traverso said

Throughout the pandemic, American hospitals have been using different mask strategies, which are based on the availability of N95 masks and the availability of disinfection systems

They also simulated the potential cost and waste of reusable silicone masks currently under development, which can be used with disposable or reusable N95 filters

According to their analysis, if every medical staff in the United States wears a new N95 mask for every patient they encounter in the first six months of the influenza pandemic, the total number of masks needed will be approximately 7.

They also found that any reusable mask strategy can significantly reduce costs and waste generated

If you use reusable silicone N95 masks, these numbers may be further reduced, especially if the filter is also reusable

Zhu Diwen said: "In the foreseeable future, masks will not disappear, so we must consider sustainability when using masks and the use of other disposable personal protective equipment that may cause medical waste.

Environmental burden

The data used by the researchers for this study was collected during the first six months of the pandemic in the United States (from the end of March 2020 to the end of September 2020)

Traverso pointed out: "We are focusing on health care workers here, so this may not be enough to represent the total cost and environmental burden
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"

Although vaccination can help reduce the spread of Covid-19, Traverso believes that in the foreseeable future, medical staff may continue to wear masks to prevent not only Covid-19 but also other respiratory diseases such as influenza
.

He and others founded a company called Teal Bio, and are currently further improving and testing their reusable silicone masks and developing methods for mass production of such masks
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They plan to apply for regulatory approval for masks later this year
.
Traverso said that although cost and environmental impact are important factors to consider, the effectiveness of masks also needs to be prioritized
.

He said: "Ultimately, we want these systems to protect us, so it is important to understand whether the decontamination system will damage the filtering capacity
.
" "No matter what you use, you must make sure that what you use can protect yourself and others.

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