The foundation of the prevention of occupational morbidity in workers of petrochemical plants

Introduction. Despite the improvement of technologies for the production of petrochemical products, against the background of the positive dynamics of occupational morbidity in the whole production of chemicals and chemical products, according to official data, occupational diseases are recorded annually at the industrial enterprises. In this regard, studies that will reveal the causal relationships between occupational diseases and the development of preventive programs aimed at eliminating the influence of harmful substances on the workers’ bodies and ensuring safe working conditions are relevant.

Material and methods. There was carried a retrospective analysis of occupational morbidity indices out due to acute and chronic occupational diseases caused by a chemical factor over 39 years (1980-2018) in workers of one of the leading petrochemical enterprises located in the Volga Federal District. This company includes more than a dozen industries located on one industrial site. Occupational morbidity was assessed in absolute and relative terms.

The occupational morbidity index, an integral indicator of the frequency and severity of occupational diseases, occupational risk levels in terms of occupational morbidity were determined in accordance with the Guide “Occupational Health Risk to Workers”, edited by Izmerov N.F., Denisov E.I.

Results. The working conditions of petrochemical workers that are part of the enterprise structure are unsafe; cases of acute and/or chronic occupational diseases caused by chemical factors are annually recorded. In the structure of occupational morbidity, chronic toxicity ranks first. The level of occupational risk according to indices of occupational morbidity among workers of heptyl production corresponds to above average, among workers of ethylbenzene-styrene and butyl alcohols - to average.

Conclusion. Based on the analysis of the occupational morbidity of petrochemical workers, a prevention program including a number of organizational, technical, sanitary and hygienic, as well as medical and preventive measures have been developed.