Mascarillas faciales: contaminación ambiental, efectos toxicológicos, posibles soluciones y políticas globales
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26507/paper.2438Palabras clave:
SARS-CoV-2, mascarillas desechables plásticas, máscaras biodegradables, contaminación, ecotoxicologíaResumen
La pandemia por el virus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) declarada por la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) en marzo de 2020, ha afectado gravemente la salud humana y las economías mundiales. Según la OMS, el uso de mascarillas ayuda a controlar la propagación del virus, lo que ha provocado un aumento sin precedentes en la producción y el uso de este elemento de protección personal (EPP). Sin embargo, la eliminación inadecuada y la regulación insuficiente de las mascarillas de plásticos desechables (DPFs) ha intensificado el problema de la contaminación plástica ya existente, debido a que son fabricadas de materiales poliméricos que no se degradan fácilmente y que al ingresar al medio ambiente liberarían microplásticos. Existe una preocupación creciente en torno al destino ambiental de las DPFs que son desechadas irresponsablemente y dispuestas en vertederos que terminan inevitablemente en el curso de ríos y océanos. Recientes estudios informan el aumento de los residuos relacionados con la COVID-19 en algunos entornos, su interacción con la fauna silvestre y la presencia de contaminantes liberados por las DPFs con potencial para inducir efectos ecotoxicológicos. El objetivo de este estudio fue realizar una revisión bibliográfica acerca del impacto ambiental originado por los desechos de las mascarillas faciales debido al aumento de su uso durante la pandemia de la COVID-19, así como también recolectar información preliminar para el tema de la tesis doctoral. Se analizaron artículos científicos en revistas de alto impacto sobre el uso, la eliminación, el manejo de las mascarillas faciales usadas, las implicaciones ambientales originadas por la eliminación inadecuada de este EPP y una revisión de las políticas existentes de plásticos de un solo uso a nivel mundial. Por lo anterior, es necesario encontrar alternativas sostenibles que reduzcan el impacto ambiental causado por las mascarillas plásticas, dentro de las se encuentran; la producción de mascarillas biodegradables a partir de residuos agroindustriales tales como; el plátano, aguacate, cáñamo, maíz, café y caña de azúcar disponibles actualmente y que han sido reportados en estudios; la reutilización plástica mediante trituración y clasificación mediante diferentes técnicas que permiten derretir el plástico en gránulos; la fabricación de mascarillas de tela con filtros desechables; el reciclaje de este EPP mediante pirolisis, la incorporación de máscaras faciales desechables en materiales de construcción y por último, un verdadero cambio hacia las políticas de disposición de plásticos por parte de los líderes políticos a nivel mundial acompañado de la unión de esfuerzos entre la población en general y la tecnología que genere un buen escenario para empezar a resolver la problemática originada por la contaminación plástica en el mundo.
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