Environmental footprints of disposable and reusable personal protective equipment ‒ a product life cycle approach for body coveralls

Body coveralls, often made of single-use plastics, are essential Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and, along with masks, are widely used in healthcare facilities and public spaces in the wake of the recent COVID-19 pandemic. The widespread use of these body coveralls poses a significant threat to terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, given their polluting nature and disposal frequency. Therefore, it is necessary to promote the adoption of alternatives that increase the safe reusability of PPE clothing and reduce environmental and health hazards. This study presents a comparative Cradle-to-Grave Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of disposable and reusable PPE body coveralls from a product life cycle perspective. A comprehensive life cycle inventory and LCA framework specific to Indian conditions have been developed through this study. The LCA is performed as per standard protocols using SimaPro software under recipe 2016 (H) impact assessment method. Six midpoint impact categories viz. Global Warming Potential, Terrestrial Acidification, Freshwater Eutrophication, Terrestrial Ecotoxicity, Human Carcinogenic Toxicity, and Water Consumption are assessed, along with Cumulative Energy Demand. Results suggest that reusable PPE improves environmental and human health performance in all the impact categories except water consumption. Sensitivity analysis reveals that replacing conventional electricity with solar energy for PPE manufacturing and disposal will provide additional environmental benefits. The findings can help the medical textile industries, healthcare workers, and policymakers to make environmentally informed choices.