Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
The use of disposable face masks as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to more microplastics in waterways, a recent study from Canadian researchers has found.
Microplastics are tiny plastic particles that are less than 5 millimetres long and are created through the degradation of discarded plastic-containing products. These particles have been observed polluting various natural ecosystems, particularly aquatic environments.
The study was published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials in September and involved researchers from Concordia University, the University of Regina, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Memorial University. They looked into how disposable masks break down in a shoreline environment.
"With the increasing presence of waste masks on shorelines, it is critical that the environmental effect of disposable masks on the shoreline environment be evaluated in a timely manner," the authors wrote.
Disposable surgical masks are typically made from a type of plastic called polypropylene and consist of three layers – outer, middle and inner. Many masks also contain some chemical additives, which can also be released into waterways as the masks break down.
The researchers exposed masks to simulated shoreline conditions and observed how the masks broke down. They exposed the masks to UV light for up to 48 hours while keeping a control group of masks wrapped in aluminum foil.
After 18 hours of UV exposure, the masks showed "obvious deformation or damage" on the inner and outer layers, the researchers wrote. After 36 hours, most of the fibres in all of the layers of the masks were damaged, creating miniscule fibre fragments.
UV exposure resulted in more than 1.5 million microplastic particles being released from a single mask, compared to just over 483,000 particles for masks not exposed to UV.
"Masks have become a part of daily life, both during and after the pandemic. So, it is necessary to establish strategies to deal with mask waste," Concordia PhD student and lead author Zheng Wang told CTVNews.ca over the phone on Wednesday.
An estimated 129 billion face masks are used globally each month, according to a June 2020 study led by Portuguese researchers. Wang says the findings underscore the need for governments, researchers and industry to collaborate and find ways to prevent further pollution in our waterways.
"For the public, we need to increase awareness to not discard masks randomly. For governments, they need to adopt new regulations to establish best practices. For industries, we need to develop new biodegradable materials for masks and develop new production technologies to reduce the environmental impact," Wang said.
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.
Whether passionate about Poirot or hungry for Holmes, Winnipeg mystery obsessives have had a local haunt for over 30 years in which to search out their latest page-turners.
Eighty-two-year-old Susan Neufeldt and 90-year-old Ulrich Richter are no spring chickens, but their love blossomed over the weekend with their wedding at Pine View Manor just outside of Rosthern.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A mother goose and her goslings caused a bit of a traffic jam on a busy stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway near Vancouver Saturday.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.