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You're being downvoted, but you're not wrong. Microscopic particles of whatever material masks are made of absolutely do flake off and end up in your lungs. Is

by titzer 5y ago

You're being downvoted, but you're not wrong. Microscopic particles of whatever material masks are made of absolutely do flake off and end up in your lungs. Is that why the planet is full of microplastic pollution? Not by a long shot. That'd mostly be due to snacks, water bottles, fishing nets, toothbrushes, flip flops, packaging of all kinds, beauty products, toothpaste...oy, the list is endless.

t0bia_s 5y ago
Sure, but the waste and plastic production significantly increased during covid. It was around 129 billion disposable masks used every month around the world, according to the American Chemical Society. I'm not sure if that number is lowering or not with totalitarian Chinese policy. - https://www.dailysabah.com/life/environment/disposable-masks-the-dark-side-of-covid-19-pandemic https://www.dailysabah.com/life/environment/disposable-masks...
- kevingadd 5y ago
  It's frustrating that N95/KN95 reuse wasn't a more common thing. There are ways to prep them for reuse (iirc there is a way using a conventional oven if you configure it just right) but I never saw much encouragement to do it, and I'm not about to try and DIY it without lots of confirmation that I'm doing it right.
  - t0bia_s 5y ago
    Reuse is not profitable for companies that make masks. There were even times that our gonverment told us to wear two masks simultaneously. Of course for our safety.
kevingadd 5y ago
Well the general argument here is not "masks are perfectly safe", it's "masks are far less likely to kill you than what they protect you from". Hospital workers wear them for hours and hours every day. Even if we pretend that covid doesn't cause death or long term complications, masks also protect you from the flu and the flu kills people every year too. It's probably possible to create masks that don't shed particles, but they're much more expensive and that means we wouldn't be able to protect most people.
- t0bia_s 5y ago
  "masks are far less likely to kill you than what they protect you from" This is theory debunked by whole Africa, Latin America or nordic countries. But that is anothet topic. Waste from mask is enormous and the consequences remaining.
red_trumpet 5y ago
Also, car tires! https://edition.cnn.com/2019/10/04/us/microplastic-pollution-car-tire-trnd/index.html https://edition.cnn.com/2019/10/04/us/microplastic-pollution...

by titzer 5y ago

t0bia_s 5y ago

Sure, but the waste and plastic production significantly increased during covid. It was around 129 billion disposable masks used every month around the world, according to the American Chemical Society. I'm not sure if that number is lowering or not with totalitarian Chinese policy. - https://www.dailysabah.com/life/environment/disposable-masks-the-dark-side-of-covid-19-pandemic https://www.dailysabah.com/life/environment/disposable-masks...

kevingadd 5y ago
It's frustrating that N95/KN95 reuse wasn't a more common thing. There are ways to prep them for reuse (iirc there is a way using a conventional oven if you configure it just right) but I never saw much encouragement to do it, and I'm not about to try and DIY it without lots of confirmation that I'm doing it right.
- t0bia_s 5y ago
  Reuse is not profitable for companies that make masks. There were even times that our gonverment told us to wear two masks simultaneously. Of course for our safety.

kevingadd 5y ago

Well the general argument here is not "masks are perfectly safe", it's "masks are far less likely to kill you than what they protect you from". Hospital workers wear them for hours and hours every day. Even if we pretend that covid doesn't cause death or long term complications, masks also protect you from the flu and the flu kills people every year too. It's probably possible to create masks that don't shed particles, but they're much more expensive and that means we wouldn't be able to protect most people.

t0bia_s 5y ago
"masks are far less likely to kill you than what they protect you from" This is theory debunked by whole Africa, Latin America or nordic countries. But that is anothet topic. Waste from mask is enormous and the consequences remaining.

red_trumpet 5y ago

Also, car tires! https://edition.cnn.com/2019/10/04/us/microplastic-pollution-car-tire-trnd/index.html https://edition.cnn.com/2019/10/04/us/microplastic-pollution...