Table 3.
Number of microplastics (MP) and nanoplastics (NP) counted from 100 μL well-mixed face mask leachate identified by scanning electron microscope (Ma et al., 2021).
| Mask type | Country of production | MP ≥ 1 μm (103 per mask) | NP < 1 μm (109 per mask) | Mean diameter of NP < 1 μm (nm) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surgical | China | 1.8 ± 0.1 | 2.6 ± 0.3 | 108 ± 19.0 |
| Surgical | China | 1.6 ± 0.3 | 2.1 ± 0.1 | 135 ± 10.3 |
| Surgical | China | 1.5 ± 0.2 | 2.0 ± 0.4 | 144 ± 20.5 |
| Surgical | China | 1.3 ± 0.1 | 1.6 ± 0.2 | 139 ± 16.7 |
| Surgical | Vietnam | 1.7 ± 0.1 | 1.9 ± 0.4 | 112 ± 22.7 |
| Surgical | Korea | 1.7 ± 0.2 | 3.8 ± 0.5 | 103 ± 10.2 |
| Surgical | Japan | 1.7 ± 0.2 | 1.9 ± 0.5 | 101 ± 35.7 |
| Surgical | Japan | 2.9 ± 0.1 | 2.0 ± 0.1 | 115 ± 25.8 |