Radmila Milacic

Jožef Stefan Institute | IJS · Department of Environmental Sciences

This work presents a spatial and temporal distribution of tributyltin (TBT) and TBT pollution assessment of the Croatian Adriatic coast in the period 2016 – 2023. The monitoring of TBT pollution was carried out within the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (2008/56/EC). TBT concentrations were measure...

Freshwater ecosystems are at significant risk of contamination by potentially toxic elements (PTEs) due to their high inherent toxicity, their persistence in the environment and their tendency to bioaccumulate in sediments and living organisms. We investigated aquatic macrophyte communities and the concentrations of As, Cu, Cd, Cr, Pb, Zn, Ni and F...

Due to its fibrous structure and high water holding capacity, rock mineral wool (RMW) has boosted the development of hydroponics. Consequently, the amount of waste RMW has also increased tremendously, which has stimulated the research and development of RMW reuse options. In this study, composting and degradability of RMW from hydroponics (gRMW) we...

Background Biliary tract cancers (BTCs) are usually diagnosed at an advanced stage, when the disease is incurable. Currently used tumor biomarkers have limited diagnostic value for BTCs, so there is an urgent need for sensitive and specific biomarkers for their earlier diagnosis. Deregulation of the homeostasis of trace elements is involved in the...

Underground coal extraction at Coal Mine Velenje occasionally gives rise to odour complaints from local residents. This manuscript describes a robust quantification of odorous emissions of mine sources and a model-based analysis aimed to establish a better understanding of the sources, concentrations, dispersion, and possible control of odorous com...

Trace substances represent one of the central challenges for water management in the Danube River Basin. This article presents the concept and an overview of the results of the project Danube Hazard m3c, which was carried out within the framework of the Interreg Danube Transnational Programme of the EU from 2020 to 2023. In the course of the projec...

Citation: Ðurić, M.; Zalar Serjun, V.; Mladenovič, A.; Mauko Pranjić, A.; Milačič, R.; Ščančar, J.; Urbanc, J.; Mali, N.; Pavlin, A.; Turk, J.; et al. Environmental Acceptability of Geotechnical Composites from Recycled Materials: Comparative Study of Laboratory and Field Investigations. Int. J. Environ. Res. Abstract: The environmental properties...

We investigated microbial growth in increasing concentrations of hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) and its reduction by a microbial community enriched from tannery effluent and by the bacterial strains isolated from the enriched community. The bacterial growth was monitored by measuring the optical cell density (OD650), while the Cr(VI) concentration in...

Underground coal extraction at Coal Mine Velenje occasionally gives rise to odour complaints from local residents. This manuscript describes a robust quantification of odorous emissions of mine sources and a model-based analysis aimed to establish a better understanding of the sources, concentrations, dispersion, and possible control of odorous com...

Anion-exchange high performance liquid chromatography inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (HPLC-ICP-MS) was used for simultaneous speciation of chromate, molybdate and arsenate. The repeatability of measurement tested for multielemental standard solution of chromate, molybdate and arsenate (50 ng mL⁻¹ of Cr, Mo and As, pH 12) was ± 0.9%, ±...

Ceruloplasmin (Cp) is the major copper-carrying (Cu) protein in human plasma. Due to copper’s important physiological functions and its role in various diseases, there is a need to quantify the...

Organic and inorganic substances have been emitted into the environment for many decades; however, the interest in their fate and behavior has grown mainly in recent years. Due partly to the meager amount they are present in environmental compartments such as rainwater, river water, or waste waters, substantial resources are needed to detect their...

A new analytical procedure for the speciation of chromium (Cr) in plants by high performance liquid chromatography inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (HPLC-ICP-MS) was developed using a strong anion-exchange Mono Q column for the separation of the Cr species. To optimize the analytical procedure, Cr complexes were first synthesized from C...

The spatial and temporal variability of dissolved trace elements (Al, As, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Li, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sb, Sr, Ti, U, V and Zn) in the upper and middle reaches of the Sava River during two campaigns (2007/2008 and 2017/2018) was examined. The study also included important tributaries and wastewater effluents. No crucial change in met...

During extreme hydrological conditions such as flood events, sediments and alluvial soils may become re-suspended. As a consequence, the concentration of solid particulate matter (SPM) in the water column increases. As sediments represent a sink for the contaminants, when such perturbation occurs, the toxic substances may be re-dissolved into the w...

Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2NPs) are widely produced and used NPs in different applications. To evaluate the risk from anthropogenic TiO2NPs, more information is needed on their occurrence in the environment. For the first time, this study reports the levels of TiO2NPs in waters and sediments at selected sampling sites along the Sava River...

Wine and beer are beverages rich in polyphenols and other antioxidants that inhibit the existence of Cr(VI). To verify this hypothesis, the content of Cr(VI) in wine and beer samples was determined by applying a speciation analysis based on anion-exchange high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled to inductively coupled plasma mass spect...

Paper-ash is used for remediation of heavily contaminated soils with metals, but remediation efficiency after longer periods has not been reported. To gain insights into the mechanisms of immobilization of cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and znic (Zn), a study was performed in the laboratory experiment in uncontaminated, artificially contaminated, and rem...

Oncology research uses different imaging techniques to provide information about the spatial distribution of the chemotherapy drugs used for the targeted tissues. Among them, laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) is increasingly being used to track the spatial distribution of metal-based chemotherapeutics in differ...

There is a worldwide growing use of chemicals by our developed, industrialized, and technological society. More than 100,000 chemical substances are thus commonly used both by industry and households. Depending on the amount produced, physical-chemical properties, and mode of use, many of them may reach the environment and, notably, the aquatic rec...

Ammonium and selected anions were determined in wastewater samples with highly complex matrices by spectrophotometry using the reagent-kit method. For this purpose, the interferences of coloured compounds and S2-, SO32-, CO32- and Cl-, which are often present in wastewater samples, were systematically investigated in spectrophotometric determinatio...

During carbon steel manufacturing, large amounts of electric arc furnace (EAF) slag are generated. EAF slag, if properly treated and processed into aggregate, is an alternative source of high-quality material, which can substitute the use of natural aggregates in most demanding applications in the construction sector, mostly for wearing asphalt cou...

A novel analytical method, based on monolithic convective interaction media (CIM) chromatography coupled to UV and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) detectors, was developed to investigate the kinetics of interactions of Cr(VI) and Cr(III) with serum constituents, and perform Cr speciation at physiological concentration levels....

In studies of impact of Cr on the environment and living organisms, speciation analysis plays a crucial role. To obtain reliable data on Cr speciation it is important to preserve species integrity during all steps of the analytical procedure. It is also crucial that for each sample matrix an appropriate speciation technique is applied. Non-chromato...

The development of ruthenium-based complexes for cancer treatment requires a variety of pharmacological studies, one of them being a drug's binding kinetics to serum proteins. In this work, speciation analysis was used to study kinetics of ruthenium-based drug candidates with human serum proteins. Two ruthenium (Ru) complexes, namely [(η 6-p-cymene...

Remediation of contaminated soil can be performed by using various techniques, which must be adequately tailored for each specific case. The aim of this research is to critically evaluate the potential use of red mud and paper ash and a combination of the two as immobilization additives for the remediation of contaminated soil from one of the most...

During a sampling campaign in September 2015, elevated chromium (Cr) concentrations were observed in sediments of industrially exposed sites of the Sava River (stainless steel production and impact of metallurgic industry). To verify if sediments also contained hazardous hexavalent Cr (Cr(VI)), there was a need to develop a sensitive and reliable a...

Fish from the Sava River are consumed daily by the local people: therefore, concern has been raised about the health implications of eating contaminated fish. In the present study, potentially toxic elements (PTE), such as Zn, Cu, Cr, Ni, Cd, Pb, As, Hg, and methylmercury (MeHg), were determined in ichthyofauna that are commonly consumed. PTE were...

Transport of hydrophobic pollutants in rivers such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and heavy metals is often facilitated by suspended sediment particles, which are typically mobilized during high discharge events. Suspended sediments thus represent a means of transport for particle related pollutants wit...

Among different stressors like drought, hydro-morphological alterations, and pollution from agricultural activities, nutrients, organic compounds and discharges from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), potentially toxic elements (PTE) may also contribute to the overall pollution of the Evrotas River, Greece. Nevertheless, information on pollution...

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are flame retardants that are added to a wide range of consumer products. Due to their extensive use in the past, their presence has been documented in multiple environmental compartments and living organisms, including humans. To assess the exposure of humans to PBDEs, a new simple, reliable, and sensitive me...

Purpose Riparian zone contamination is a growing problem for several European catchments due to high anthropogenic pressures. This study investigates As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn concentrations in the Sava River riparian zone, characterized by wide agricultural areas, various geological substrates, and different types of industrial pollution. The...

The presence of nanomaterials in the environment has caught the attention of the scientific because of the uncertainties in their fate, mobility and potential toxic effects. However, few studies have determined experimentally their concentration levels in aquatic systems up to date, which complicates the development of an adequate risk assessment....

Fish samples of different species (i.e. rainbow trout (Onchorhynchus mykiss), barbel (Barbus barbus) and European chub (Squalius cephalus)) were collected from the Sava River Basin for a preliminary investigation of the levels of PCDD/Fs, PCBs, PBDEs and PFAS as a whole. Concentrations of PCDD/Fs, in terms of pg WHO-TEQ/g ww, were below the maximum...

Zero-valent iron nanoparticles (nZVI) exhibit great potential for the removal of metal contaminants from wastewater. After their use, there is a risk that nZVI will remain dispersed in remediated water and represent potential nano-threats to the environment. Therefore, the behaviour of nZVI after remediation must be explored. To accomplish this, we...

River ecosystems are exposed to various stressors. Among them, elements may contribute to overall pollution of riverine environments, in particular during the extreme flow events. To evaluate the influence of variable river flow conditions on the mobilization of potentially toxic elements (PTE) (Cr, Ni, Cd, Zn, Pb, As and Cu) from sediments into th...

Flay ash, cement and electric arc furnace (EAF) dust are frequently mixed in building composites. From them, chromium (Cr), arsenic (As), molybdenum (Mo) and vanadium (V) may be leached. Concentrations of V in leachates may be significantly higher than those of Cr, As and Mo, making simultaneous speciation analysis particularly difficult. In this w...

Six congeners of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs): BDE 28, BDE 47, BDE 99, BDE 100, BDE 153 and BDE 154, were determined by a reliable and sensitive analytical method based on gas chromatography coupled to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (GC-ICP-MS) in mussel and fish tissue samples. For their extraction, 30min of ultrasound-assi...

Nanoremediation procedures are usually designed so that only one contaminant or similar class of contaminants is being considered. In the present work, a holistic approach was applied towards processes which simultaneously occur after the treatment of real effluent water from a small biological wastewater treatment plant (SBWTP) with different nano...

Purpose River ecosystems are under pressure from several different stressors. Among these, inorganic pollutants contribute to multiple stressor situations and the overall degradation of the ecological status of the aquatic environments. The main sources of pollution include different industrial activities, untreated effluents from municipal waste w...

As a consequence of their widespread use, titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2NPs) have been released into the environment where they can act as stressors towards biota. For the assessment of the environmental impact of these NPs it is important to quantitatively determine their concentration, size distribution and the dissolved Ti fraction in diff...

Nickel (Ni) is considered to be a potentially harmful element for humans. Its levels in foodstuffs are normally low (below 0.2 mg kg⁻¹), but sensitive individuals may develop allergy to Ni as a result of dietary consumption. Cocoa contains relatively high Ni concentrations (around 3 mg kg⁻¹). Ni bioavailability, its role in the flavour of food and...

The NEN 7375 test has been proposed for evaluating the long-term environmental impacts caused by the release of contaminants from monolithic building and waste materials. Over a period of 64 days, at specific points in time, the leaching solution (demineralised water) is replenished. By applying the NEN 7375 test, leaching of contaminants that is b...

In this study we have performed a comprehensive genotoxicological survey along the 900 rkm of the Sava River. In total, 12 sites were chosen in compliance with the goals of GLOBAQUA project dealing with the effects of multiple stressors on biodiversity and functioning of aquatic ecosystems. The genotoxic potential was assessed using a complex batte...

Chromium (Cr) is a naturally occurring element commonly found in rocks and soils and is also present in living organisms. In order to obtain reliable speciation data, it is important to preserve species integrity during the sample storage and its pretreatment, as well as during the extraction and analytical methods applied for the determination of...

Monolithic supports are efficient stationary phases for most of the important chromatographic separation modes. They can be applied for the chromatographic separation of biomolecules, nanoparticles, proteins, peptides, nucleic acids and low molecular mass organic acids. At the industrial level, monolithic chromatography is frequently used for the p...

The European Union (EU) has included tributyltin (TBT) and its compounds in the list of priority water pollutants. Quality standards demanded by the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) require determination of TBT at so low concentration level that chemical analysis is still difficult and further research is needed to improve the sensitivity, the ac...

During capital and/or maintenance dredging operations, large amounts of material are produced. Instead of their discharge, dredged sediments may be a valuable natural resource if not contaminated. One of the possible areas of application is civil engineering. In the present work, the environmental status of seaport dredged sediment was evaluated in...

Among the different nanoparticles (NPs) that are used in the remediation of contaminated environmental waters, iron nanoparticles (FeNPs) are the most frequently applied. However, if these FeNPs remain in the waters after the treatment, they can cause a hazard to the environment. In this work the time dependent size distribution of iron particles w...

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are flame retardants. As a consequence of their widespread use, they have been released into the environment. PBDEs are lipophilic organic contaminants that enter wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) from urban, agricultural and industrial discharges. Because of their low aqueous solubility and resistance to bi...

Widespread use of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2NPs) in consumer products has led into the increase of their concentrations in the environment. For reliable determination of their total concentrations, microwave assisted digestion procedure for the decomposition of nanoscale anatase and rutile was optimized and Ti concentration determined by...

The aim of this paper is to review data and activities related to water management within the Sava River Basin and contribute to more effective management practices within the basin. The particular focus was given to monitoring of ecological status, availability of biological data and the design of a biological database as part of an information sy...

Among various stressors, aquatic ecosystems are exposed also to different inorganic and organic pollutants. The pollution of the Sava River is related mainly to the release of industrial wastes, untreated effluents from municipalities, and contaminants arising from agricultural activities. To assess the geographical distribution of sediment polluti...

Cisplatin is still widely used for treatment of numerous types of tumours. Different speciation methods have been applied to study behaviour of the intact drug and its individual biotransformation species in various clinical samples. These methods are mainly based on electrophoresis, size exclusion (SEC) or ion chromatography (IC) techniques couple...

In the present work compact and ground cement composites in which 30% of cement by mass was replaced by ladle slag were investigated for their chemical and physico-mechanical properties. To evaluate long-term environmental impacts, leachability test based on diffusion, which combined both, diffusion and dissolution of contaminants, was performed in...

A novel analytical procedure was developed for the simultaneous speciation analysis of chromate, molybdate, tungstate and vanadate by anion-exchange high performance liquid chromatography hyphenated to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (HPLC-ICP-MS). Linear gradient elution from 100% water to 100% 0.7M NaCl was applied for chromatographi...

An important step in pharmacological characterisation of a candidate drug is the study of the drugs interactions with serum proteins. In the present work, conjoint liquid chromatography (CLC) was used for separation of ruthenium (Ru)-based drug candidates in human serum. CIM Protein G and CIM DEAE disks were assembled together in a single housing f...

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are flame retardants, which due to their widespread use are frequently present as pollutants in the environment. In the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) six PBDE congeners (BDE 28, BDE47, BDE 99, BDE 100, BDE 153 and BDE 154) are listed as priority substances. The uncertainty of the analytical method used fo...

The role and impact of chromium (Cr) on the environment and living organisms depends primarily on its chemical form. High toxicity of hexavalent Cr is well documented, while trivalent Cr is an essential micronutrient. In the last decades numerous analytical procedures have been developed for the determination of Cr(VI) in different sample matrices....

Landfill leachates are an important pool of organotin compounds (OTCs). Several studies have been performed on the occurrence of OTCs in landfill leachates, but only a few of them report degradation and biomethylation processes by bacteria. In the present study transformation of OTCs in landfill leachate was investigated under simulated landfill co...