Brent Pautler Coauthored Paper in Chemosphere

Brent Pautler, PhD, coauthored "Integrated Assessment of Heavy Metal Pollution in the Great Bačka Canal: Comparing Active and Passive Sampling Methods" in the February 2025 edition of Chemosphere.

His coauthors are Alexander Sweett, Đorđe Pejin, Dragana Tomašević Pilipović, Slaven Tenodi, Dunja Rađenović Veselić, and Dejan Krčmar.

Brent is the Chemistry Services Manager at SiREM . He brings more than 12 years of experience in spectroscopy, chromatography, mass spectrometry, passive sampling, and chemistry informatics. Throughout his career, Brent has worked with scientists, engineers, and consultants to help solve unique problems in the laboratory and the field.

Chemosphere publishes research related to environmental pollution, including on the identification, behavior, fate, toxicology, treatment, and remediation of contaminants. The publication covers a wide range of topics such as emerging contaminants, environmental toxicology, risk assessment, and advanced treatment technologies.

Abstract 

This study investigates the environmental risks posed by heavy metals in sediment from the Great Bačka Canal using both active and passive sampling methods. The necessity of this research lies in the critical need to address sediment contamination in ecological hotspots and enhance sediment management practices. Active sampling revealed total heavy metal concentrations, while sequential extraction showed bioavailability varied across metal fractions. Passive sampling with SPeeper™ quantified freely dissolved metal concentrations in sediment pore water, identifying zinc (41 μg/L) as the most bioavailable metal. Risk indices, including Igeo (geo-accumulation index) and IWCTU (interstitial water criteria toxic units), revealed low to moderate contamination levels. Although copper content classified the sediment as extremely polluted (195.7 mg/kg), its low bioavailability (16 μg/L in pore water) mitigates immediate ecological risks. These findings emphasize the importance of integrating passive sampling in regulatory frameworks for a realistic environmental risk assessment of sediments.