Hygienic characteristics of some indicators of working conditions of workers in the main professions of the coal mining and aluminum industries

The article presents the results of a study of some indicators of working conditions of workers in the main professions of the coal mining and aluminum industries, conducted based on the analysis of 185 sanitary and hygienic characteristics for 2006–2007 and 2020–2024 in patients of the clinic of the Research Institute for Complex Problems of Hygiene and Occupational Diseases with newly diagnosed occupational diseases. The indicators of production factors were compared with the corresponding hygienic standards, the classes of working conditions were determined according to Guideline 2.2.2006–05. Exceeding the maximum permissible noise level was detected at the workplaces of a miner (up to 29 dBA), a longwall miner (up to 27 dBA), an underground electric locomotive driver (up to 16 dBA), and a mining machine operator (up to 13 dBA). The overall vibration level exceeded the hygienic standard for a bulldozer driver (up to 13 dB), an excavator driver (up to 16 dB), an underground electric locomotive driver and a mining machine operator (up to 5 dB), a longwall miner (up to 7 dB), and a miner (up to 9 dB). The local vibration level exceeded the permissible level at the bulldozer operator’s workplace by up to 2 dB, at the excavator operator and miner’s workplace by up to 5 dB, at the underground electric locomotive operator and the operator of mining extraction machines by up to 9 dB, at the dump truck driver by up to 3 dB, and at the longwall miner by up to 15 dB. At the coal miners’ workplaces, dust concentrations exceeded the standard by up to 1.75 times for the bulldozer operator, up to 1.4 times for the excavator operator, up to 2.6 times for the underground electric locomotive operator, up to 10.75 times for the dump truck driver, up to 32.5 times for the longwall miner, up to 149.3 times for the miner, and up to 80 times for the operator of mining extraction machines. Exceeding the maximum permissible concentration of hydrofluoride was detected at the anode operator’s (0.11 mg/m³) and crane operator’s (0.39 mg/m³) workstations. To reduce the impact of occupational factors, improved organizational, technical, and medical preventive measures are recommended.