Adapting the Form of the sanitary and hygienic characteristics of working conditions to the new Sanitary Law

Abstract

Introduction. The current Form No. 362-1/y-2001 "The sanitary and hygienic characteristics for the working conditions of an employee having suspicion of an occupational disease (poisoning)" does not meet the requirements of Sanitary Law developed within the framework of the "regulatory guillotine". It complicates the investigation of occupational diseases and carrying out an objective examination of the connection between the disease and the profession. The study aims to analyze the Form for the sanitary and hygienic characteristics (SHC) of working conditions and substantiate proposals for its adaptation to the current regulatory legal acts to objectify the investigation of occupational diseases cases and the examination of the connection between the disease and the profession. Materials and methods. We carried out the expert-analytical study. We analyzed and compared data from Rospotrebnadzor (2001-2020) on occupational morbidity and Rosstat (2014-2020) on employment in harmful and (or) hazardous working conditions. We also studied the SHC (503) submitted for examination of the connection between disease and profession (including forensic medical examination). The structure of the Form for the completeness of the presentation of issues on various aspects of working conditions, the quality of the compilation and content of the SHS was determined in accordance with the current Sanitary Law. The authors evaluated the structure of the Form for the presentation of questions on various aspects of working conditions, determined the quality of the compilation and content of the SHC in accordance with the current Sanitary Law. Results. With a decrease in the number of newly registered cases of occupational diseases over 20 years by more than 3.7 times, the share of workers in harmful and(or) hazardous working conditions in the main types of economic activity decreased in 2020 relative to 2014 in 1,1 time (37.3%). A comparative assessment of the standardized indicators of harmful production factors specified in the SHC and the ones approved in SanPiN 1.2.3685-21 revealed their complete inconsistency. The results of in-depth analysis of 503 SGH allowed us to determine the most typical errors in assessing production factors at workplaces: incorrect assessment of standardized single-digit noise indicators (equivalent sound level A for an 8-hour working day), vibration (equivalent level corrected along the Z-, Y-, X-axes ); lack of data on dust load and the average value of air temperature - THC-index; assessment of the labour severity without considering the technological operations performed, etc. We noted the predominant assessment of working conditions by the main factor developing an occupational disease, without considering the accompanying risk factors that aggravate its effect. We also noted a significant underestimation of the levels when assessing the general transport, technological and technological vibration due to the differences between hygienic standards and the norms adopted in the Methodology for conducting a special assessment of working conditions. SCH contains no information on lighting, biological factor, labour intensity in 67.0-75.0% of cases. Conclusion. We substantiated proposals for improving Form No. 362-1/y-2001 of the SHC of working conditions, considering an electronic form of the document, revising the instructions for filling out the SHC.