COVID-19 PANDEMİSİNİN ÇEVRE ÜZERİNDEKİ ERKEN DÖNEM ETKİLERİ

Abstract

The fight against the SARS-CoV-2 at the global scale, in the aftermath of the declaration of the pandemic by WHO, is at full steam. Covid-19 pandemic caused worldwide change in all aspects of life, ranging from education to shopping, sports to entertainment, transportation to international relations, social rituals to daily routine, production to consumption, and therefore, the waste produced. The partial and total lockdown measures introduced led to substantial reductions in air pollutant emissions, falls in noise levels in urban environments, and improvements in the quality of water sources and the environment. On the other hand, given the substantial demand for personal protective equipment (PPE), disinfectant and drug in the context of the response to the pandemic, now waste produced by the use of such materials is becoming more and more prevalent in the environment and water sources. Therefore, the pandemic is bound to have substantial impact on the environment, comparable to temporary and more permanent effects it has on the social, health, industria and economic aspects of life. Crudely put, the improvements in the environment, brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic will probably be temporary, and will last for only as long as the restrictions remain in place, while it is bound to have negative and probably lasting effects in the lack of adequate measures. The present study aims to carry out a comprehensive assessment of the pandemic’s effect on water, air, noise and visual pollution, as well as the waste produced specifically by pandemic-response activities. Furthermore, the analysis focuses on the means of transmission of the disease that can be associated with environmental sciences (water, wastewater, solid waste), the applicable measures, and wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) and early-warning systems regarding SARS-CoV-2 virus.