Vol 19, No 6 (2012)

The study dealt with the data on 1 097 cases of occupational diseases that were first identified in 702 employees of the copper-nickel industry in Murmansk region in the period from 1970 to 2010. It has been established that in the structure of occupational diseases of workers engaged in all kinds of nickel and copper production, chronic bronchopulmonary diseases dominated. It was important that the nosological spectrum of respiratory pathology was largely determined by the nature of production. In contrast, the pathology of the musculoskeletal and nervous systems including the vibration disease occupied the leading segment in the structure of the occupational pathology of the copper-nickel ores miners. It has been concluded that in order to reduce the risk of occupational disabilities, it was necessary to decrease the degree of exposure to nickel aerosols (in nickel and copper metallurgical workers) and harmful physical factors (in copper and nickel ore miners).

Occupational diseases develop while working in unfavorable working conditions, such as whole-body and local physical load, whole-body and local vibration, and cold, etc. The aim of the study was to examine the state of the upper extremi ties musculoskeletal system under occupational exposure to heavy physical loads and hand vibration. Working conditions of 89 plasterers, taking into account adverse effects, corresponded to: 3-rd class, 2-nd degree, harmful heavy work of the 2-nd degree; working conditions of 87 sinkers, 102 mechanical assemblers, 84 assemblers of metal vessel hulls corresponded to the 3-rd class, the 3-rd degree, harmful heavy work of the 3-rd degree. Numerous complaints of hands pain, surgeon objective examination findings, disturbances of muscle strength, the upper extremities microcirculation, creatine phosphokinase activity allowed to diagnose I - II degree miofibrosis in the examined groups. Miofibrosis was combined with vibration disease of the I-II degree in those who worked with vibration instruments.

During 2009-2010 in the 15-km area around the Kola Nuclear Power Plant, there were studied bilberry-bush geo-botanical, morphological and physiological characteristics. In conditions of an insignificant (within the natural values) increase of background X-radiation, there have been revealed at least three types of adaptive mechanisms directed to decrease of radionuclides absorption by plant tissues thorough activation or inhibition of growth and development processes. The data obtained are under discussion concerning non-specific stress mechanisms.

Assessment of influence of ecological-hygienic and social-demographic factors on population dental diseases incidence has been carried out. The program of the real research provided definition of an object of observation, collection of initial information, statistical processing and an analysis of the received data, determination of cause and effect dependences of the level of dental health on social-demographic factors, a way of life, ecological factors. Among the patients, there have been registered high levels of prevalence of caries, not carious lesions, periodontal diseases, orthodontic pathologies, needs in treatment and denture treatment. Statistically significant dependences between the studied factors and dental diseases incidence in the observed group of patients have been established.