Abstract
Objective: To assess the work-related health risk and to determine the attributable fraction due to exposure to the occupational hazards as well as the total burden of related diseases and its temporal trends in non-ferrous metallurgy located in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation. Methods: The results of mandatory medical examinations of 5006 workers engaged in the pyrometallurgic and electrolytic departments of nickel and copper have been analyzed. The disability adjusted life years lost, (DALY) due to diseases having a stable and statistically significant relationship with occupational hazards has been determined. Results: 53 % of the total number of employees are occupationally exposed to nickel and copper compounds, including 50.9 % those exposed to unacceptable nickel air concentrations, 9.2 % to copper air concentrations and 19.9 % to dust of mixed composition. At the same time, the relative risk of the occupational diseases turned out to be the most significant among workers employed in the nickel-electroplating department (NED) - 6.78, and the lowest was in workers employed in copper department. The prevalence rate of work-related diseases at NED had been declining by 27.8 % from 2006 to 2015, in the pyro-refining department - by 26.8 %, and among workers who have periodic exposure to these metals - by 24.1 %. Conclusion. The most exposed groups are workers employed in the pyro-refining and nickel-electroplating departments. The use of a risk-based approach to the development of the health preventive measures allowed achieving a significant reduction in the incidence rate of work-related diseases, including that in NED workers by 2.1 times, among workers of pyrometallurgical refining by 17.8 %, including among males - by 5.0 % in men, and by 2 times in female workers.
Published Version
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call