Working conditions and occupational pathology of Kola Polar miners

Abstract

Introduction. Despite the improvement of mining technologies and personal protective equipment for employees, working conditions in the mining industry create an increased risk of occupational diseases.The aim of the studyis to compare the working conditions and features of professional pathology of miners in the production of iron, apatite and copper — nickel ore in the Kola Polar region.Materials and methods. The data of social and hygienic monitoring on the section “Working conditions and occupational morbidity” of the population of the Murmansk region in 2007–2017 were studied.Results. It was found that in 2007–2017, there was no significant improvement in the working conditions of the studied groups of employees of mining enterprises. The structure of professional pathology of miners was still dominated by vibration disease (37.0%), radiculopathy (23.8%), mono-polyneuropathy (15.5%), sensorineural hearing loss (15.5%), and among the etiologically significant harmful industrial factors — the severity of labor (54.1%), general vibration (23.8%) and noise (13.1%). During the observation period, occupational morbidity in the mining of iron and copper-nickel ore decreased significantly, while in the mining of apatite ore it tended to increase. There is no causal relationship between changes in working conditions and the level of occupational morbidity of miners.Conclusions.It is necessary to improve the quality of hygienic and clinical research when conducting a special assessment of working conditions and periodic medical examinations to obtain an objective assessment of occupational health risks for miners in the Kola Polar region.