The continuing outbreak of the Corona virus requires the continuation of wearing masks, which have become an important source of waste.

A French study has shown that polypropylene masks maintain their air-filtering function even after being washed several times.

In an article published by the French newspaper Le Monde, Delphine Rocout said that after a year and a half of laboratory experiments, a team of French researchers revealed, in a study published in the scientific journal Chemosphere this month, that surgical masks retain filtering and ventilation ability. After washing it 10 times.

This study also proved that the performance of "polypropylene" masks exceeds that of class 1 cloth masks, with a bacterial filtration capacity exceeding 98%, while it does not exceed 90% for cloth masks.

"We washed these masks 10 times, but we can imagine washing them more often. A simple rule should therefore be to throw your mask away if it looks worn out and is no longer appropriate to wear," the author quoted Philip Senquin, a researcher at the National Center for Scientific Research, as saying.

It is reported that washing the mask with a washing machine makes the outer layer of the mask thin, so it is recommended that the mask be placed in a closed pillow case.

 environmental challenges

This study was carried out within the framework of a consortium created at the request of Antoine Petit, CEO of the National Center for Scientific Research, and François Jacques, Director-General of the Commission for Atomic Energy and Alternative Energy, in response to the major environmental and economic challenges that require the continued wearing of medical masks for at least a few months and made it a normal health procedure .

According to data from the Nielsen Institute, the value of mask sales between May 2020 and May 2021 was about 550 million euros, while the value of weekly mask sales is estimated at 3 million euros in France.

These masks have become an important source of waste, as they represent up to 40,000 tons annually, according to what the Directorate General for Risk Prevention stated during a hearing conducted by a parliamentary media mission on how to treat medical masks.


Change the regulations

Surgical masks are known to be single-use, mainly for reasons of hygiene in the healthcare environment.

But before they can be encouraged to wash and reuse these types of masks more than once, health authorities must change the regulations in force.

"Public authorities can take the next step of recommending that surgical masks can be washed and persuading manufacturers to classify surgical masks as suitable for non-medical use," Sinquin said.

The writer indicated that taking an organizational step is sufficient, as the reuse of surgical masks is of particular interest to the public at this time.

As for the hygienic framework, washing surgical masks several times loses the ability to prevent leakage of fluids such as blood in the operating room.

The president of the French Association of Hospital Hygiene, Breno Groen Bastien, believes that the generalization of this practice in the health care environment is an "excluded" step, explaining that "the mask must be used once, especially in light of the high percentage of people with health problems, and even if washing it is sufficient to kill the virus." With Covid-19, its effectiveness in filtering the air decreases with resistant bacteria.”


Useful alternative

Washing surgical masks appears to be a beneficial alternative for the general public.

According to Cinquin, washed surgical masks retain their ability to filter the air better compared to those made of cloth, so it is recommended to use them.

According to this researcher, a person infected with COVID-19 who is not wearing a mask can release within 6 minutes the amount of respiratory droplets that a person wearing a category 2 mask disperses within 20 minutes, and the amount that a person wearing a category 1 mask may spread within An hour, and that a person wearing a surgical mask can deploy in 5 hours.”

From an environmental point of view, the issue is rather complicated: Surgical masks are mainly made of polypropylene except for the rubber bands and nose clip, while the masks used by the general public are often made of cloth or polyester-cotton mixture, sometimes from 100% natural materials %.