Hygienic assessment of the working conditions of personnel of nuclear shipbuilding and ship repair enterprises when handling radioactive waste

An increase in recent years in the volume of work on the construction and repair of nuclear facilities for marine equipment has led to an increase in the amount of radioactive waste generated and, consequently, work on their processing, which may contribute to an increase in personnel radiation doses. The study of the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of a complex of production factors that negatively affect personnel when performing work on radioactive waste management is necessary to develop preventive measures aimed at improving working conditions and prolonging professional longevity.

The study aims to explore the working conditions of employees of nuclear shipbuilding and ship repair enterprises when handling radioactive waste.

The researchers assessed the levels of exposure to harmful and(or) hazardous production factors based on materials from the company's production control, a special assessment of working conditions, and field research data. The scientists carried out measurements of the parameters in accordance with certified measurement methods. All measuring instruments used have passed metrological control in a timely manner.

The authors have obtained new data to assess the impact of harmful and(or) dangerous environmental factors of a chemical and physical nature on personnel. The working conditions of the main professional groups are considered harmful and in some cases dangerous due to a number of environmental factors (ionizing radiation, noise, microclimate, light environment). The most radiation-hazardous work takes place at the site for processing liquid and solid radioactive waste, as well as at the site for storing solid radioactive waste.

In the workplaces of personnel during the storage and processing of radioactive waste, the prevailing harmful and(or) dangerous production factors are ionizing radiation, industrial noise, irrational lighting and microclimate. At the same time, non-compliance of illumination levels, noise and microclimate parameters in workplaces with hygienic standards can lead to an increase in the time required to perform radiation-hazardous work and an increase in the individual effective radiation dose received by personnel. Thus, reducing the impact of these factors can be considered a priority for improving working conditions.

Contributions:
Arefieva D.V. — research concept and design, data collection and processing, text writing;
Baltrukova T.B. — research concept and design, editing;
Stepanov V.V. — research concept and design, data collection and processing, text writing;
Kozhukhova N.A. — data collection and processing, writing text;
Shayakhmetova A.A. — data collection and processing.

Funding. The study was carried out within the framework of the State Assignment No. 388-00089-24-00 dated December 29, 2023.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Received: 24.01.2024 / Accepted: 24.03.2025 / Published: 07.04.2025

1. Isaev A.G. Shipbuilding industry of Russia and the Far East: state and prospects of development. Regionalistika. 2016; 3(2): 36–47 https://elibrary.ru/whtqpp (in Russian).

2. Savchenko O.V., Polovinkin V.N. The current state, problems and prospects of development of domestic civil shipbuilding. Trudy Krylovskogo gosudarstvennogo nauchnogo tsentra. 2022; 401(3): 152–164 https://elibrary.ru/owxjln (in Russian).

3. Pasheeva T.Y. Ship repair of Murmansk: state and prospects. Vestnik Astrakhanskogo gosudarstvennogo tekhnicheskogo universiteta. Seriya: Morskaya tekhnika i tekhnologiya. 2021; 1: 24–31. https://doi.org/10.24143/2073-1574-2021-1-24-31 https://elibrary.ru/xtiisy (in Russian).

4. Rudny E.V., Kokurin D.I. The role of production modernization in improving the efficiency of enterprises in the shipbuilding and ship repair industries. Ehkonomika i biznes: teoriya i praktika. 2024; 108(2–2): 71–75 https://doi.org/10.24412/2411-0450-2024-2-2-71-75 https://elibrary.ru/xdaqio (in Russian).

5. Sergeev A.I. Problems of utilization of nuclear technological service vessels. In the book: "Lomonosov readings. Topical issues of fundamental and applied research: collection of articles of the V International Scientific and Practical Conference". Petrozavodsk; 2020: 117–122 https://elibrary.ru/kzqyqk (in Russian).

6. Prokofieva E.A. The Russian Arctic: radiation safety in a promising region. In the book: "Scientific theories and developments in the context of global changes: limits and possibilities: Materials of the XI International Scientific and Practical Conference", Ryazan. 2023: 265–268 https://elibrary.ru/rlmjuj (in Russian).

7. Ivanchenko A.V., Natkha S.V., Shayakhmetova A.A., Arefyeva D.V. Investigation of the factors influencing the formation of the radiation situation during the disposal of nuclear facilities of marine equipment. Radiatsionnaya gigiena. 2013; 6(4): 19–22 https://elibrary.ru/sjcvnb (in Russian).

8. Khazagerov S.M., Shayakhmetova A.A., Arefyeva D.V., Ivanova T.A. Substantiation of the procedure for monitoring individual equivalent doses in the lens of the eye from photon radiation in industrial conditions at nuclear shipbuilding and ship repair enterprises. Sovremennye problemy nauki i obrazovaniya. 2015; 2–3: 48 https://elibrary.ru/vbrcjt (in Russian).

9. Stepanov V.V., Krupkin A.B., Ivanchenko A.V. et al. Hygienic aspects of working conditions of personnel of enterprises engaged in the disposal of nuclear submarines and nuclear technological service vessels. Medline.ru. Rossijskij biomeditsinskij zhurnal. 2019; 20: 307–321 https://elibrary.ru/bgsklv (in Russian).

10. Krupkin A.B., Stepanov V.V., Saenko S.A. et al. Working conditions of personnel during the construction, repair and disposal of nuclear submarines at nuclear shipbuilding and ship repair enterprises. Medline.ru. Rossijskij biomeditsinskij zhurnal. 2013; 14: 465–479 https://elibrary.ru/rybhnh (in Russian).

11. Pokhodzey L.V., Matveev K.M., Krupkin A.B. et al. Working conditions and health status of personnel during the disposal of nuclear submarines and nuclear technological service vessels. Med. truda i prom. ekol. 2015; 9: 119–120 https://elibrary.ru/umgshb (in Russian).

12. Krupkin A.B., Saenko S.A., Dokhov M.A., Matveev K.M. Monitoring the health status of workers at a nuclear ship repair facility, taking into account the effects of environmental factors. Medline.ru. Rossijskij biomeditsinskij zhurnal. 2015; 16: 127–137 https://elibrary.ru/tvmsln (in Russian).

13. Simakov A.V., Arefyeva D.V., Abramov Yu.V. et al. Improving the regulatory provision of radiation safety of personnel during the disposal of ships with nuclear power plants and nuclear technological service vessels. Meditsinskaya radiologiya i radiatsionnaya bezopasnost'. 2021; 66(4): 37–41 https://elibrary.ru/jfjnug (in Russian).

14. Saenko S.A., Dokhov M.A., Krupkin A.B. Predictive assessments of the need for medical care and the impact of working conditions on the formation of production-related morbidity among personnel of nuclear shipbuilding and ship repair enterprises. Med. truda i prom. ekol. 2017; 9: 169. https://elibrary.ru/zfqlst (in Russian).

15. Krupkin A.B., Saenko S.A., Dokhov M.A., Matveev K.M. Development of a health monitoring system for workers engaged in the disposal of nuclear submarines. Medline.ru. Rossijskij biomeditsinskij zhurnal. 2015; 16: 116–126 https://elibrary.ru/tvmsld (in Russian).

16. Simakov A.V., Metlyaeva N.A., Abramov Yu.V. et al. Improvement of sanitary, hygienic and medical support for personnel of radiation-hazardous facilities. Med. truda i prom. ekol. 2017; 4: 37–41 https://elibrary.ru/ykuykv (in Russian).

17. Shandala N.K., Kiselev S.M., Titov A.V. Scientific and practical experience of supervisory activities in the field of public and environmental protection at Russian nuclear heritage sites. Radiatsionnaya gigiena. 2019; 12(S2): 83–96 https://elibrary.ru/jqrydv https://doi.org/10.21514/1998-426X-2019-10-2s-83-96 (in Russian).

18. Lyaginskaya A.M. et al. The state of health of the personnel of the radioactive waste management enterprise of the USSR nuclear fleet being disposed of. Radiatsiya i risk (Byulleten' Natsional'nogo radiatsionno-ehpidemiologicheskogo registra). 2019; 28: 4 https://elibrary.ru/mkzaid https://doi.org/10.21870/0131-3878-2019-28-4-73-87 (in Russian).

19. Kozhukhova N.A., Krupkin A.B., Trofimchuk S.N. and others. Hygienic assessment of the working conditions of personnel of enterprises engaged in the final stage of the disposal of nuclear submarines and nuclear technological service vessels. Developing centuries-old traditions, providing a "Sanitary shield" of the country: Proceedings of the XIII All-Russian Congress of Hygienists, Toxicologists and Sanitary Doctors with international participation, dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the founding of the State Sanitary and Epidemiological Service of Russia, Moscow, 26–28 October 2022. 2022; 1: 382–385. https://elibrary.ru/fluroi (in Russian).