Branislav Vrana

• PhD
• Professor (Associate) at Masaryk University

Improving our understanding of how environmental pollution affects aquatic life requires a holistic approach. This study provides new insights into the intrinsic biological defence of brown trout (Salmo trutta m. fario L.) against chemical pollution in a stream with a low-dilution factor, a common scenario in headwaters globally. Fish restocked dow...

Characterizing air-textile distribution of aromatic amines to understand importance of textiles in exposure to amines and transport from indoors to outdoors.

The chapter highlights the benefits of integrating passive sampling techniques with chromatographic separation techniques (liquid and gas chromatography, LC, GC) and high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) for characterizing complex aquatic contaminant mixtures. While non-targeted analysis identifies a broader range of contaminants than the conven...

This review examines the environmental occurrence and fate of aromatic amines (AAs), a group of environmental contaminants with possible carcinogenic and mutagenic effects. AAs are known to be partially responsible for the genotoxic traits of industrial wastewater (WW), and AA antioxidants are acutely toxic to some aquatic organisms. Still, there a...

The quality of chemical analysis is an important aspect of passive sampling-based environmental assessments. The present study reports on a proficiency testing program for the chemical analysis of hydrophobic organic compounds in silicone and low-density polyethylene (LDPE) passive samplers and hydrophilic compounds in polar organic chemical integr...

Diffusive hydrogel-based passive sampler (HPS) based on diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) is designed for monitoring polar organic contaminants in the aquatic environment. DGT technique controls the compound’s overall uptake rate by adding a hydrogel layer of known thickness, which minimizes the importance of the resistive water boundary laye...

The possibilities of expanding a groundwater quality monitoring scheme by passive sampling using polar organic chemical integrative sampler (POCIS) comprising HLB sorbent as the receiving phase were explored. Passive sampling and grab sampling were carried out simultaneously in the regions with vulnerable groundwater resources in Slovakia, between...

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are recognized as pollutants of global concern, but so far, information on the trends of legacy POPs in the waters of the world has been missing due to logistical, analytical, and financial reasons. Passive samplers have emerged as an attractive alternative to active water sampling methods as they accumulate POP...

Monitoring methodologies reflecting the long-term quality and contamination of surface waters are needed to obtain a representative picture of pollution and identify risk drivers. This study sets a baseline for characterizing chemical pollution in the Danube River using an innovative approach, combining continuous three-months use of passive sampli...

As Europe's second longest river, the Danube is an important water source for drinking water and irrigation for many countries, before discharging into the Black Sea in the East. Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been observed over the last two decades in concentrations exceeding the European Union's drinking water guidelines for tot...

Many semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) accumulate in indoor dust, which serves as a repository for those compounds. The presence of SVOCs in indoor environments is of concern because many of them are suspected to have toxic effects. Total SVOC concentrations in the dust are generally used for exposure assessment to indoor contaminants, assumi...

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are widely distributed along the world and their levels in surface waters may pose a risk to human health due to consumption of contaminated water or fish long-term exposure to contaminated water. The occurrence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesti...

An upscaled passive sampler variant (diffusive hydrogel-based passive sampler; HPS) based on diffusive gradients in thin films for polar organic compounds (o-DGT) with seven times higher surface area (22.7 cm2) than a typical o-DGT sampler (3.14 cm2) was tested in several field studies. HPS performance was tested in situ within a calibration study...

Dust is a widely-used matrix for estimating human exposure to chemicals or as a screening tool for the identification of indoor chemicals of concern. As dust sampling became more common in exposure assessment, techniques used in processing soil have been adapted to dust samples, and separation of dust particles by sieving is common practice. Howeve...

Hexachlorobenzene (HCB), listed on the Stockholm Convention on persistent organic pollutants and regulated as a hazardous priority pollutant by the Water Framework Directive (WFD), is ubiquitously distributed in the environment and assumed to mildly biomagnify in aquatic foodwebs. The proposal to include trophic magnification factors (TMFs) in the...

Contamination of aquatic ecosystems by hydrophobic organic contaminants (HOCs) is often assessed based on their concentrations in riverbed sediment and suspended particulate matter (SPM). However, total HOC concentration (CTOT) in sediment or SPM is of limited value for evaluating the exposure of benthic or pelagic organisms. The accessible HOC con...

The study showed novel findings about changes in the fate and bioavailability of conazole fungicides (CFs) after biochar (BC) addition to soil. Two contrasting soils (low- and high-sorbing of CF; L soils, H soils) were amended by three BCs (low-, moderate-, and high-sorbing of CF; L-BC, M-BC, H-BC) at 0.2% and 2% doses. Epoxiconazole (EPC) and tebu...

Contamination with hydrophobic organic compounds (HOCs) such as persistent organic pollutants negatively affects global water quality. Accurate and globally comparable monitoring data are required to understand better the HOCs distribution and environmental fate. We present the first results of a proof-of-concept global monitoring campaign, the Aqu...

Non-target analysis (NTA) employing high-resolution mass spectrometry is a commonly applied approach for the detection of novel chemicals of emerging concern in complex environmental samples. NTA typically results in large and information-rich datasets that require computer aided (ideally automated) strategies for their processing and interpretatio...

Mapping of hydrophobic organic compounds (HOCs) in surface seawater on an east-to-west transect of the South Atlantic Ocean (SAO) and across the Black Sea (BS) in 2016 was performed by a dynamic passive sampling device containing silicone-based passive samplers. In SAO as well as in BS the measurements confirmed freely dissolved concentrations of p...

The identification and prioritisation of water bodies presenting elevated levels of anthropogenic chemicals is a key aspect of environmental monitoring programmes. Albeit this is challenging owing to geographical scales, choice of indicator aquatic species used for chemical monitoring, and inherent need for an understanding of contaminant fate and...

Semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs) are mostly man-made chemicals that distribute between the gas and solid phase in the environment. Many of them could pose harm to people and therefore it is important to know their concentrations in the indoor environment to evaluate the related risks. Inhalation exposure can be assessed using passive sampling...

POCIS is the most widely applied passive sampler of polar organic substances, because it was one of the first commercially available samplers for that purpose on the market, but also for its applicability for a wide range of substances and conditions. Its main weakness is the variability of sampling performance with exposure conditions. In our stud...

Total concentrations of hydrophobic organic contaminants (HOCs) in sediment present a poor quality assessment parameter for aquatic organism exposure and environmental risk because they do not reflect contaminant bioavailability. The bioavailability issue of HOCs in sediments can be addressed by application of multi-ratio equilibrium passive sampli...

The Partnership for Chemicals Risk Assessment (PARC) is currently under development as a joint research and innovation programme to strengthen the scientific basis for chemical risk assessment in the EU. The plan is to bring chemical risk assessors and managers together with scientists to accelerate method development and the production of necessar...

The concentrations of hydrophobic organic compounds (HOCs) in aquatic biota are used for compliance, as well as time and spatial trend monitoring in the aqueous environment (European Union water framework directive, OSPAR). Because of trophic magnification in the food chain, the thermodynamic levels of HOCs, for example, polychlorinated biphenyl co...

Passive sampling is a method that can conveniently be used for monitoring of organic contaminants in the aquatic environment comprising its various compartments. The time-integrating properties of passive sampling in combination with the application of a sampling matrix (polymers) with well-defined and constant properties make it possible to achiev...

The occurrence of chemical and biological contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) was investigated in treated wastewater intended for reuse in agriculture. An agarose hydrogel diffusion-based passive sampler was exposed to the outlet of a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) located in Cyprus, which is equipped with membrane bioreactor (MBR). Passive...

Diffusion coefficient (D) is an important parameter for prediction of micropollutant uptake kinetics in passive samplers. Passive samplers are nowadays commonly used for monitoring trace organic pollutants in different environmental matrices. Samplers utilising a hydrogel layer to control compound diffusion are gaining popularity. In this work we i...

Silicone (polydimethylsiloxane or PDMS) wristbands and cotton T-shirts were used to assess the exposure of e-waste recyclers in Dhaka, Bangladesh to polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), novel brominated flame retardants (NBFRs), dechlorane plus (DPs), and organophosphate esters (OPEs). The median surface-normalized uptake rates of PBDEs, NBFRs,...

We comprehensively review the current state-of-the-art of environmental monitoring for hydrophobic organic contaminants in aqueous matrices using passive sampling devices. Principles of the theory of passive sampling are presented. Strategies for passive sampler design and operation, limitations in performance and data quality-assurance and quality...

The Danube River is a large transboundary river with many tributaries. Pollution from industries, municipal wastewater and navigation is discharged into the river directly or via its tributaries. These discharges can adversely contribute to the water and sediment quality, posing a risk to aquatic life. Contaminants with low water solubility tend to...

Organic contaminants, in particular persistent organic pollutants (POPs), adversely affect water quality and aquatic food webs across the globe. To date, there is no globally consistent information available on concentrations of dissolved POPs in water bodies. The advance of passive sampling techniques has made it possible to establish a global mon...

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), belonging to the group of brominated flame retardants are widely used in various commercial products. PBDEs have attracted increasing attention due to their toxicity and bioaccumulation potential. In this article, ten PBDE congeners were analysed in three bottom sediment samples collected from the Danube Rive...

We investigated a combination of approaches to extend the attainment of partition equilibria between silicone passive samplers (samplers) and surface or treated waste water towards more hydrophobic organic compounds (HOC). The aim was to identify the HOC hydrophobicity range for which silicone sampler equilibration in water is feasible within a rea...

Passive samplers based on diffusive gradients in thin hydrogel films (DGT) were recently modified for sampling of polar organic compounds in water. However, since the sampling rates of the commonly used DGT design with the surface area of 3.1 cm² are low, we propose to increase them by applying a two-sided design with a larger sampling surface area...

Abstract Environmental water quality monitoring aims to provide the data required for safeguarding the environment against adverse biological effects from multiple chemical contamination arising from anthropogenic diffuse emissions and point sources. Here, we integrate the experience of the international EU-funded project SOLUTIONS to shift the foc...

The top layer of riverbed sediments from 10 sites along the Danube River in Serbia were analysed for the presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Potential sources of pollution were identified using different multivariate techniques. Total concentrations of 29 PAHs in sediment samples ranged from 128.27 to 676.85 μg/kg dry weight. Based...

Complex mixtures of contaminants from multiple sources, including agriculture, industry or wastewater enter aquatic environments and might pose hazards or risks to humans or wildlife. Targeted analyses of a few priority substances provide limited information about water quality. In this study, a combined chemical and effect screening of water quali...

EU commission Water Framework Directive considers employment of passive sampling and use of effect-based tools in the monitoring of aquatic pollution. A combination of both approaches was used for monitoring of two rivers differing significantly in pollution levels. The Bosna, moderate-sized river in Bosnia-Herzegovina, which is burdened by untreat...

Many aquatic pollutants can be present at low concentrations, but their mixtures can still affect health or behavior of exposed organisms. In this study, toxicological and chemical analyses were combined for spatial contamination profiling using an innovative passive sampling approach. A novel Dynamic Passive Sampler (DPS) was employed as a mobile...

A "dynamic" passive sampling (DPS) device, consisting of an electrically driven large volume water pumping device coupled to a passive sampler exposure cell, was designed to enhance the sampling rate of trace organic compounds. The purpose of enhancing the sampling rate was to achieve sufficient method sensitivity, when the period available for sam...

The freely dissolved concentration of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) is one of the most important parameters for risk assessment in aquatic environments, due to its proportionality to the chemical activity. Chemical activity difference represents the driving force for a spontaneous contaminant transport, such as water-aquatic biota or water-s...

2-Ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate (EHMC) is one of the most used ultraviolet filters in personal care products. It undergoes cis/trans isomerization in sunlight, and there is limited toxicological understanding of the effects of the cis-isomer. It is known that two geometric isomers of one compound can have different physico-chemical properties and eff...

Passive sampling is widely used to measure levels of contaminants in various environmental matrices, including fish tissue. Equilibrium passive sampling (EPS) of persistent organic pollutants (POP) in fish tissue has been hitherto limited to application in lipid-rich tissue. We tested several exposure methods to extend EPS applicability to lean tis...

Water is a vital resource for natural ecosystems and human life, and assuring a high quality of water and protecting it from chemical contamination is a major societal goal in the European Union. The Water Framework Directive (WFD) and its daughter directives are the major body of legislation for the protection and sustainable use of Euro- pean fre...

Water is a vital resource for natural ecosystems and human life, and assuring a high quality of water and protecting it from chemical contamination is a major societal goal in the European Union. The Water Framework Directive (WFD) and its daughter directives are the major body of legislation for the protection and sustainable use of European fresh...

An inter-laboratory study was organised for the monitoring of emerging aquatic pollutants (pharmaceuticals, pesticides, steroids, brominated diphenyl ethers and others) using passive samplers. Thirty laboratories participated in the sampler comparison exercise. Various samplers designs were exposed at a single sampling site to treated waste water....

In situ extraction of steroid hormones from waste water using adsorption-based integrative passive samplers represents a promising approach for their monitoring in water at ultra-trace concentrations. Three passive samplers, namely a POCIS, a Chemcatcher fitted with an Empore SDB-RPS disk, and an Empore SDB-RPS disk-based sampler with enhanced wate...

The comparison of four extraction techniques for isolation of five native and one labelled steroid oestrogens from sediment was described. The three conventional extraction techniques Soxhlet warm extraction (SWE), accelerated solvent extraction (ASE), microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) and a promising technique QuEChERS were tested for isolation...

Many components of complex organic pollutant mixtures in waters are often present at very low levels, posing a challenge for current analytical methods. Passive sampling is one of the perspective methods that could address this problem. In our work, we used a mobile ”active” passive sampling system with two types of sorbent (EMPORE discs, silicone...

As a consequence of long-range transported pollution, air–sea exchange can become a major source of persistent organic pollutants in remote marine environments. The vertical gradients in the air were quantified for 14 species, i.e. four parent polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), three polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), three organochlorine pest...

Two groups of perfluorined compounds (PFCs), i.e. perfluoroalkyl sulfonates (PFASs) and perfluoroalkyl carboxylates (PFCAs) were analysed during a period of 1 year in monthly collected riverbed sediment samples from five sampling sites in an industrial region in Morava River catchment in Czech Republic. Levels of PFCs determined in sediment samples...

Aquatic environments are often contaminated with complex mixtures of chemicals that may pose a risk to ecosystems and human health. This contamination cannot be addressed with target analysis alone but tools are required to reduce this complexity and identify those chemicals that might cause adverse effects. Effect-directed analysis (EDA) is design...

As a consequence of long-range transported pollution air-sea exchange can become a major source of persistent organic pollutants in remote marine environments. The vertical gradients in air of 14 species i.e., 4 parent polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), 3 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), 3 organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and 2 polybrominate...

A passive sampler based on stir bars coated with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) was calibrated for the measurement of time-weighted average concentrations of hydrophobic micropollutants, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls and organochlorine pesticides, in water. Stir bar/water partition coefficients were measured by...

This paper, based on the outcome of discussions at a NORMAN Network-supported workshop in Lyon (France) in November 2014 aims to provide a common position of passive sampling community experts regarding concrete actions required to foster the use of passive sampling techniques in support of contaminant risk assessment and management and for routine...

Near-ground air (26 substances) and surface seawater (55 substances) concentrations of persistent toxic substances (PTS) were determined in July 2012 in a coordinated and coherent way around the Aegean Sea based on passive air (10 sites in 5 areas) and water (4 sites in 2 areas) sampling. The direction of air-sea exchange was determined for 18 PTS....

Organic pollutants are often present in the water column at trace concentrations that are difficult to detect when conventional low volume spot sampling of water is applied. The scope of the sampling campaign performed using passive samplers was the screening of trace organic pollutants and their toxic potentials in the water column of the Danube,...

Common Implementation Strategy for the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC)

Purpose A multi-compartment monitoring study was performed to characterize the effect of environmental variables, such as temperature and water flow as well as sediment characteristics, on the distribution and transport of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in a dynamic river system during 1 year in an industrial region in central Europe. Mater...

A combination of scientific, economic, technological and policy drivers is behind a recent upsurge in the use of marine autonomous systems (and accompanying miniaturized sensors) for environmental mapping and monitoring. Increased spatial–temporal resolution and coverage of data, at reduced cost, is particularly vital for effective spatial manageme...

The seasonal variability of persistent organic pollutants in Hartbeespoort Dam, South Africa, was investigated using semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs) as passive samplers. Freely dissolved waterborne polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) were sampled to investigate season...

In this study, the semipermeable membrane device (SPMD) passive samplers were used to determine freely dissolved concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in selected water bodies situated in and around Johannesburg City, South Africa. The devices were deployed f...

The following provides a short overview of the important topics arising from the 6(th) International Passive Sampling Workshop and Symposium (IPSW 2013) held in Bordeaux, France between 26 and 29(th) June, 2013. Most of the discussions focussed on monitoring non-polar and polar organic pollutants in water with less coverage on air (probably already...

The effect of different storage conditins on the stability of 21 organic compounds selected from the EU list of priority substances in the field of water policy was investigated after their sorption from water onto polydimethylsiloxane-coated stir bars. After stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) of a model aqueous solution the stir bars were placed...

Surface water pollution by organic contaminants was investigated using passive sampling by semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs), based on free transfer of analyte (diffusion) from water into receiving phase of sampler. The work was aimed at isolation method of contaminants from passive samplers extracts and instrumental analysis of polycyclic aro...

Application of passive samplers is demonstrated for assessment of temporal and spatial trends of dissolved polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and priority metals in the middle stretch of the Danube river. Free dissolved concentrations of PAHs, measured using SPMD samplers, ranged from 5 to 72 ng L(-1). Dissolv...

Passive and composite sampling in combination with in vitro bioassays and identification and quantification of individual chemicals were applied to characterize pollution by compounds with several specific modes of action in urban area in the basin of two rivers, with 400,000 inhabitants and a variety of industrial activities. Two types of passive...

Ian J Allan is a researcher at NIVA (Oslo, Norway). Branislav Vrana is a senior researcher at Masaryk University (Brno, CZ). Foppe Smedes is a senior researcher at Deltares (Utrecht, NL) and Masaryk University (Brno, CZ). Innlegg på fagtreff I Norsk vannforening 23. sep-tember 2013. Summary This paper is based on a presentation given at the Norwegi...

The state of the art of passive water sampling of (nonpolar) organic contaminants is presented. Its suitability for regulatory monitoring is discussed, with an emphasis on the information yielded by passive sampling devices (PSDs), their relevance and associated uncertainties. Almost all persistent organic pollutants (POPs) targeted by the Stockhol...

Endocrine-disruptive potential and concentrations of polar organic contaminants were measured in seven headwaters flowing through relatively unpolluted areas of the Czech Republic. Towns with Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) discharges were the first known sources of anthropogenic pollution in the areas. River water was sampled several kilometers...

Dissolved waterborne polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) were assessed over a period of one year at five sampling sites in a model industrial region in the Czech Republic using silicone rubber passive samplers. The spatial variability of POPs in the studied region in water w...

An improved simple, fast and miniaturized method for the determination of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in freshwater sediment using ultrasonic solvent extraction followed by stir bar sorptive extraction–thermal desorption–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (USE-SBSE/TD–GC–MS) is presented. The sedime...

The possibility and the efficiency of solid-phase microextraction (SPME) for determination of distribution coefficients of polycyclic aromatic nitrogen heterocycles (PANHs) in aqueous samples are presented in this study. Influence of sample extraction conditions, extraction time, stirring rate, pH, salinity and temperature were tested to optimize e...

In this study, we examined the effect of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the presence of natural and synthetic terpenes and biphenyl on biomass production, lipid accumulation, and membrane adaptation mechanisms of two PCB-degrading bacterial strains Pseudomonas stutzeri and Burkholderia xenovorans LB400. According to the results obtained, it co...

Passive sampling devices have been used since the 1970s to measure time-weighted average (TWA) or equilibrium concentrations of pollutants in various environmental matrices (e.g. air, soils and sediments and water). In recent years the popularity of using such samplers has increased and the technology in now well established for the measurement of...

The European legislation, and in particular the Water Framework Directive requires the development of cost efficient monitoring tools that can provide the required information for the assessment of water contamination. Passive sampling methods represent one of the novel tools that have a potential to be used in various regulatory monitoring program...