Longitudinal study of occupational pathology risks in open-pit apatite miners of the Kola Peninsula

Abstract

Mining in the Arctic is associated with an increased risk of developing occupational diseases. The aim of the study was to assess risks of developing occupational pathology over 10-year period of mining apatite ore in the Kola Arctic open-pit mines. We studied data on working conditions (certification of workplaces), health status (periodic medical examinations) and primary occupational pathology (monitoring "Working conditions and occupational morbidity of the population of the Murmansk region" in 2009-2018) of open-pit apatite miners. It was found that, according to an overall assessment, the working conditions of all 436 surveyed open-pit apatite miners corresponded to 3.2-3.3 hazard classes. During 10 years of employment (2009-2018), 88 (20.2%) miners were first diagnosed with 134 occupational diseases, which are 3.07 cases per 100 people per year. The main cause for their occurrence was the severity of work above the permissible level (39.6%), whole-body vibration (37.3%) and noise (17.9%), and their structure is dominated by vibration disease (35.8%) and musculoskeletal pathology (30.0%). The main factor in the occurrence of occupational diseases was recognized as imperfection of technological processes (58.2%). The risk of occupational pathology formation in the excavator drivers (RR=1.95; CI 1.33-2.86; p<0.001) and in the drilling rig drivers (RR=1.60; CI 1.04-2.47; p=0.031) was higher than that of bulldozer drivers. In 2009-2018, unlike the bulldozer and drilling rig drivers, the excavator drivers showed an increased risk of developing occupational diseases (RR=3.50; CI 1.90-6.43; p<0.001). In 2009-2018, the open-pit apatite miners of the Kola Peninsula retained a high level of occupational morbidity, and it tended to increase among excavator drivers.