Micro-sized coal particles caused pollution of the aquatic environment in the area of marine coal terminals. In this work, we investigated the impact of micro-sized coal particles (<20 µm, 20-100 µm, 100-250 µm, and 250-500 µm fractions) on the viability of zooplanktonic crustacean Artemia salina. The nauplii of A. salina were exposed to particles of four different types of coal at concentrations from 100 to 5000 mg/L at static and shaking conditions. During 96 h of exposure, there were no pronounced toxicological effects of coal in the used concentrations. However, the observed absorption of the coal particles in the guts of A. salina may cause various abnormalities in the longer-term experiment.

In recent years, the export volumes of Russian coal to the Asia-Pacific countries have been continuously growing. Coal dust is among of the strongest air pollutants. The article describes the study of airborne particulate matter in large transport hubs of the Primorsky Krai (Russian Far East): Nakhodka city and Posyet urban-type settlement using the method of measuring the mass and quantitative concentrations of particulate matter. It is shown that the air of these areas is polluted with particulate matter with diameter below 10 microns (PM10). The absolute dominance of 0.3 μm and 0.5 μm particles was revealed in the air of both areas. According to the Russian hygienic standard, the maximum permissible concentrations of PM were exceeded only at several sampling points. However, when compared to some international standards, the content of PM exceeded maximum permissible values at 42% of sampling points in Nakhodka city and at 43% of sampling points in Posyet settlement. It is advisable to install systems for continuous environmental monitoring of air pollution with coal dust particles near coal terminals.

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Vehicle emission particles (VEPs) represent a significant part of air pollution in urban areas. However, the toxicity of this category of particles in different aquatic organisms is still unexplored. This work aimed to extend the understanding of the toxicity of the vehicle exhaust particles in two species of marine diatomic microalgae, the planktonic crustacean Artemia salina, and the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus intermedius. These aquatic species were applied for the first time in the risk assessment of VEPs. Our results demonstrated that the samples obtained from diesel-powered vehicles completely prevented egg fertilization of the sea urchin S. intermedius and caused pronounced membrane depolarization in the cells of both tested microalgae species at concentrations between 10 and 100 mg/L. The sample with the highest proportion of submicron particles and the highest content of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) had the highest growth rate inhibition in both microalgae species and caused high toxicity to the crustacean. The toxicity level of the other samples varied among the species. We can conclude that metal content and the difference in the concentrations of PAHs by itself did not directly reflect the toxic level of VEPs, but the combination of both a high number of submicron particles and high PAH concentrations had the highest toxic effect on all the tested species.