Advances and perspectives on the life-cycle impact assessment of personal protective equipment in the post-COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic initiated an unprecedented surge in production and consumption of personal protective equipment (PPE). There is still an elevated rate of consumption as the world is entering the post-COVID-19 pandemic period. Given the secondary environmental risks related to PPE, it is necessary to critically analyse the threats of PPE to ecosystems and human health. This review examines production, consumption, and mismanagement of PPE from the view of life-cycle and adverse impacts of the main components of PPE, including microplastics, metals, additives, and dyes, on ecosystems and human health. CO2 emissions, energy consumption costs and loss of biodiversity are the major environmental impacts from production of PPE. Oxidative stress is the most important toxicological impact of the main ingredients of PPE on ecosystems, followed by growth inhibition, DNA damage, and water eutrophication. In contrast, adverse effects on human health include organ damage, immune system damage, nervous system damage, carcinogenesis, and reproductive disorders. The complex and diverse environmental impacts generated by PPE in various stages, including climate change, ecological toxicology, human health, and other aspects, which posed a great challenge to conduct a life-cycle impact assessment (LCIA) related to PPE. Another goal of this review was to investigate the necessity and propose a conceptual framework for conducting a cradle-to- cradle LCIA of PPE, which incorporates sound management strategies for the manufacture and disposal of PPE to reduce the entry of disposable PPE into the environment. The findings could provide reference for the prevention and control of the secondary environmental risks related to PPE caused by major global public health crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic.