| In industrialized countries, many aquatic environments are polluted with contaminants, such as metals. Metals can be found in the particulate matter of the sediment [1, 2]. Metals could be potentially dangerous to biota, if released. The metals can be released to the environment by oxidation due to resuspension (dredging). Neither the water column metal concentrations nor the sediment metal concentrations are good indicators of the amount of metals that will be available during a resuspension. A new method was developed, the new DRET test, to predict the amount of metals available during a six hour resuspension of anoxic sediment using an in-situ ChelexRTM resin as a constant adsorption-potential sink. This method was adapted from DiGiano's et al. [3] DRET test for use with metals instead of organic contaminants. The new DRET test could be used in the field to predict the possible metals available before a resuspension event occurred. |
