Ecotoxicological Impact Assessment of Micro-Sized Coal Particles on Zooplanktonic Crustacean Artemia Salina

Abstract

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.