The COVID-19 pandemic has driven explosive growth in the use of masks has resulted in many issues related to the disposal and management of waste masks. As improperly disposed masks enter the ocean, the risk to the marine ecological system is further aggravated, especially in the shoreline environment. The objective of this study is to explore the changing characteristics and environmental behaviors of disposable masks when exposed to the shoreline environment. The transformation of chain structure and chemical composition of masks as well as the decreased mechanical strength of masks after UV weathering were observed. The melt-blown cloth in the middle layer of masks was found to be particularly sensitive to UV irradiation. A single weathered mask can release more than 1.5 million microplastics to the aqueous environment. The physical abrasion caused by sand further exacerbated the release of microplastic particles from masks, with more than 16 million particles released from just one weathered mask in the presence of sand. The study results indicate that shorelines are not only the main receptor of discarded masks from oceans and lands, but also play host to further transformation of masks to plastic particles.

COVID-19大流行推动了口罩使用量的爆炸性增长，导致了与废弃口罩处理和管理相关的许多问题。随着处置不当的口罩进入海洋，对海洋生态系统的风险进一步加剧，特别是在海岸线环境中。本研究的目的是探讨一次性口罩暴露于海岸线环境时的变化特征和环境行为。观察到掩模的链结构和化学成分的变化以及紫外线老化后掩模的机械强度的下降。研究发现，口罩中间层的熔喷布对紫外线照射特别敏感。一个风化的口罩可以向水环境中释放超过 150 万个微塑料。沙子造成的物理磨损进一步加剧了口罩中微塑料颗粒的释放，在沙子存在的情况下，仅一只风化的口罩就会释放出超过 1600 万个颗粒。研究结果表明，海岸线不仅是海洋和陆地废弃口罩的主要接收地，而且也是口罩进一步转化为塑料颗粒的场所。