The study showed increased lung cancer risk for selected categories of DFs.

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Introduction. Due to the impact of adverse working conditions and climate, workers in coal-mining enterprises in the Arctic are at increased risk of occupational diseases (OD).The aim of the study was to study the working conditions, causes, structure and prevalence of occupational diseases in miners of coal mines in the Arctic.Materials and methods. Th e data of social and hygienic monitoring “Working conditions and occupational morbidity” of the population of Vorkuta and Chukotka Autonomous District in 2007–2017 are studied.Results. It was established that in 2007–2017 years, 2,296 ODs were diagnosed for the first time in 1851 coal mines, mainly in the drifters, clearing face miners, repairmen and machinists of mining excavating machines. Most often, the ODs occurred when exposed to the severity of labor, fibrogenic aerosols and hand-arm vibration. The development of professional pathology in 98% of cases was due to design flaws of machines and mechanisms, as well as imperfections of workplaces and technological processes. Diseases of the musculoskeletal system (36.2%), respiratory organs (28.9%) and nervous system (22.5%) prevailed in the structure of professional pathology of miners of coal mines. Among the three most common nosological forms of OD were radiculopathy (32.1%), chronic bronchitis (27.7%) and mono-polyneuropathy (15.4%). In 2017, coal miners in the Arctic had a professional morbidity rate of 2.82 times higher than the national rates for coal mining.Conclusions. To preserve the health of miners of coal mining enterprises, technical measures to improve working conditions and medical interventions aimed at increasing the body’s resistance to the effects of harmful production and climatic factors are necessary.

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.

Residential buildings and premises must comply with sanitary rules and regulations, but a lot of provisions of sanitary and epidemiological requirements for living conditions contradict Federal legislation and do not provide for the regulation of public relations arising in the process of ensuring sanitary and epidemiological well-being of population at all stages of arranging residential buildings and premises, therefore they require updating. International, national regulatory legal acts of a number of countries, regulatory legal acts of Russian Federation, establishing sanitary and epidemiological requirements for living conditions in residential buildings and premises, research studies carried out in Russia and abroad were used as research materials. A set of general scientific research methods: analytical, system-structural, comparative was a procedural basis of the study. Widening of the scope of sanitary standards and rules: extension of responsibility for compliance with the requirements of the document to the executive authorities, expanding the list of objects prohibited for allocation in residential buildings, measures to ensure a barrier-free environment for the disabled, requirements of inadmissibility of residential building destruction by mold, and others were suggested as the results of the study. Due to the fact that the problem of fresh air is common, the design indices of air and air exchange rate are proposed. Recommended changes regarding noise regulation assume the elimination of contradictions when correction coefficients are applied. Conclusions. Analysis of current sanitary and epidemiological requirements enabled to specify indoor environmental factors of the living space, originating from an interaction of outdoor environment, indoor environment of the living space and direct effect of the human himself and on which favorable living conditions depend, and elaborate on the reasons of violations of the established requirements. Suggested changes and additions corresponded to the main trends existing in international practice are aimed at specifying the provisions of the document, optimizing a number of standards, and eliminating contradictions. It is noted that regulation and monitoring of dwelling condition cannot be limited just by the indoor premises of the building. It is necessary to consider the living environment as a united system: human - residential unit (apartment, room, and auxiliary facilities) - building - surrounding grounds- microdistrict - residential area of the city.