Учредитель-федеральное государственное бюджетное образовательное учреждение высшего образования «Северный государственный медицинский университет» Министерства здравоохранения Российской Федерации Основан в 1994 году Основным направлением деятельности журнала является публикация научных исследований, посвященных проблемам экологии человека и имеющих как фундаментальное, так и прикладное значение. В журнале публикуются оригинальные статьи, обзоры и краткие сообщения по всем аспектам экологии человека и общественного здоровья. Предназначен для публикации материалов кандидатских и докторских диссертаций.

The aim of the study was to assess temporal trends in health risks related to most common persistent contaminants, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethanes (DDTs), lead (Pb), as well as mercury (Hg) among indigenous peoples living in coastal areas of Chukotka in Arctic Russia. This is examined in relation to exposure pathways and a range of social and behavioral factors capable of modifying the exposure to these contaminants, including place of residence, income, traditional subsistence, alcohol consumption, and awareness of risk prevention. The primary exposure pathway for PCBs is shown to be the intake of traditional foods, which explained as much as 90% of the total health risk calculated employing established risk guidelines. Nearly 50% of past DDT-related health risks also appear to have been contributed by contaminated indoor surfaces involving commonly used DDT-containing insecticides. Individuals who practiced traditional activities are shown to have experienced a 4.4-fold higher risk of exposure to PCBs and a 1.3-fold higher risk for DDTs, Pb, and Hg. Low income, high consumption of marine mammal fat, alcohol consumption, and lack of awareness of health risk prevention are attributed to a further 2- to 6-fold increase in the risk of PCBs exposure. Low socioeconomic status enhances the health risks associated with exposure to the persistent contaminants examined.

Minor towns with population size of 50-100 thousand people are much rarely studied in regards of the ecological-hygienic assessment of human environment, in spite of the fact that they are characterized by specific ecological problems. The objective of the study was the hygienic assessment of the impact of urban environment on population health status in Tikhvin and Gatchina towns of the Leningrad region. Morbidity rate in the population of Tikhvin and Gatchina in 2005-2015, atmospheric emissions of industrial enterprises, findings on monitoring for both atmospheric air pollution and centralized drinking water supply, as well as motor transport noise levels were studied. Population health risk stipulated by industrial emissions and noise exposure was calculated. Statistical data treatment with correlation analysis of the relationship between environmental pollution indices and population morbidity was carried out. The study revealed increased atmospheric air pollutant concentrations in Gatchina, which might be connected with motor transport effect. Acute non-carcinogenic risk levels resulting from air pollutants are on the borderline of the admissible level, while in Tikhvin town those values are significantly lower. Estimated concentrations of atmospheric pollutants produced by industrial emissions are by 1.5-2 times lower than the actual levels shown by monitoring. Noise levels and predicted health risks in Gatchina are on the borderline of the admissible level, while in Tikhvin they are significantly reduced. The statistically significant gain in the general primary morbidity rate indices due to respiratory diseases in Gatchina town, correlated with atmospheric air pollution, was revealed. Our study showed that despite the presence of large industrial enterprises in studied towns, motor transport proved to be the key factor that forms air pollution and noise load, more typical of large cities.

Purpose: to study the socioeconomic and behavioral risk factors of disabilities among indigenous population of Far North and make proposals for their prevention. Methods: The study tested the level of income, employment, education and alcohol consumption on the basis of the survey and analyzed the data of the official statistics. We used Statistica v.12 and IBM SPSS Statistics v.22 for calculating the chi-square, Wilcoxon signed- rank test criteria, T-test for paired samples and made regression and correlation analysis. Results: We did not discover significant differences in income levels, unemployment and alcohol consumption in the cohort study (2001-2010) of indigenous population in Chukotka Autonomous Region. In addition, the income of the natives is still low, unemployment and alcohol consumption are high. There is a correlation between the socioeconomic and behavioral factors and health indicators. We also propose a mathematical model which allows to suggest that the level of income above the subsistence level in 6-7 times is sufficient to minimize the impact of socioeconomic factors on population health. Conclusion: In order to prevent irreversible process of indigenous population health deterioration and society degradation it is necessary to create the accessible vocational education, increase employment and number of leisure centers. These measures will lead to income growth, increase in life expectancy and infant mortality decrease.

In the article, there have been presented literature data and given results of the authors’ own studies related to description of natural-climatic and anthropogenic health deterioration risk factors for population living in the Arctic. There have been singled out two main groups of risk factors specific for the Arctic regions.

Development of social and hygienic monitoring (SHM) system as a means of ensuring sanitary-epidemiological wellbeing of the population of Russian Federation is one of the main activities of the Federal Service for Supervision in Protection of the Rights of Consumer and Man Wellbeing. The authors analyzed the current state of organization of SHM: lists of control points of human-environment factors and laboratory test findings; information collection techniques and systematization; procedural approaches to automation of data collection, processing and visualization.SHM is legally assigned to control measures, during which the interaction of state and municipal control bodies with legal entities and individual entrepreneurs is not required. The further SHM development is reported to be restrained by a number of organizational -technologic and financial- economic problems: analysis of sanitary-epidemiological wellbeing state among population has shown that according to SHM, interregional aspects are not taken into account; procedural approaches to the choice of control points and formation of environmental pollution indices lists, as well as the assessment procedure of social and economic efficiency of SHM, have not been properly worked out; the number of departments and experts specialized in SHM and responsible for it is decreasing, and etc. A model of interregional social-hygienic monitoring as a way of SHM improvement is suggested. Its aims include the quality increase of expert-and-analytical SHM data processing within the entire RF Arctic zone; consideration of factors affecting population health and having interregional character. Departments and Federal State Healthcare agencies named “Centers of Hygiene and Epidemiology” in various subjects of the Russian Arctic and the Federal Service for Supervision in Protection of the Rights of Consumer and Man Wellbeing research institutions will participate in the interregional SHM. A concept of GIS portal of the Russian Arctic based on geo-information system and aimed to improve SHM is developed. It can be a comprehensive electronic database of human-environment factors and population health state, as well as an effective instrument with spatial analysis function for the assessment of sanitary and epidemiological wellbeing of the population.

For many years, morbidity with work-related diseases has been higher in Chukotka Autonomous Area (ChAA) than on average in Russia. Our research objects were working conditions and morbidity with work-related diseases. Our research goal was to examine reasons for work-related pathology occurrence, its structure, and prevalence in ChAA in 2008–2018. We examined data obtained via social-hygienic monitoring in 2008–2018 in Chukotka, paying close attention to a section entitled «Working conditions and work-related pathology». We established that noise (17.4%) and cooling microclimate (11.8%) were the most widely spread hazardous occupational factors in ChAA. 20.1% workers were exposed to a combination of hazardous factors. 13.5% workers were employed at industrial objects that belonged to the 1st surveillance group (the highest risks); 31.9% worked at economic entities from the 3rd surveillance group (average risks). In 2008–2018 216 work-related diseases were first diagnosed in Chukotka, mostly among workers employed at mining enterprises (81.5%). Sensorineural hearing loss / noise effects in the internal ear (35.2%) and respiratory diseases (31.9%) prevailed in their structure. 73.6% diseases were detected due to patients applying for medical aid themselves. In 2008–2015 there was a steady growth in work-related morbidity (from 1.94 to 13.5 per 10,000 workers), but there was a decrease in it in 2016–2018 (down to 5.11 per 10,000 workers) with considerable fluctuations in numbers of first diagnosed diseases. Risks of work-related pathology occurrence were higher in Chukotka in 2018 than in 2008: OR=2.37; CI 1.82–3.09; χ2=43.8; р<0.001. To prevent work-related pathology in Chukotka, it is necessary to continue activities aimed at working conditions improvement, in particular, reducing exposure to noise and aerosols with predominantly fibrogenic effects in mining industry in the region.

Working in the Arctic increases the risk of occupational diseases, which is especially important in the context of acute shortage of manpower in the region. The purpose of the study was to comparatively evaluate the working conditions and occupational pathology in Nenets Autonomous Okrug (NAO) and Chukotka Autonomous Okrug (ChAO) of Russia. We analyzed the results of socio-hygienic monitoring “Working Conditions and Occupational Morbidity” in 2008–2018. Despite similar climatic and socio-economic conditions, significant differences exist in the health risks of the working populations of the two regions. In NAO two-thirds of workers were employed at facilities with satisfactory sanitary and epidemiological well-being, while in ChAO only 13% of workers had such conditions. In NAO, almost all occupational diseases (93.2%) were due to exposure to noise among civil aviation workers. In ChAO, health problems mainly occurred among miners (81.5%). The most common of these were noise effects on the inner ear (35.2%), chronic bronchitis (23.1%), and mono- and polyneuropathies (12.5%). In 2008–2018, the occupational pathology risk in ChAO was higher than in NAO: RR = 2.79; CI 2.09–3.71. Thus, specificity of technological processes and forms of labor organization create significant differences in health risks for workers. It is necessary to use modern mining equipment to decrease the occupational morbidity in ChAO. In NAO, this effect can be achieved by updating the fleet of civil aviation.