The release process of microfibers: from surgical face masks into the marine environment

•Surgical masks were submitted to artificial aging experiment and seawater exposition.•Microfibers release might result up to 173,000 a day.•Masks collected from marine environment showed similar signs of degradation.•Action should be taken to avoid that masks end up in the marine environment. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the use of disposable face masks has been adopted worldwide as a precautionary measure to slow down the transmission of the virus. This has determined an unprecedented rise in the production of these protective equipments, and unfortunately to a new form of environmental contamination due to the improper disposal. To provide a preliminary estimation of the release of microfibers by a surgical mask dumped in the marine environment, we carried out artificial weathering experiments. Results indicated that a single surgical mask submitted to 180 hours UV-light irradiation and vigorous stirring in artificial seawater may release up to 173,000 fibers/ day. Moreover, SEM and micro-FTIR analysis carried out onto surgical masks collected from Italian beaches highlighted the same morphological and chemical degradation signature observed in the masks subjected to the artificially weathering experiments, confirming the risks of a similar microfiber release into the marine environment. [Display omitted]