Peculiarities of production-related diseases in miners employed at deep mining of chromic ores

Abstract

Deep mining is widely spread in Russia; therefore, it is truly vital to determine how labor resources in the branch can be preserved. Adverse working conditions cause elevated risks of not only occupationally induced diseases, but also production-related ones, make medical and social consequences of such diseases even worse, and result in a decrease in overall labor potential of a society. Miners’ working conditions are ones of the most adverse. When participating in technological processes, workers are exposed to a set of adverse and dangerous industrial factors, both common for any deep mining and specific ones related to a type of mineral resources which are mined. We performed a complex assessment of working conditions existing in deep mining of chromic ores in order to detect risks of chronic diseases for miners as well as to determine an extent to which such diseases were production-related. We revealed that working conditions for miners involved in chromic ores mining were associated with joint negative effects exerted by physical and chemical factors of the working process; as per this combination of factors, they can be assigned into “adverse working conditions with 3–4 hazard degree” category. Workers involved in deep mining at chromic mines ran 1.5–5.2 times higher relative risks of cardiovascular system diseases, respiratory system diseases, endocrine system diseases, and hearing organs diseases, than personnel employed at mines but dealing with production processes on the surface. Nervous and respiratory system diseases, endocrine pathologies, and hearing organs diseases in miners employed at chromic mines were to a great extent production-related while cardiovascular system diseases less significantly depended on industrial factors.