Occupational Diseases in Workers of Copper and Nickel Industry in the Kola Arctic (1989–2018)

Abstract

Summary. Introduction: Non-ferrous metallurgy is one of the basic economic sectors of the Murmansk Region, which workers are at increased risk of occupational diseases. The purpose of the study was to investigate causes, structure and prevalence of occupational diseases in the Kola Arctic copper and nickel industry workers in 1989–2018. Materials and methods: We analyzed data on working conditions and occupational diseases in the Murmansk Region in 1989–2018. Results: We observed the following changes in workers of the Kola copper and nickel industry during the 30-year study period: 1) the length of service until manifestation of an occupational disease increased from 46.3 ± 1.3 to 55.0 ± 0.6 years (p < 0.001); 2) the proportion of women among occupational disease cases increased from 3.6% to 33.0% (p < 0.001); 3) the number of newly diagnosed occupational diseases in an employee increased from 1.04 ± 0.04 to 2.19 ± 0.12 (p < 0.001); 4) the proportion of cases of chronic intoxication with nickel compounds in the general structure of occupational diseases rose from 6.9 % to 34.7 % while the percentage of respiratory diseases dropped from 89.7 % to 34.2 % (p < 0.001). In 1989–2008, we noted an increase in occupational disease rates with peak values (336 cases) achieved in 2004–2008. In the following decade, their number decreased by 2.7 times from 104 to 38 cases, and their share among all regional occupational disease cases dropped from 40.2 % to 16.6 % (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Respiratory diseases and chronic intoxication from exposure to nickel compounds prevailed in the structure of occupational diseases in metallurgists in the Kola Arctic. An increase in the number of occupational diseases per worker, a rise in the proportion of women among sick workers, and a sharp decline in occupational disease rates in 2009–2018 require a proper explanation.