Work-related Diseases Research Articles

Implementation of International Labour Organization (ILO) Policy on Health, Safety and Welfare of Workers in Central Senatorial District, Delta State

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) enforces health, safety, and welfare policies to ensure workers’ safety in the workplace, by preventing work-related injuries, diseases, incidents and deaths. This study investigated the implementation of the international labour organization policy on health, safety and welfare of workers in Central Senatorial District, of Delta State, as perceived by management staff and non-management staff. The survey research method was used. The Taro-Yamane sample size was used to select 201 management staff and 330 non-management staff from the ten selected oil and gas companies in Central Senatorial District, Delta State. The instrument used for data collection was a self-developed and validated questionnaire with reliability level of 0.97. Of the 531 copies of questionnaire administered to the respondents, 512 were correctly completed and used for analysis. Data obtained were analyzed using descriptive statistics (frequency counts, percentages, mean, standard deviation, Pearson correlation); post-estimation statistics (variance inflation factor) and inferential statistics (simple regression). ). The simple regression results indicated that while ILO policies and preventive measures are not significantly available in the oil and gas industries, the channels for recording and notification of occupational hazards in line with ILO policies, and inspection practices significantly ensure workers’ safety in the oil and gas industry. In line with the findings, it was suggested among others that management of oil and gas firms need to intensify efforts at ensuring that ILO policies and preventive measures are made available so as to adequately curb occupational health hazards and enhance workers’ safety.

Analysis of conditions and nature of work of therapists: A literature review

Introduction: Currently, insufficient attention is paid to nonspecific negative factors of the working environment of therapists, such as exposure to electromagnetic fields from electronic devices, lack of standards for the area of working premises (residence rooms), and non-compliance with the optimal work/rest schedule. Objective: Based on the analysis of literature data, to identify contemporary nonspecific risk factors at workplaces of general practitioners and outline the main ways of their prevention. Materials and methods: We have reviewed scientific publications indexed in international (Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed) and domestic (RSCI) databases for 2014–2023. Of more than 2,000 sources found, we selected 89 given the keywords and then included 49 papers published over the past 5 years in the review. Results: Modern therapists are exposed to combined physical and biological factors and experience psychological stress, leading to a higher incidence of work-related diseases. Long-term exposures to risk factors of the work environment increase the risk of job burnout and psychological maladjustment resulting in negative personality changes, deterioration of health and relationships with colleagues, patients, relatives and, ultimately, a decrease in the effectiveness and quality of medical care provided. Conclusions: We have considered and systematized factors of the work environment of therapists with a focus on less studied, but no less significant current nonspecific negative factors, and outlined the main directions for solving the problem of maintaining health of medical professionals.

Status of Occupational Health and Safety in Nepal: Current Scenario and Strategies for Improvement

Occupational health is a vital aspect of public health that aims to ensure the well-being of workers in various occupations. It encompasses multiple academic fields, such as occupational medicine, nursing, ergonomics, psychology, hygiene, and safety. Despite global efforts to improve occupational health, access to occupational health and safety (OHS) services remains low in many countries, including South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, China, and Nepal. This review paper was conducted through an extensive literature review. Databases such as Science Direct, Springer, NepJol, PubMed, and Google Scholar were searched to access a wide range of scholarly articles, research papers, and reports. The findings reveal that occupational workers face various hazards, including exposure to infectious diseases, radiation, hazardous chemicals, noise, and psychosocial risks. In Nepal, workers in industries such as agriculture, construction, and brick manufacturing are particularly vulnerable to these hazards. Lack of proper safety measures, inadequate access to clean drinking water and sanitation, child labor, and physical strain contribute to the high incidence of work-related diseases and injuries among workers. The study also highlights the policies and initiatives undertaken by the government of Nepal to improve occupational health and safety, including the Labor Act of 1992, the Occupational Safety and Health Project, and the Nepal National Building Code. The study emphasizes the urgent need to improve occupational health and safety conditions in Nepal. It highlights the importance of implementing preventive measures, raising awareness, providing training and education, and establishing standards to protect the health and well-being of workers.

Using Behaviour Change Techniques to characterize patient educational interventions in tertiary individual prevention of work-related skin diseases.

Tertiary Individual Prevention is an interprofessional inpatient rehabilitation programme offered to workers affected by work-related skin diseases. Health educational interventions aiming at changing skin protection behaviour are a pivotal component of the programme. This paper aims at characterizing the content of the educational interventions of the interprofessional inpatient rehabilitation programme and at reporting the mechanisms and functions for behaviour change. We retrospectively analysed existing health educational interventions with document analyses and field observations. The intervention was described using the Template of Intervention Description and Replication (TIDieR). For the intervention content, the Behaviour Change Technique (BCT) Taxonomy (v1) was applied. To characterize the intervention in detail, the BCTs were then mapped to the intervention functions, the COM-B model (Capability, Opportunity, Motivation) and the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) from the Behaviour Change Wheel (BCW). The health educational interventions consist of seven components. Five are delivered in a group and two as tailored face-to-face counselling. We identified 23 BCTs in 10 groups. The most common used BCTs are "instruction on how to perform skin protection behaviour," "salience of consequences," "information about skin health," and "demonstration of skin protection behaviour." To initiate the process of behaviour change in skin protection behaviour by the individuals, changes are required in all three behavioural sources (Capability, Opportunity, Motivation) and primarily in the theoretical constructs "behavioural regulation," "skills," and "beliefs about consequences." For this purpose, the five intervention functions "enablement," "training," "education," "modelling," and "persuasion" are used. Health educational interventions to change skin protection behaviour consists of different BCTs, mechanisms of change and intervention functions. This work helps to better understand the mechanisms and means of behaviour change and enables replication in other settings. In the future, the intervention programme should be extended to include BCTs addressing domains for behaviour changes which have not yet been included to maintain the new behaviour in the long-term. Finally, we recommend to report more elements of the rehabilitation programme (e.g. psychological interventions) in a standardized manner by frameworks used in this paper.

Functional disorders of the peripheral nervous system in metallurgical workers

Introduction. Early detection of functional changes in the nervous system makes it possible to clarify the etiopathogenetic effect of a whole set of adverse industrial factors, form a group at risk of occupational diseases, and develop preventive programs for given the main structural targets. 
 The purpose of the study was to identify characteristics of functional disorders of the peripheral nervous systems in metallurgists exposed to occupational hazards.
 Materials and methods. We examined two cohorts of workers: a control cohort of forty men unexposed to occupational risk factors and a case cohort of 60 male employees of a metallurgical plant situated in the Sverdlovsk Region. The cohorts were matched by age (mean: 38.8±7.6 years) and work experience (5.1±4.7 years). The mean duration of exposure to occupational hazards was 7.1±6.0 years. We included 38 cases in the program of in-depth neurophysiological examination that consisted of assessment of neurological status, electroneuromyography (ENMG).
 Results. 73.9 % of the cases had no complaints. Functional disorders of peripheral nerves were diagnosed as distal polyneuropathy of the upper and lower extremities (47.4 %), median neuropathy (42.1 %), ulnar neuropathy (23.7 %), and radiculopathies (9.6 %). Noteworthy is the presence of additional damages of the median nerve at the carpal tunnel in 55.6 % of the cases having signs of distal polyneuropathy.
 Conclusions. A comprehensive neurophysiological examination, not required by the current order for periodic medical examinations, helps to identify dysfunctions of the nervous system at their early stages. It is necessary to form high-risk groups of patients to monitor the development of work-related nervous diseases.

Collaboration between occupational health professionals in smoking cessation treatment and support.

Promoting health is an important part of occupational health (OH) professionals' daily practice. Occupational health services (OHS) support work ability and prevent both work-related diseases and lifestyle-related illnesses. We focused on how interprofessional collaboration (IPC), regardless of whether the OHS provider is public, private or in-house, influences the implementation of smoking cessation treatment and support (SCTS). We studied IPC of OH professionals in SCTS and whether they differ depending on OHS providers. We collected data through an online survey of a cross-sectional sample of OH professionals of physicians (n = 182), nurses (n = 296) and physiotherapists (n = 96) at two different time-points, in 2013 and 2017. The questionnaire contained questions on interprofessional SCTS practices, so that we could assess how the professionals' experiences differed from each other. We used explanatory factor analysis to study the collaboration, and the Kruskall-Wallis test to detect the differences between the OH professional groups as a post-hoc data analysis. OH physicians (mean 3.4, SD 1.2) and OH nurses (mean 3.2, SD 1.1) experienced smooth collaboration in SCTS whereas OH physiotherapists (mean 2.5, SD 1.1) felt excluded from IPC. In-house OH centres (mean 3.5, SD 1.0) seemed to offer the best opportunities for implementing IPC in SCTS comparing to public (mean 3.1, SD 0.9) or private (mean 2.9, SD 0.9) OHS. The IPC of OH professionals in SCTS interventions need to be rearranged. This requires boundary-crossing SCTS practices involving all professionals. All OH professionals should implement IPC in SCTS and share their specific competence.

Immune response to zinc oxide inhalation in metal fume fever, and the possible role of IL-17f

Metal fume fever (MFF) is a work-related disease caused by the inhalation of metal particles, including zinc oxide. Chronic asthma may develop as a long-term consequence of exposure, particularly for welders and metal workers who are most at risk. In this study, we investigated the effects of ZnO fume inhalation on multiple inflammation-related cytokine- and cytokine receptor genes in mice from lung and lymph node samples, to explore the role of these in the pathogenesis of MFF. In our experiments, the animals were treated with a sub-toxic amount of ZnO fume for 4 h a day for 3 consecutive days. Sampling occurred 3 and 12 h post-treatment. We are the first to demonstrate that ZnO inhalation causes extremely increased levels of IL-17f gene expression at both sampling time points, in addition to increased gene expression rates of several other interleukins and cytokines, such as IL-4, IL-13, CXCL5, CSF-3, and IFN-γ. Our animal experiment provides new insights into the immunological processes of early metal fume fever development. IL-17f plays a crucial role in connecting immunological and oxidative stress events. The increased levels of IL-4 and IL-13 cytokines may explain the development of long-term allergic asthma after exposure to ZnO nanoparticles, which is well-known among welders, smelters, and metal workers.

Knowledge and Attitudes Workers Toward Compliance Use Personal Protective Equipment

Introduction: All chemical industries in Indonesia have a potential hazards that can cause work accidents, occupational diseases, and work-related diseases. In this case, one of the protective measures that can be carried out on occupational health and safety in the PA Plant area as a chemical industry is the obligation to use PPE for the workers. Related to this matter, current project was done to assess how workers’ compliance to the usage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) related to knowledge, attitudes, and individual characteristics (age and educational attainment). Methods: The methodology applied to this study was analytical observational using a cross-sectional approach, where 37 workers were involved as research samples. In addition, a questionnaire and a compliance checklist for the usage of PPE were used to gather the data, and Spearman's Rho test was used to evaluate it. Results: The findings indicate that most employees are in the early adulthood group, graduated from a secondary school level, have excellent attitudes toward using personal protective equipment, have good understanding, and have good compliance with the use of PPE. It was further revealed that the PPE usage compliance does not in accordance with a person's age or level of knowledge. However, there is a relationship between knowledge and attitudes and compliance with the usage of PPE. Conclusion: Based on the findings discovered, it is summed up that although a good level of knowledge and attitude toward the use of PPE will make employees comply with the use of PPE, a worker's degree of education does not ensure their level of compliance with the use of PPE.

COVID-19 Marked a Change in the Scope of Occupational Medicine from Occupational to Work-Related Diseases and Total Worker Health®.

The COVID-19 pandemic challenged occupational medicine, while its focus had already shifted from occupational diseases to work-related illnesses. Such a broader scope allowed the inclusion of transmissible diseases among the causes for concern in working settings. COVID-19 has had a profound impact globally, resulting in millions of infections, often lethal. From its appearance, COVID-19 was found to affect specific groups of workers at higher risk of contracting the virus due to their occupation or workplace conditions, which accounts for its consideration as a potential work-related disease. This overview examines various aspects of COVID-19 based on articles published in our journal. Specifically, the epidemiology of COVID-19 is discussed, including mortality rates and groups at higher risk. The diagnosis, measures to prevent contagion, vaccination efforts, long-term effects, and psychosocial factors are also summarized. The emerging picture is that COVID-19 has been a trigger accelerating the change of paradigm of occupational medicine, which is more and more concerned with prevention. Occupational Health contributes to health promotion and Total Worker Health®.

Conceptual foundations of a corporate intelligent risk-based system for analysis, prediction and prevention of occupational and work-related health disorders of workers

The relevance of the study is determined by the strategic interests of the Russian Federation dictating the need to achieve a national priority, which is the development of human potential. Given the ongoing reduction in labor force against a background of depopulation processes, finding a solution to the problem seems especially relevant. The purpose of this study is to develop a scientific conceptual framework for an intelligent risk-based innovative system for analysis, prediction and prevention of occupational and work-related health disorders of workers. This will help substantiate keynote sanitary-hygienic and medical-preventive measures aimed at reducing losses in healthy life expectancy and increasing occupational longevity. The main theoretical idea is based on a unique information-intellectual innovative system for analyzing and predicting cause-and-effect relationships between the effects of harmful and hazardous occupational factors and the resulting health problems of workers, occupational diseases included. The developed predictive digital neural network models, trained on retrospective or actual data on working conditions, health status, socioeconomic conditions and lifestyle factors, are the information and analytical basis for carrying out calculations and assessing the evolution of personal and group (occupation, age, and work records) health risks caused by occupational or work-related diseases in workers. This provides solid grounds for making a forecast of a prevented period of reduction in occupational working capacity associated with working conditions, specifically for each examined occupation, age, and work records. Such forecasts are an eligible information basis for developing and making well-grounded managerial decisions including those concerning sanitary, hygienic and medical preventive measures aimed at preserving occupational longevity. This will significantly increase effectiveness of corporate health-preserving policies.

Концептуальные основы корпоративной интеллектуальной риск-ориентированной системы анализа, прогноза и профилактики профессиональных и производственно-обусловленных нарушений здоровья работников

The relevance of the study is determined by the strategic interests of the Russian Federation dictating the need to achieve a national priority, which is the development of human potential. Given the ongoing reduction in labor force against a background of depopulation processes, finding a solution to the problem seems especially relevant. The purpose of this study is to develop a scientific conceptual framework for an intelligent risk-based innovative system for analysis, prediction and prevention of occupational and work-related health disorders of workers. This will help substantiate keynote sanitary-hygienic and medical-preventive measures aimed at reducing losses in healthy life expectancy and increasing occupational longevity. The main theoretical idea is based on a unique information-intellectual innovative system for analyzing and predicting cause-and-effect relationships between the effects of harmful and hazardous occupational factors and the resulting health problems of workers, occupational diseases included. The developed predictive digital neural network models, trained on retrospective or actual data on working conditions, health status, socioeconomic conditions and lifestyle factors, are the information and analytical basis for carrying out calculations and assessing the evolution of personal and group (occupation, age, and work records) health risks caused by occupational or work-related diseases in workers. This provides solid grounds for making a forecast of a prevented period of reduction in occupational working capacity associated with working conditions, specifically for each examined occupation, age, and work records. Such forecasts are an eligible information basis for developing and making well-grounded managerial decisions including those concerning sanitary, hygienic and medical preventive measures aimed at preserving occupational longevity. This will significantly increase effectiveness of corporate health-preserving policies.

Work-related diseases and risk factors associated with work-related musculoskeletal disorders among unionized metal industry workers: a cross-sectional study

Objectives. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of work-related diseases (WRDs) and work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WR-MSDs), as well as investigate WR-MSD-associated risk factors, among metal industry workers in Turkey. Methods. The cross-sectional study was conducted with 1374 members of the Birleşik Metal İş Union from 121 companies. Data were collected using a self-administered 30-item questionnaire. Results. The survey response rate was 81.4% (1374/1686). Almost one out of every six workers (14.8%) stated that they had been diagnosed with a WRD, 3.6% reported that they had been diagnosed with an occupational disease and 38.6% of them indicated that they had suffered an occupational accident (OA) at least once. The prevalence of WR-MSDs was 10.7%, of work-related lung diseases was 1.8% and of occupational hearing loss was 0.6%. Quitting smoking, smoking, OA, heavy lifting, time pressure and working in the automotive industry were all associated with WR-MSDs. Conclusions. Interventions aimed at reducing musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) should focus on smoking cessation, training workers in proper techniques and equipment for lifting and pushing/pulling heavy loads, preventing OAs and injuries, and reducing the time pressure in the workplace in the metal industry.

Leading Risk Factors for Diseases of the Circulatory and Musculoskeletal Systems in Metallurgical Workers

Introduction: It is important to assess health impact of the entire set of heterogeneous risk factors and identify the key ones in order to develop personalized measures for prevention of non-occupational diseases in workers. Objective: To establish the major risk factors for circulatory and musculoskeletal disorders in employees of a metallurgical enterprise. Materials and methods: We used anonymized data from a special assessment of working conditions and production control of the forging departments of the forging-rod and forging-press shops of a metallurgical enterprise producing titanium alloys for the years 2016–2020. To determine the presence of personal biological and behavioral risk factors for diseases of the circulatory and musculoskeletal systems, we examined anonymized data of the periodic medical check-up conducted in 2020 of 146 male blacksmiths working with hammers and presses. The mean age of the workers was 35.9 ± 8.8 years (range: 21 to 57 years) and their mean length of current employment was 18.9 ± 9.7 years (range: 2 to 41 years). The method of simple and multiple logistic regression was used to build models for predicting the likelihood of a disease; odds ratios were calculated with a 95 % confidence interval. The quality of the models was assessed using the maximum likelihood estimation. Results: We determined the factors allowing prediction of the disease likelihood. The prevalence of circulatory diseases correlated with age, length of employment, and the body mass index, whole-body and hand-arm vibration, noise exposure, high ambient temperature, thermal radiation, and heavy physical work. The prevalence of musculoskeletal diseases, in its turn, had a somewhat weaker statistically significant association with the same risk factors. Models predicting the likelihood of circulatory and musculoskeletal diseases have been built. The best predictive model for circulatory diseases included the combined effect of the body mass index and heavy physical work while that for musculoskeletal disorders – of the body mass index and hand-arm vibration. Conclusion: Multiple logistic regression used to analyze statistical relationships between work-related risk factors and disease prevalence in employees in specific occupations allowed identification of the leading factors contributing the most to the disease development and can be recommended for solving practical problems in occupational medicine.

Non-malignant occupational respiratory diseases and climate change.

BACKGROUND: Respiratory diseases of infectious, allergic, neoplastic or degenerative origin are due to the interaction of environmental and occupational risk factors, individual susceptibility and other co-factors and comorbidities. Asthma and other respiratory pathologies can be worsened by climate change and exposure to other agents in occupational environments.METHODS: PubMed and Scopus, and several websites on public and occupational health were queried to find publications and documents on work-related respiratory diseases, asthma, rhinitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), pneumoconiosis and allergic alveolitis in association with climate change.RESULTS: Most of the retrieved articles concerned asthma (75 in Scopus), while the other topics were less frequently covered in the scientific literature, with a maximum of 29 papers for rhinitis and 23 for COPD. The most important terms highlighted by the word clouds were 'health', 'air', 'pollution', and, only for asthma and rhinitis, 'pollen' and 'allergic/allergy'. Website data on public and occupational health, and climate change were reported.CONCLUSIONS: Assessment and management of respiratory diseases that recognise occupational exposures should be improved, and more research into integrated approaches should be favoured. Health surveillance practices for workers exposed to agents that cause respiratory diseases should be implemented. The development of biomarkers of exposure, effect and susceptibility needs further study.

Hubungan Karakteristik, Riwayat Penyakit, dan Obesitas dengan Keluhan Carpal Tunnel Syndrom (CTS) Pada Komunitas Ojek Online Wilayah Kecamatan Ciracas Jakarta Timur Tahun 2022

Activities involving intensive use of hands over an extended period are often associated with the occurrence of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS). According to the 2013 ILO report, CTS is consistently detected in almost every incident of work-related diseases in several countries. One type of occupation at risk of CTS is online motorcycle taxi drivers. The aim of this study is to determine the relationship between characteristics, medical history, and obesity with CTS complaints in the Online Motorcycle Taxi Community of the Ciracas District, East Jakarta, in the year 2022. The study design is cross-sectional. The sample consists of 107 online motorcycle taxi drivers from the Ciracas District. The research was conducted from April to September 2022. Data collection was done using questionnaires. Data analysis included univariate, bivariate (Chi-square test), and multivariate (Logistic Regression test). The research findings reveal that respondents with CTS complaints in the at-risk category are 29.9%. The majority of respondents are below 40 years old (52.3%), have a work experience of less than 4.5 years (51.4%), work for more than 8 hours per day (59.8%), have no medical history (59.8%), and are not obese (71.0%). The bivariate analysis results show that variables significantly associated with CTS complaints include work experience (p = 0.012 and OR = 3.3), work duration (p = 0.021 and OR = 3.297), medical history (p = 0.046 and OR = 2.571), and obesity (p = 0.049 and OR = 2.654). The multivariate analysis results indicate that there is no single dominant factor with the highest influence on CTS complaints within the online motorcycle taxi community (p > 0.05). The recommendation is to provide Health Education to online motorcycle taxi drivers regarding preventive measures for CTS complaints. This aims to help them manage their work schedule effectively and take preventive actions against CTS issues, such as regular breaks, supportive nutrition, and so forth.
 Keywords: characteristics, medical history, obesity, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) complaints, Online Motorcycle Taxi

Knowledge and practices toward occupational safety among workers in vibrated block industries: A cross-sectional study

Objectives: Workers in block industries are exposed to significant occupational hazards and consequently are at high risk of work-related diseases. This study aimed to determine knowledge and practices toward occupational safety among workers in the Vibrated Block Industries in Calabar Municipality, Cross River State, Nigeria. Material and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional design was adopted using a semi-structured questionnaire to elicit information from 120 workers in 40 vibrated block industries. Data collected were analyzed using IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences Statistics version 25. Associations were tested using Chi-square statistics. Results: The results indicate that 112 (94.1%) respondents were aware of occupational hazards associated with their job. The majority of the respondents 107 (89.9%) had a good knowledge level of occupational hazards and safety measures. The majority of the respondents 112 (94.1%) reported that personal protective equipment was available in their workstations. Only 54.6% had a good safety practice level. The majority of the respondents 83 (69.7%) knew that their job could pose an adverse effect on their health and 80 (67.2%) reported having experienced one or more health challenges associated with their work. A significant association was found between years of experience and level of safety practice (P = 0.008). The majority of the industries had never been inspected by regulatory agencies. Conclusion: The study observes an overall good level of knowledge of occupational hazards but the level of safety practice is poor among block industry workers. Regular monitoring of workers by industry administrators and occasional monitoring of industries by relevant regulatory agencies to ensure adherence to safety measures are imperative.

The development and evaluation of an intervention to promote the uptake of preventive tasks by occupational physicians targeting work-related mental health problems: protocol for the IM-PROmPt-study

ObjectiveWork-related mental health problems are a major and growing public and occupational health issue. Although prevention of work-related disease is a central task in the work of occupational physicians, implementation of preventive tasks can still improve. The aim of this paper is to present the development of an intervention to support occupational physicians in the execution of preventive tasks and a protocol for its evaluation.MethodsAn intervention to support occupational physicians has been developed making use of the implementation mapping protocol. The intervention was based on barriers and facilitators for the execution of preventive tasks, input from stakeholders, and evidence-based strategies from literature.ResultsThe intervention consists of three peer group supervision meetings directed to preventive tasks. During these meetings, occupational physicians will receive materials and will use goal-setting to formulate their own action plans. The IM-PROmPt-study (Implementation of PReventive tasks by Occupational Physicians) is a two-armed cluster randomized controlled trial, comparing peer group supervision directed to the implementation of preventive tasks for occupational physicians with usual peer group supervision. The evaluation will include an effect and process evaluation to examine if the intervention is successful in supporting OPs to implement preventive activities, specifically aimed to prevent work-related mental health problems.DiscussionThe intervention is expected to lead to more knowledge and awareness of the value of prevention among OPs, anticipated to lead to both organizational and individual gains.Trial registrationISRCTN registry; ISRCTN15394765. Registered on 27 June 2023.

Regulatory and legal bases for the establishment and functioning of seafarers' health protection centers in the Russian Federation

Introduction. Ensuring the national interests of the Russian Federation in the World Ocean presupposes the development of medical and sanitary support for maritime activities, which currently requires integrated approaches in implementing the requirements for the preservation of the health of employees of the Russian fleet established by international legal acts on health and medical care in maritime navigation, of which the Russian Federation is a participant. In this regard, harmonization of legislation and improvement of measures related to the organization and functioning of seafarers' health protection centers are of particular importance.
 The study aims to conduct comprehensive legal monitoring of national regulatory and methodological documents regulating the activities of seafarers' health protection centers in comparison with international standards.
 Materials and methods. The authors have studied and analyzed scientific publications for the period from 1980 to 2023 defining the problems of medical and sanitary provision of water transport workers, methodological approaches of the World Health Organization, the International Labor Organization, the International Maritime Organization in this area, as well as current international and Russian regulatory legal acts, information from official websites of executive authorities and organizations.
 Results. The study found that today the system of seafarers' health protection, which previously existed in our country, has suffered significantly, and its restoration requires an integrated approach and centralization of medical support for maritime activities in accordance with the Maritime Doctrine of the Russian Federation and the Concept of Development of the Russian Federation Marine medicine. To this end, in the structure of organizations subordinate to the FMBA of Russia, in large port cities, head and regional centers for the protection of seafarers' health were established, carrying out accounting and analytical, organizational and methodological, regulatory, therapeutic and preventive, expert, scientific and educational activities. An important direction in the work of these centers is the implementation of preventive measures and the identification of occupational and work-related diseases. For the successful development of a unified system of medical and sanitary support for employees of the marine and river fleet, it is advisable to assign the functions of regulatory regulation in this area to the FMBA of Russia.
 Conclusion. The restoration of a full-fledged domestic system of providing medical care to water transport workers is possible through the creation and regulatory consolidation of the activities of seafarers' health protection centers in the structure of the FMBA organizations of Russia, which is an essential condition for achieving compliance of the national maritime policy with international requirements in the field of health and safety of navigation while maintaining its strategic goals and interests in the field of maritime and river navigation.
 Ethics. The study was conducted in compliance with Ethical standards. This study did not require the conclusion of the Ethics committee.

Global Estimates on Biological Risks at Work

IntroductionBiological risks are a major global problem in the workplace. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for a more comprehensive understanding of the biological risks at work. This study presents data on both communicable infectious biological agents and noncommunicable factors leading to death and disability for the year 2021. MethodsWe followed the methodology established by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in their past global estimates on occupational accidents and work-related diseases. We used relevant ILO estimates for hazardous substances and related population attributable fractions derived from literature, which were then applied to World Health Organization mortality data. The communicable diseases included in the estimates were tuberculosis, pneumococcal diseases, malaria, diarrheal diseases, other infectious diseases, neglected tropical diseases, influenza associated respiratory diseases and COVID-19. Noncommunicable diseases and injuries considered were Chronic Obstructive Diseases (COPD) due to organic dusts, asthma, allergic reactions and risks related to animal contact. We estimated death attributable to biological risk at work and disability in terms of disability adjusted life years (DALYs). ResultsWe estimated that in 2022, 550,819 deaths were caused by biological risk factors, with 476,000 deaths attributed to communicable infectious diseases and 74,000 deaths caused by noncommunicable factors. Among these, there were 223,650 deaths attributed to COVID-19 at work. We calculated the rate of 584 DALYs per 100,000 workers, representing an 11% increase from the previous estimate of the global burden of work-related disabilities measured by DALYs. ConclusionThis is a first update since previous 2007 ILO estimates, which has now increased by 74% and covers most biological risks factors. However, it is important to note that there may be other diseases and deaths are missing from the data, which need to be included when new information becomes available. It is also worth mentioning that while deaths caused by major communicable diseases including COVID-19 are relatively rare within the working population, absences from work due to these diseases are likely to be very common within the active workforce.

Безопасность производственной деятельности локомотивного депо

The main factors are considered related to influencing the environment and human health of the production activities of a locomotive depot as one of the main structural units of railway transport. It is noted that the variety of technological processes at the locomotive enterprises causes a wide range of negative consequences for the health of employees and the ecology of adjacent residential areas. Industrial emissions from the locomotive depot enterprises are related to the priority ingredient air pollutants. They have a unidirectional effect, which significantly increases the risk to human health. The main technological processes affecting the state of atmospheric air in the depot territory include rheostat testing of locomotives, drying and filling of sand into locomotives, and combustion of organic fuel in the boiler rooms. The main measures to reduce the negative impact of these processes are analyzed from the point of view of the best available technologies. The sources of air pollution in the working premises of locomotive depot enterprises are considered. It is noted that the greatest hazard to the employees of the enterprise is represented by the production areas where welding, gas-cutting and paintwork are carried out. Pollutants entering the environment from these areas lead to disruptions in the functioning of the human respiratory and circulatory systems, causing allergic, work-related and occupational diseases. Measures are proposed to bring the air in the working area to sanitary and hygienic standards. Special attention is paid to the organization of environmental control points in the areas with the largest multi-component emissions, both in the open area of the locomotive depot and in the industrial premises. This will allow to objectively and promptly assess the negative environmental effect, adjust environmental measures and as a result improve the environmental and industrial safety of the activity of this structural subdivision of the railway transport.