Textile materials represented in disposable surgical masks pose a serious threat to the environment

Erjavec, Alen; Volmajer Valh, Julija

Tekstil : journal for textile and clothing technology, Vol. 72 No. 1, 2023.

Original scientific paper

Textile materials represented in disposable surgical masks pose a serious threat to the environment

Alen Erjavec ; University of Maribor, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Maribor, Slovenia *
Julija Volmajer Valh orcid.org/0000-0001-7048-1311 ; University of Maribor, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Maribor, Slovenia

* Corresponding author.

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APA 6th Edition

Erjavec, A. & Volmajer Valh, J. (2023). Textile materials represented in disposable surgical masks pose a serious threat to the environment. Tekstil, 72 (1), 1-6. Retrieved from https://hrcak.srce.hr/334549

MLA 8th Edition

Erjavec, Alen and Julija Volmajer Valh. "Textile materials represented in disposable surgical masks pose a serious threat to the environment." Tekstil, vol. 72, no. 1, 2023, pp. 1-6. https://hrcak.srce.hr/334549. Accessed 18 May 2026.

Chicago 17th Edition

Erjavec, Alen and Julija Volmajer Valh. "Textile materials represented in disposable surgical masks pose a serious threat to the environment." Tekstil 72, no. 1 (2023): 1-6. https://hrcak.srce.hr/334549

Harvard

Erjavec, A., and Volmajer Valh, J. (2023). 'Textile materials represented in disposable surgical masks pose a serious threat to the environment', Tekstil, 72(1), pp. 1-6. Available at: https://hrcak.srce.hr/334549 (Accessed 18 May 2026)

Vancouver

Erjavec A, Volmajer Valh J. Textile materials represented in disposable surgical masks pose a serious threat to the environment. Tekstil [Internet]. 2023 [cited 2026 May 18];72(1). Available from: https://hrcak.srce.hr/334549

IEEE

A. Erjavec and J. Volmajer Valh, "Textile materials represented in disposable surgical masks pose a serious threat to the environment", Tekstil, vol.72, no. 1, pp. 1-6, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://hrcak.srce.hr/334549. [Accessed: 18 May 2026]

Abstract

Surgical face masks were introduced over a century ago to protect patients from infections during surgery. Initially designed to filter droplets from the mouth and nasopharynx, their use expanded to the general population during epidemic outbreaks. The COVID-19 pandemic, as the most significant modern health crisis, caused a dramatic rise in the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), particularly disposable surgical masks (DSMs). In Slovenia, DSMs were the most used face masks during the pandemic, with a notable portion (10%) improperly disposed of, leading to environmental contamination. To address these issues, a study was conducted to analyse waste DSMs and their environmental impact. A detailed disassembly and gravimetric analysis were performed, along with infrared spectroscopy of individual mask components. The materials used in DSMs raised concerns about micro/nanoplastic contamination and harmful substances released during leaching and photodegradation. Tests such as artificial weathering and the toxicity characteristic leaching procedure revealed that micro/nanoplastic particles were leached from all five mask components in water. Under natural conditions, DSMs lose up to 30% of their mass within a month, forming micro/nanoplastics through photodegradation. Improper disposal of DSMs thus poses a significant environmental risk due to the release of hazardous particles.