Abstract
Global health organizations recommend the use of cloth face coverings to slow the spread of COVID-19. Seemingly overnight, companies whose primary business is in no way related to healthcare or personal protective equipment—from mattresses manufacturers to big box stores—transitioned into the “mask business.” Many companies advertise antimicrobial masks containing silver, copper, or other antimicrobials. Often, the techniques used to load such antimicrobials onto mask fibers are undisclosed, and the potential for metal leaching from these masks is yet unknown. We exposed nine so-called “antimicrobial” face masks (and one 100% cotton control mask) to deionized water, laundry detergent, and artificial saliva to quantify the leachable silver and copper that may occur during mask washing and wearing. Leaching varied widely across manufacturer, metal, and leaching solution, but in some cases was as high as 100% of the metals contained in the as-received mask after 1 h of exposure.
Highlights
Global health organizations recommend the use of cloth face coverings to slow the spread of COVID19
One of the most politicized and commercialized aspect of the COVID-19 pandemic is the use of cloth face coverings among the general public to mitigate the spread of SARS-CoV-21
A new corpus overwhelming agrees that even cloth face masks provide some protection against infection of the wearer and effectively reduce community spread of SARS-CoV-25–7
Summary
Global health organizations recommend the use of cloth face coverings to slow the spread of COVID19. Inhalation, and dermal adsorption of leached metals from wearing a copper- or silver-infused face mask are potential metal exposure pathways.
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