Working conditions and occupational pathology of Kola Polar miners
https://doi.org/10.31089/1026-9428-2020-60-7-456-461
Abstract
Introduction. Despite the improvement of mining technologies and personal protective equipment for employees, working conditions in the mining industry create an increased risk of occupational diseases.
The aim of the study is to compare the working conditions and features of professional pathology of miners in the production of iron, apatite and copper — nickel ore in the Kola Polar region.
Materials and methods. The data of social and hygienic monitoring on the section “Working conditions and occupational morbidity” of the population of the Murmansk region in 2007–2017 were studied.
Results. It was found that in 2007–2017, there was no significant improvement in the working conditions of the studied groups of employees of mining enterprises. The structure of professional pathology of miners was still dominated by vibration disease (37.0%), radiculopathy (23.8%), mono-polyneuropathy (15.5%), sensorineural hearing loss (15.5%), and among the etiologically significant harmful industrial factors — the severity of labor (54.1%), general vibration (23.8%) and noise (13.1%). During the observation period, occupational morbidity in the mining of iron and copper-nickel ore decreased significantly, while in the mining of apatite ore it tended to increase. There is no causal relationship between changes in working conditions and the level of occupational morbidity of miners.
Conclusions. It is necessary to improve the quality of hygienic and clinical research when conducting a special assessment of working conditions and periodic medical examinations to obtain an objective assessment of occupational health risks for miners in the Kola Polar region.
About the Authors
S. A. Syurin
Northwest Public Health Research Center
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Sergey A. Syurin, chief researcher of Department for research on the environment and public health in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation
4, 2nd Sovetskaya str, St. Petersburg, 191036
S. A. Gorbanev
Northwest Public Health Research Center
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Sergey A. Gorbanev
4, 2nd Sovetskaya str, St. Petersburg, 191036
References
1. Mining industry. Murmansk and Murmansk region — Murman.ru. htths://www.murman.ru/guide/industry/mining
2. Bukhtiyarov I.V. Problems of occupational medicine at mining enterprises in Siberia and the Far North. Gornaya Promyshlennost. 2013; 56 (110): 77–80 (in Russian).
3. Karnachev I.P., Golovin K.A., Panarin V.M. Occupational hazards in the extraction and processing technology of apatitenepheline ore in the Kola North. Izvestija Tul’skogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Estestvennye nauki. 2012; 1(2): 95–100 (in Russian).
4. Gorbanev S.A., Syurin S.A. Features of health disorder formation in underground miners of the Kola Arctic. Profilakticheskaya i Klinicheskaya Meditsina. 2017; 4: 12–8 (in Russian).
5. MineHealth 2012–2014: Sustainability of miners’ wellbeing, health and work ability in the Barents region — a common challenge. Guidebook on cold, vibration, airborne exposures and socioeconomic influences in open pit mining. Available at: http://minehealth.eu/final-report/
6. Syurin S.A., Shilov V.V. Features of the vibration disease of the miners engaged in modern technologies of raw ore materials mining in the Kola Polar region. Zdravookhranenie Rossiyskoy Federatsii. 2016; 6: 312–6 (in Russian).
7. Syurin S. A., Skripal B. A., Nikanov N. A. Length of service as a risk factor for health disorders in miners in the Kola Polar Region. Ekologiya Cheloveka. 2017; 3: 15–20 (in Russian).
8. Izmerov N.F. Problems of occupational medicine in the Far North. Med. truda i prom. ekol. 1996; 5: 1–4 (in Russian).
9. Khasnulin V.I., Khasnulin P.V. Modern ideas about the mechanisms of formation of northern stress in humans in high latitudes. Ekologiya Cheloveka. 2012; 1: 4–11.
10. Burström L., Aminoff A., Björ B., Mänttäri S., Nilsson T., Pettersson H. et al. Musculoskeletal symptoms and exposure to whole-body vibration among open-pit mine workers in the arctic. International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health. 2017; 30 (4): 553–564.
11. Saarkoppel L.M. A comparative assessment of the health status of workers in the mining industry. Med. truda i prom. ekol. 2007; 12: 17–22. (in Russian).
12. Skripal B. A. Status of health and diseases in workers of underground mines of a mining complex in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation. Med. truda i prom. ekol. 2016; 6: 23–26. (in Russian).
13. Syurin S.A., Burakova O.A. Features of general and occupational pathology in apatite miners in the Far North. Med. truda i prom. ekol. 2012; 3: 15–19. (in Russian).
14. Syurin S.A., Chashchin V.P., Shilov V.V. Occupational health risks in the extraction and processing of apatite-nepheline ores in the Kola Arctic. Ekologiya Cheloveka. 2015; 8:10–15. (in Russian).
15. On the state of sanitary and epidemiological welfare of the population in the Russian Federation in 2011: State report. Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Welfare. Moscow; 2012 (in Russian).
16. On the state of sanitary and epidemiological welfare of the population in the Russian Federation in 2017: State report. Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Rights Protection and Human. Moscow; 2018 (in Russian).
17. Babanov S.A., Budash D.S., Baikova A.G., Baraeva R.A. Periodic medical examinations and occupational selection in industrial medicine. Zdorov’e Naseleniya i Sreda Obitaniya. 2014; 8: 18–21 (in Russian).
18. Anttonen H., Pekkarinen A., Niskanen J. Safety at work in cold environments and prevention of cold stress. Industrial Health. 2009; 47(3): 254–61.
19. Kue T., Mäkinen T. The health of Arctic populations: Does cold matter? American Journal of Human Biology. 2010; 22: 129–33.
20. Skripal B.A. Occupational morbidity, its features on enterprises of mining and chemical complex in Kola polar region. Ekologiya Cheloveka. 2008; 10: 26–30 (in Russian).
Review
For citations:
Syurin S.A., Gorbanev S.A. Working conditions and occupational pathology of Kola Polar miners. Russian Journal of Occupational Health and Industrial Ecology. 2020;(7):456-461. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.31089/1026-9428-2020-60-7-456-461
Views:
749
Email this article 
