OCCUPATIONAL PATHOLOGY AT THE ENTERPRISES OF THE NENETS AUTONOMOUS DISTRICT: RISK FACTORS, STRUCTURE, PREVALENCE

Abstract

Background. Human labor in the Arctic area is carried out in extreme climatic conditions creating an increased risk of developing health problems, including occupational diseases (OD). The purpose of the study was to investigate the working conditions, the structure and prevalence of OD in the population of the Nenets Autonomous District (NAD), the basis of the which economy is oil and gas production. Material and methods. The data of social and hygienic monitoring in the section “Working conditions and occupational morbidity” of the population of the NAD in 2008-2017 was studied. Results. The most significant harmful production factors at NAD enterprises have been established to be non-ionizing electromagnetic fields and radiations, unfavorable microclimate of workplaces, noise, intensity, and the hardness of the labor process. More than half of all district employees are involved in enterprises with satisfactory working conditions. In the NAD working population, occupational pathology is diagnosed mainly in the flight personnel of civil aviation (88% of cases) in the form of sensorineural hearing loss (96% of cases). The risk of OD development among air transport workers was higher than that of the entire population of the district (RR = 4.42; CI 2.95-6.62) and those employed in oil and gas producing enterprises (RR = 23.2; CI 8.32 - 64.4). Additional occupational health risks associated with the extraction of hydrocarbons in Arctic have not been established. Conclusion. The priority direction in the prevention of occupational pathology (mainly sensorineural hearing loss) should be the reduction of the level of industrial noise among air transport workers.