PPE Pollution

Posted on by Thor

Reports from around the world suggest COVID-19 pollution is becoming a global issue. In Hong Kong, for instance, surgical masks and gloves litter hiking trails and wash up on beaches. Clean-up crews on beaches in the United Kingdom have reported surges in discarded takeout containers and hand-sanitizer bottles.

During the pandemic, personal protective equipment (PPE) has driven increased plastic pollution. To fill the high PPE demand among the general public, health care workers, and service workers, single-use face mask production in China soared to 116 million per day in February 2021, about 12 times the usual quantity. The World Health Organization (WHO) has requested a 40% escalation of disposable PPE production. If the global population adheres to a standard of one disposable face mask per day after lockdowns end, the pandemic could result in a monthly global consumption and waste of 129 billion face masks and 65 billion gloves.

Face masks and gloves are polluting the oceans. Waterlogged masks, gloves, hand sanitizer bottles and other coronavirus waste are already being found on our seabeds and washed up on our beaches, joining the day-to-day detritus in our ocean ecosystems. French clean-up charity Opération Mer Propre is among those calling for action. “There are more masks than jellyfish,” Laurent Lombard from the organization said in one Facebook post. The quarantine economy has driven more people online, resulting in greater packaging waste from deliveries.

Plastic decomposes over hundreds of years. That means the same PPE that today is washing up in gardens, overflowing in landfills and sinking in the ocean could be a problem for our great-great-great-great-great-great-grandchildren. And their grandchildren as well.

Waiting Room

Posted on by Thor

People are dying still thinking the COVID-19 virus is a hoax. When it is clear a COVID-19 patient will not survive, hospital staff can only stop the drips, turn off the ventilator and wait. I started this sketch after hearing that doctors had to use Halloween masks since they had run out of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE). Doctors and nurses resorted to using plastic page protectors as face shields as well as ski goggles, plastic garbage bags and duck tape.

If our first responders were sent to war they would be given  the necessary equipment like guns,  helmets and grenades but doctors and nurses had to make do with what they could find or cobble together. They had to rely on sewing circles to create cloth masks. It is a sad reminder of our countries priorities. The stock market seems more important than human life. Pfizer Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla sold company shares worth $5.56 million,  the same day the drug maker reported positive data on its experimental Covid-19 vaccine.

I began too wonder if vintage plague masks could be retrofitted to act as PPE. The beak-like masks were once filled with aromatic items like herbs, straw, and spices which were intended to protect the wearer from putrid air.

With hospitals across the county reaching a “tipping point,” where some patients have to wait for someone to die before they can be treated. Texas has the most COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the U.S., according to the COVID Tracking Project.  In Star County Texas, a committee was formed which would decide which COVID-19 patients are likely to die and those patients would be sent home to die with family. Most people die alone unable to be visited by family.

As of November 9, 2020, hospitalizations are rising in 47 states, according to data collected by The COVID Tracking Project, and 22 states are seeing their highest numbers of COVID-19 hospitalizations since the pandemic began. Research found that a 1% increase of COVID-19 patients in a state’s ICU beds will lead to about 2.8 additional deaths in the next seven days. Hospitals in Northwest Wisconsin were full to capacity, as of November 12, 2020 with 100% of its beds filled in the region. Approximately 300 hospital staff in the area are on work restrictions due to exposure to Covid-19. The worst is yet to come.

Price of PPE

Posted on by Thor

Why are police officers around the country outfitted in high tech riot gear while nurses and doctors have to scramble for basic personal protective equipment? Back in April when New York City was first hit hard by the Covid-19 Pandemic some nurses and doctors had to improvise, using hefty garbage bags since Personal Protective equipment was in such short supply.  Now, with police hitting the streets with pepper spray and rubber bullets to disperse protestors we can see that they are very well supplied with PPE.

I decided to host a fashion show with a nurse and an officer in riot gear. I am not great at knowing the costs of fashion items but I will try and research what each is wearing and how much it costs. I will limit myself to the items visible in my illustration.

The Nurse.

It should be noted that PPE costs increased 1000% during the Covid-19 pandemic. While nurses ran out of PPE, and had to re-use face masks, the President accused them of stealing their own supplies..

A basic Face Shield. She is sporting a fairly basic face shield. In May, Amazon began to mass produce face shields at coast for nurses and doctors. Prices are between $12 and $35.

Pro-Safe Skull Cap  $4.06

This nurse is not wearing an N-95 Surgical Mask. The Face Mask she is wearing is not designed to form a seal around the nose and mouth. A pack of 50 about 29.00 or $.59 cents each. Face masks can not be shared and should not be re-used.

Disposable Scrubs Top $4.99.

Disposable Scrubs Pants $4.99.

Disposable Vinyl Gloves $16.99 for 100 pairs or $.16 cents per pair.

She should be wearing Waterproof Boots (e.g. rubber or gum boots) $36.45. I have also seen photos of nurses putting hefty bags over their street shoes and duck taping them in place.  $9.99 for 40 bags. or $.49 for a pair. Duck tape is $4.99 for a roll which can go a long way.

Outer Protective Gown is a Hefty Bag with a hefty plastic tie for a belt. $.24 cents.

Any street clothing will not be counted. The total for the ensemble is about $27.52. Her wings are free. She has earned them.

The nurses had resorted to trash bags after the death of assistant nursing manager Kious Kelly, 48, who died of COVID-19 on March 24, 2020. Colleagues have blamed his death on the forced reusing of protective equipment.

Around April Fools Day, Nurses battling the Covid-19 pandemic at Mount Sinai West in New York City finally got more protective gear after The New York Post revealed a shortage so dire that some staffers resorted to wearing trash bags. Should we ant to thank essential workers, we should make sure they are included in city budgets.

Riot Gear Police.

Helmet Lancer Tactical Large – X-Large Industrial ABS Plastic Constructed Maritime Adjustable Crown with 20mm Side Rail Adapter Velcro Padding NVG Shroud Bungee Retention. $65.

Gas Mask is similar to the Evolution 5000 $229.50.

The Upper Body Protector Vest is about $71.42.

The department supplys ammunition. Collapsible batons, chemical spray, handcuffs — both metal and the plastic variety used in riot-type situations — and a leather utility belt to hold these items are other must-haves.

Minnesota officers receive an annual equipment allowance of $980 — rookie cops get three years, or $2,940, up front to start building their wardrobes. Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges has pledged another $1.1 million for a department wide rollout of body cameras. LAPD officers are outfitted in riot gear that costs tax payers at least $470 per officer, not counting weapons.

I can’t identify the exact less lethal weapon this officer is holding but it is probably just short of $1000. Should anyone be able to identify it with a price, please let me know. The Sting Ball Grenade on his vest is $52.50. Who knows how much more ammo and grenades are in the bag he is holding.

The Body Cam on his vest is about $155.98.

This officer may have on a very nice Paul Newman Rolex Daytona watch.

So an exact pricing estimate seems difficult, but it is fair to say that there is a big difference between the $27.62 Nurse ensemble and the several thousand dollar plus riot police ensemble. By one estimate one officers riot gear could pay for the PPE for 33 nurses.

This leads to the idea of defunding the police to create balance in the community. Rather than investing billions in a culture of violence, we could invest some of that money in services that have a positive impact on the community like youth programs, counseling and affordable housing. The nation wide peaceful protests are helping inspire change.