Disposable Face Mask Found In Turtle Manure, COVID-19 Medical Waste Is Increasingly Worrying

Illustration of mask waste. (Unsplash/Brian Yurasits)

JAKARTA - Single-use masks have been found in the droppings of light green turtles caught off the northeast coast of Japan, a recent study by a Japanese research team showed, raising concerns that COVID-related plastic debris is contaminating marine ecosystems.

While turtles have been known to accidentally ingest plastic for some time, no face masks were found during a 15-year survey of the region before the pandemic, according to a team from the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology and the University. from Tokyo.

Reports of single-use masks entering the ocean have been increasing in coastal areas around the world, since the outbreak of the new coronavirus.

In a paper published in the Marine Pollution Bulletin earlier this month, the team also confirmed commercially available masks contain stabilizers to prevent plastic from deteriorating from ultraviolet light. Additives are considered endocrine disruptors, which means they can interfere with the hormonal system of the organism.

The light green turtle was caught alive in a net in Iwate Prefecture in August 2021, and is currently being held in captivity.

The mask was later confirmed to be a non-woven polypropylene mask found in his feces by Takuya Fukuoka, a researcher at the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology.

Hideshige Takada, a professor at the same university who was also involved in the study, said the findings showed marine life was exposed to chemicals through inadvertent consumption of plastic waste.

With the use of masks and other personal protective equipment likely to continue for some time, "we need to take steps such as ensuring proper waste management and replacing additives," he stressed.