Rethinking and optimising plastic waste management under COVID-19 pandemic: Policy solutions based on redesign and reduction of single-use plastics and personal protective equipment

In normal conditions, discarding single-use personal protective equipment after use is the rule for its users due to the possibility of being infected, particularly for masks and filtering facepiece respirators. When the demand for these protective tools is not satisfied by the companies supplying them, a scenario of shortages occurs, and new strategies must arise. One possible approach regards the disinfection of these pieces of equipment, but there are multiple methods. Analyzing these methods, Ultraviolet-C (UV-C) becomes an exciting option, given its germicidal capability. This paper aims to describe the state-of-the-art for UV-C sterilization in masks and filtering facepiece respirators. To achieve this goal, we adopted a systematic literature review in multiple databases added to a snowball method to make our sample as robust as possible and encompass a more significant number of studies. We found that UV-C’s germicidal capability is just as good as other sterilization methods. Combining this characteristic with other advantages makes UV-C sterilization desirable compared to other methods, despite its possible disadvantages.

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Application of an Integrated Assessment Scheme for Sustainable Waste Management of Electrical and Electronic Equipment: The Case of Ghana

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su12083191 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (8) ◽

pp. 3191

Author(s):

Mentore Vaccari ◽

Fabiola Zambetti ◽

Margaret Bates ◽

Terry Tudor ◽

Teklit Ambaye

Keyword(s):

Developing Countries ◽

Environmental Factors ◽

Waste Management ◽

Personal Protective Equipment ◽

Integrated Assessment ◽

Electronic Equipment ◽

Protective Equipment ◽

Effective Management ◽

Waste Streams ◽

Development And Utilization

The effective management of solid waste, including waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) in developing countries poses significant challenges. This paper reports on the development and utilization of a multi-criteria tool to improve the management of WEEE in Agbogbloshie, in Ghana. The tool was able to successfully evaluate key economic, social and environmental factors faced by workers and to suggest areas for improvement. In particular, the evaluation and comparison of different scenarios suggested that the best solution is the evolution from informal to formal management of WEEE, with workers provided with personal protective equipment, and the introduction of refurbishment activities, with the sale of components in the second-hand market. While it would require further use in other contexts, the tool could be adapted and employed for a range of other waste streams and in other developing countries.

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Covid-19 and the N95 respirator shortage: Closing the gap

Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology ◽

10.1017/ice.2020.124 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 41 (8) ◽

pp. 958-958 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Daniel Nogee ◽

Anthony J. Tomassoni

Keyword(s):

Personal Protective Equipment ◽

Healthcare Workers ◽

Protective Equipment ◽

Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation ◽

Single Use ◽

Closing The Gap

AbstractDue to extreme shortages of personal protective equipment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, many healthcare workers will be forced to recycle protective masks intended for disposal after a single use. We propose investigating the use of ultraviolet germicidal irradiation to sterilize masks of SARS-CoV-2 for safer reuse.

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3D Printing to Support the Shortage in Personal Protective Equipment Caused by COVID-19 Pandemic

Materials ◽

10.3390/ma13153339 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (15) ◽

pp. 3339 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Mostapha Tarfaoui ◽

Mourad Nachtane ◽

Ibrahim Goda ◽

Yumna Qureshi ◽

Hamza Benyahia

Keyword(s):

3D Printing ◽

Medical Devices ◽

Personal Protective Equipment ◽

Health Concern ◽

Protective Equipment ◽

Global Public Health ◽

Comprehensive Overview ◽

3D Printed ◽

Single Use ◽

Tract Infections

Currently, the emergence of a novel human coronavirus disease, named COVID-19, has become a great global public health concern causing severe respiratory tract infections in humans. Yet, there is no specific vaccine or treatment for this COVID-19 where anti-disease measures rely on preventing or slowing the transmission of infection from one person to another. In particularly, there is a growing effort to prevent or reduce transmission to frontline healthcare professionals. However, it is becoming an increasingly international concern respecting the shortage in the supply chain of critical single-use personal protective equipment (PPE). To that scope, we aim in the present work to provide a comprehensive overview of the latest 3D printing efforts against COVID-19, including professional additive manufacturing (AM) providers, makers and designers in the 3D printing community. Through this review paper, the response to several questions and inquiries regarding the following issues are addressed: technical factors connected with AM processes; recommendations for testing and characterizing medical devices that additively manufactured; AM materials that can be used for medical devices; biological concerns of final 3D printed medical parts, comprising biocompatibility, cleaning and sterility; and limitations of AM technology.

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Plastic Waste Management and Leakage in Latin America and the Caribbean

10.18235/0002873 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Amy Brooks ◽

Jenna Jambeck ◽

Eliana Mozo-Reyes

Keyword(s):

Economic Growth ◽

Latin America ◽

Waste Management ◽

Municipal Solid Waste ◽

Solid Waste ◽

Plastic Waste ◽

Single Use ◽

Annual Estimate ◽

The Caribbean ◽

Business As Usual

As of 2017, 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic had been produced worldwide. Since about 40% is used in things that are thrown away relatively quickly (packaging and single use items), 6.4 billion metric tons had already become discarded materials needing to be managed. Only 9% of these discarded materials were recycled globally. The annual estimate of plastic entering our oceans globally is 5 to 13 million metric tons (MMT) per year. Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) has an extensive populated coast, 119,000 km of coastline and over 205 million people living within 50 km of that coastline. Waste management infrastructure is still under development in many countries. Economic growth without fully developed infrastructure can lead to increased plastic leakage. This report focuses on municipal solid waste as a source of plastic input into the environment in LAC. The reports estimates that total plastic waste available to enter the ocean in LAC in 2020 was 3.7 MMT . Under business-as-usual projections, the report anticipates that the regional quantity available to enter the oceans in 2030 will be 4.1 MMT and 4.4 MMT in 2050.

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A Predictive Model of the Temperature-Dependent Inactivation of Coronaviruses

10.26434/chemrxiv.12152970.v2 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Te Faye Yap ◽

Zhen Liu ◽

Rachel A. Shveda ◽

Daniel Preston

Keyword(s):

Personal Protective Equipment ◽

Analytical Framework ◽

Protective Equipment ◽

Limited Data ◽

Temperature Dependent ◽

Dependent Inactivation ◽

Single Use ◽

Thermal Sterilization ◽

Uncertain Future ◽

Risk Infection

The COVID-19 pandemic has stressed healthcare systems and supply lines, forcing medical doctors to risk infection by decontaminating and reusing medical personal protective equipment intended only for a single use. The uncertain future of the pandemic is compounded by limited data on the ability of the responsible virus, SARS-CoV-2, to survive across various climates, preventing epidemiologists from accurately modeling its spread. However, a detailed thermodynamic analysis of experimental data on the inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 and related coronaviruses can enable a fundamental understanding of their thermal degradation that will help mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic and future outbreaks. This paper introduces a thermodynamic model that synthesizes existing data into an analytical framework built on first principles, including the Arrhenius equation and the rate law, to accurately predict the temperature-dependent inactivation of coronaviruses. The model provides much-needed thermal sterilization guidelines for personal protective equipment, including masks, and will also allow epidemiologists to incorporate the lifetime of SARS-CoV-2 as a continuous function of environmental temperature into models forecasting the spread of coronaviruses across different climates and seasons.

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The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on the Environment

WIMAYA ◽

10.33005/wimaya.v1i02.33 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 1 (02) ◽

pp. 19-30

Author(s):

Benita Kristi Firmalasari ◽

Resa Rasyidah

Keyword(s):

Waste Management ◽

International Cooperation ◽

Personal Protective Equipment ◽

Protective Clothing ◽

Medical Waste ◽

Protective Equipment ◽

Environmental Diplomacy ◽

Medical Waste Management ◽

The Impact ◽

Waste Accumulation

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the environment. The enormous need for personal protective equipment (PPE) masks (both medical and non-medical masks), protective clothing, face shields, gloves to hand sanitizers and disinfectants has resulted in the accumulation of medical waste in some regions in Indonesia. This paper aims to describe the environmental diplomacy and international cooperation efforts undertaken by the Indonesian government to address these problems. The author finds that Indonesia's environmental diplomacy was carried out before the pandemic occurred, but not much has focused on medical waste management. International cooperation to overcome the problem of medical waste accumulation has been carried out with some countries such as Japan, ASEAN and also WHO. Of course, considering that this pandemic is still ongoing, it is hoped that this paper can be the start of research and can be used as a stepping stone for further research.

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A Predictive Model of the Temperature-Dependent Inactivation of Coronaviruses

10.26434/chemrxiv.12152970.v3 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Te Faye Yap ◽

Zhen Liu ◽

Rachel A. Shveda ◽

Daniel Preston

Keyword(s):

Personal Protective Equipment ◽

Analytical Framework ◽

Protective Equipment ◽

Virus Concentration ◽

Limited Data ◽

Temperature Dependent ◽

Dependent Inactivation ◽

Single Use ◽

Uncertain Future ◽

Thermal Decontamination

The COVID-19 pandemic has stressed healthcare systems and supply lines, forcing medical doctors to risk infection by decontaminating and reusing single-use medical personal protective equipment. The uncertain future of the pandemic is compounded by limited data on the ability of the responsible virus, SARS-CoV-2, to survive across various climates, preventing epidemiologists from accurately modeling its spread. However, a detailed thermodynamic analysis of experimental data on the inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 and related coronaviruses can enable a fundamental understanding of their thermal degradation that will help model the COVID-19 pandemic and mitigate future outbreaks. This paper introduces a thermodynamic model that synthesizes existing data into an analytical framework built on first principles, including the rate law and the Arrhenius equation, to accurately predict the temperature-dependent inactivation of coronaviruses. The model provides much-needed thermal decontamination guidelines for personal protective equipment, including masks. For example, at 70 °C, a 3-log (99.9%) reduction in virus concentration can be achieved in ≈ 3 minutes and can be performed in most home ovens without reducing the efficacy of typical N95 masks. The model will also allow for epidemiologists to incorporate the lifetime of SARS-CoV-2 as a continuous function of environmental temperature into models forecasting the spread of coronaviruses across different climates and seasons.

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THE EFFICACY OF RADPAD AS A RADIATION PROTECTION TOOL IN CT FLUOROSCOPY GUIDED LUNG BIOPSIES

Radiation Protection Dosimetry ◽

10.1093/rpd/ncaa169 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 191 (3) ◽

pp. 328-334 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Michael Lawson ◽

Ahilan Kuganesan ◽

Georgia Parry ◽

Mohamed Khaldoun Badawy

Keyword(s):

Radiation Dose ◽

Dose Reduction ◽

Personal Protective Equipment ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Whole Body ◽

Protective Equipment ◽

Computed Tomography Fluoroscopy ◽

Effective Option ◽

Single Use ◽

Lung Biopsies

Abstract Computed tomography fluoroscopy is now the preferred technique for percutaneous lung biopsies. However, concern regarding operator and patient radiation dose remains, which warrants further exploration into dose optimisation tools. This phantom-study aims to assess the dose reduction capabilities of RADPAD, a single-use patient drape designed to decrease staff exposure to scattered radiation. Dosemeters at the waist and eye levels were used to determine the whole-body and lens exposure during simulated lung biopsy procedures while using RADPAD and other combinations of personal protective equipment. RADPAD resulted in a 36% and 38% dose reduction for whole-body and eye exposure, respectively. However, when used in combination with radioprotective eyewear and aprons, RADPAD did not reduce the radiation dose further. Consequently, the use of standard personal protective equipment is a more cost-effective option for staff dose reduction. RADPAD is useful in the reduction of radiation dose to unprotected regions.

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