Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Aslan, Herdem
• Yılmaz, Okan
• Benfield, Mark C.
• Becan, S. Ahmet

Titel

Temporal trends in personal protective equipment (PPE) debris during the COVID-19 pandemic in Çanakkale (Turkey)

Ist Teil von

• The Science of the total environment, 2023-11, Vol.898, p.165377-165377, Article 165377

Ort / Verlag

Netherlands: Elsevier B.V

Erscheinungsjahr

2023

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

Alma/SFX Local Collection

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• This study examines trends in PPE (masks, gloves) and disinfecting wipes over three years of the pandemic. The densities of discarded masks, wet wipes, and gloves (personal protective equipment: PPE), were quantified on the streets of Canakkale, Turkey during similar time periods in 2020, 2021 and 2022. Geotagged images of PPE on the streets and sidewalks were documented with a smartphone, while the track of an observer was recorded using a fitness tracker app along a 7.777 km long survey route in the city center, parallel to the Dardanelles Strait. A total of 18 surveys were conducted over three years, and the survey route was subdivided into three zones based on utilization patterns: pedestrian zone, traffic zone and a recreational park zone. The combined densities of all types of PPE density were high in 2020, lower in 2021 and highest in 2022. The within year trend showed an increase over the three study years. The average density of gloves declined from an initially high level in 2020, when the SARS-CoV-2 virus was thought to be transmitted by contact, to near zero in 2021 and to zero in 2022. Densities of wipes were similar in 2020 and 2021 and higher in 2022. Masks were initially difficult to procure in 2020, and their densities progressively increased during that year reaching a plateau in 2021 with similar densities in 2022. PPE densities were significantly lower in the pedestrian route relative to the traffic and park routes, which were not different from each other. The partial curfews implemented by the Turkish government and the effects of prevention measures taken on the PPE concentration in the streets are discussed along with the importance of waste management practices. [Display omitted] •PPE densities measured in three areas differing in utilization from 2020 to 2022•PPE densities (ha−1): 6.85 (2020); 3.65 (2021); and 8.19 (2022)•Wipes were the most abundant items followed by masks and gloves•Glove densities decreased from 0.384 ha−1 in 2020 to zero in 2022.•The pedestrian route PPE density was low relative to the traffic and park routes.