Table 3.

A summary of the number of microplastics (MPs) released from different face masks under various conditions.

Mask type	Number of MP release per mask	Treatment method	Reference
Activated carbon mask	540	Breathing simulation for 24 h	Li et al., 2021
	1600 ± 237	Immersing and shaking in water for 24 h	Jiang et al., 2022
Disposal medical mask	1043 ± 155	Immersing and shaking in water at 15 °C for 24 h	Jiang et al., 2022
	2940 ± 392	Immersing and shaking in water at 40 °C for 24 h	Jiang et al., 2022
	1447 ± 218	Immersing and shaking in water for 24 h	Jiang et al., 2022
	1246.62 ± 403.50	Immersing and shaking in water for 24 h	Chen et al., 2021
N95 mask	110	Breathing simulation for 24 h	Li et al., 2021
	3700 to 4400	Rinsing with water for 30 min	Ma et al., 2021
	31.33 ± 0.57	Immersing in water for 24 h	Wang et al., 2022a
	1339 ± 166	Immersing and shaking in water for 24 h	Jiang et al., 2022
	899 ± 65	Kept at 45 °C for 30 days	Gupta et al., 2023
Surgical mask	55,000- 173,000	Under UV for 180 h with vigorous stirring in seawater	Saliu et al., 2021
	137–264	Breathing simulation for 24 h	Li et al., 2021
	2600 ± 700	Shear stress tests in water for 1 s	Morgana et al., 2021
	28,000 ± 5000	Shear stress tests in water for 120 s	Morgana et al., 2021
	3600–5400	Washing in water for 24 h	Shen et al., 2021
	1300 to 2900	Leaching in water for 30 min	Ma et al., 2021
	50.33 ± 18.50	Immersing in water for 24 h	Wang et al., 2022a
	4716	Leaching in water for 24 h	Zuri et al., 2022
	1038 ± 65	Kept at 45 °C for 30 days	Gupta et al., 2023