Occupational Risks in the Extraction and Processing of Mineral Raw Materials

Abstract

The aim of this paper was to assess the man-made risks arising in the process chain from the extraction of primary raw materials in the form of quartzite and its further processing into the final product in the form of silicon. As the objects of research, we chose quartzite extracting enterprises, Cheremshansk Quartzite Mine and Kremny JSC which processes quartzite into silicon. To assess the occupational risk, we applied the method of assessing the individual occupational risk (IOR) level developed by the Klin Institute of Occupational Safety and Working Conditions. As a result, it was established that, in general, the level of occupational risks in the extraction of quartzite corresponds to the “average” level of risk. The occupation of Screener was classified to have the highest level of IOR (0.2). For the most part, a significant contribution to the level of occupational risk for the considered occupations is made by the dust factor, as well as - for the occupations connected with the steering of large-sized machines - by general vibration. In the processing of quartzite, the IOR level corresponds to the “average” level of risk in most occupations. However, for some of the workers, the risk level is set to the “high” value. This is due to significant concentrations of dust in the air of the working area, as well as unfavorable microclimate parameters.