Opinion to address the personal protective equipment shortage in the global community during the COVID-19 outbreak

Journal Article · Sun Apr 05 00:00:00 EDT 2020 · Polymer Degradation and Stability

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2020.109162· OSTI ID:1614782

Dargaville, Tim ^[1]; Spann, Kirsten ^[2]; Celina, Mathew ^[3]

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1. Queensland Univ. of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland (Australia)
2. QIMRB Medical Research Inst., Herston, QLD (Australia)
3. Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

The current COVID-19 pandemic is stretching both the global supply for face masks and personal protective equipment (PPE). Production capacity is severely limited in many countries. This is a call for the R&D community, particularly to those in the polymer degradation and stability field. We have not only an opportunity but an obligation to engage and collaborate with virology and bio-medical experts. We require comparative R&D for extended, reuse and recyclability options. Additionally, there is urgent need for large scale institutional approaches and methods that can be quickly applied locally by non-experts with limited resources.

• Research Organization: Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
• Grant/Contract Number: AC04-94AL85000; NA0003525; NA-0003525
• OSTI ID: 1614782
• Alternate ID(s): OSTI ID: 1703359
• Report Number(s): SAND-2020-3709J; 685121
• Journal Information: Polymer Degradation and Stability, Vol. 176, Issue C; ISSN 0141-3910
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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36 MATERIALS SCIENCE