Assessment of Occupatioal Health Risk in Ferroalloy Plant

Abstract

Findings of comprehensive assessment of occupational health risks in high-carbon ferrochrome production workers are reported. Groups of occupation- and employment duration related risk according to the general morbidity rate depending on the age and employment duration among smelters, blast-furnace keepers, cinder-men, batchers, crane operators, ferroalloy crashers, electrode operators and other smelter workers were identified. Hygienic studies covered the measurement of the following physical and chemical workplace factors: noise, whole-body and local vibration levels, electromagnetic fields and microclimate parameters (temperature, relative humidity, air speed, heat radiation intensity, environmental heat load index), artificial illumination, aerosol concentrations in workplace air and in neutral points of workrooms, average shift aerosol concentrations being calculated, and chemicals concentrations: calcium oxide, magnesium oxide, ferric iron oxide, chromic oxide, chromium anhydride, aluminium oxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide and carbon monoxide. Time-keeping study to evaluate the hardness of the working process and intensity in main occupations was carried out. Our studies revealed working conditions of major smelter occupational groups to be were evaluated as harmful and dangerous: 3rd class, 2nd degree. Microclimate (heat radiation, low ambient air temperatures, noise and environmental dust pollution were reported to be the most unfavorable working conditions; the hardness of the working process heaviness of all major occupational groups were classified as 3rd class, 1st degree. Working conditions of control group workers unexposed to harmful occupational factors of smelter shop were estimated as allowable. Findings on the risk for the gain in the morbidity rate (annual gain in the risk) depending on age and employment duration for the period of 2007-2016 are reported. The direct statistically reliable relationship between the increased disease incidence on age and employment duration is revealed; annual gain in the disease incidence rate is shown.