The article talks about scientific and methodological issues of the development of state environmental monitoring. The authors have considered the structure of State environmental monitoring (State environmental monitoring) and the procedure for its implementation. The legal basis of state environmental monitoring systems.

We present the work within the Framework of the national program of the unified system of state environmental monitoring (State environmental monitoring, SEM). The goals, objectives and procedure for the implementation of the SEM, its main subsystems.

The scientists examined the role of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation (Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia) and the Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet) in ensuring the functioning of state environmental monitoring and its information resources. The activities of the State Environmental Monitoring Data Fund (State environmental monitoring) and the Unified State Data Fund (USDF) are presented. The researchers have the work of the monitoring system using the state system of observations and control by Roshydromet of indicators of the content of pollutants in atmospheric air, surface waters, marine waters, soil, radiation monitoring, etc.

The authors have considered the prospects for the development of state environmental monitoring in connection with the adoption by the Government of the Russian Federation of the State program "Environmental Protection" for 2012–2030.

Ethics. This study did not require the conclusion of the Ethics Committee.

Contribution:
Fedotova L.A. — the concept and design of the study, data collection and processing, writing the text;
Manaeva E.S. — data collection and processing, writing the text;
Sutunkova M.P. — the concept and design of the study, the editing.
All the authors — the preparation of the manuscript.

Funding. The study had no funding.

Conflict of interests. The authors declare no conflict of interests.

Received: 28.11.2023 / Accepted: 08.12.2023 / Published: 29.12.2023

Introduction. Preventive measures, including the development of a system for diagnosing early signs of changes in the health status of employees and predicting individual risks of developing the disease, aimed at preserving labor resources, reducing disability and extending working life expectancy, are an absolute priority in the field of occupational safety.

The aim of the study to develop a prognostic model of the risk of developing asbestosis based on molecular genetic studies in employees of enterprises for the extraction and enrichment of chrysotile asbestos.

Materials and methods. Based on studies previously conducted in the Laboratory of Biomedical Research at the Izmerov Research Institute of Occupational Health, scientists have identified a set of informative and significant single-nucleotide polymorphic gene variants for use as predictors in the construction of a prognostic model in the development of asbestos in workers of enterprises for the extraction and enrichment of chrysotile asbestos. We examined 136 people who worked at the enterprise for the extraction and enrichment of chrysotile asbestos. The researchers formed two groups comparable in terms of work experience, dustiness, age and gender: 68 former employees of the main production specialties with an established diagnosis of asbestos and 68 workers without bronchopulmonary pathology.

The authors calculated the exposure dose of chrysotile-containing dust and calculated it taking into account the percentage of time spent at the workplace, and also performed a molecular genetic study of single-nucleotide polymorphic variants of the genes IL-1β rs16944, IL-4 rs2243250, TGF-β1 rs1800471, SOD-2 rs4880 and MMP-9 rs17576.

Results. A predictive model has been developed to determine the probability of developing asbestosis in workers of an enterprise for the extraction and enrichment of chrysotile asbestos based on the determination of single nucleotide polymorphisms IL-1β rs16944, SOD-2 rs4880 and MMP-9 rs17576. The results of genetic tests are entered into the formula and if the resulting probability of developing asbestosis is equal to or higher than the threshold (0.582), the employee is included in the high-risk group. The sensitivity and specificity of the developed model were 70.1% and 70.6%, respectively.

Conclusion. Molecular genetic indicators can act as predictors in the development of asbestosis in workers of the chrysotile extraction and enrichment industry and can be used to form high-risk groups during preventive measures.

Ethics. The study was conducted in compliance with ethical standards that guarantee respect for all research subjects and the protection of their health and rights in accordance with the requirements of the Helsinki Declaration of the World Medical Association. All persons included in the study gave informed voluntary consent to the examination in accordance with Federal Law No. 323-FZ dated 11/21/2011 "On the Basics of Public Health Protection in the Russian Federation". The study was approved by the conclusion of the local Ethics committee of Izmerov Research Institute of Occupational Health (minutes of the meeting of the Ethics committee of Izmerov Research Institute of Occupational Health No. 9 dated 11/29/2016).

Keywords: asbestos; asbestosis; single nucleotide polymorphism; predisposition genes; risk assessment; cytokines; antioxidant enzymes; proteolysis; interleukin-1β; matrix metalloproteinase 9; superoxide dismutase 2

Contribution:
Kuzmina L.P. — concept and design of the study, editing;
Anokhin N.N. — research concept and design, data collection and processing, text writing;
Khotuleva A.G. — concept and design of the study, writing the text;
Kislyakova A.A. — research concept and design, data processing, text writing.

Funding. The study had no funding.

Conflict of interests. The authors declare no conflict of interests.

Received: 30.11.2023 / Accepted: 08.12.2023 / Published: 29.12.2023

Introduction. An increase in the number of wildfires, along with the lack of a chemical control system for the quality of the atmosphere during smoke, leads to a risk of developing health disorders for rescuers and firefighters exposed to high concentrations of toxic smoke components.

The study aims to identify causal relationships based on experimental modeling between exposure to natural fire smoke and the functional state of the nervous and reproductive systems.

Materials and methods. The authors conducted studies on white rats of both sexes. The animals were placed in inhalation chambers and exposed to forest fire smoke of varying concentrations and duration of exposure. The scientists examined the functional state of the nervous system (open field method, Morris test, electroencephalography, histology of nervous tissue), the reproductive system (number of Leydig cells, average number of spermatogonia, spermatogenesis index), the presence of genotoxicity (DNA comet method), DNA methylation and the effect on offspring (postnatal development, species-specific behavior). We calculated the total exposure limit in each group of animals in accordance with the indicators of CO and PM_2.5 content in the chambers.

Results. The researchers found that with a total exposure load of 0.03–0.22 mg, there were initial changes in the morphofunctional state of the central nervous system. With an increase in the load to 4 mg, violations of the indicators of behavior and electrical activity of the brain were accompanied by significant changes in the structure of the nervous tissue of the rat brain. The reproductive function of rats under the influence of smoke changed, starting with a total exposure dose of 10.8 mg. We observed a decrease in spermatogenesis and a change in the cyclic function of the ovaries. A violation of the postnatal development of offspring has already been detected with a total dose of 0.22 to 4 mg. Prolonged exposure to tobacco smoke for one month was accompanied by a pronounced violation of the spermatogenetic function of the testicles and an increase in neonatal mortality in offspring, as well as a violation of the structure of behavior and spatial memory in adulthood. The genotoxic effect of smoke was not detected, and a change in DNA methylation in blood cells was detected at the maximum total dose of smoke components.

Limitation. The study is limited to studying the effect of wildfire smoke on the nervous and reproductive systems of mongrel white male rats.

Conclusion. The results obtained are a fundamental foundation for solving such tasks as the development of risk-oriented preventive health-saving measures for workers in extreme situations in conditions of smoke during wildfires and making effective management decisions.

Ethics. The study was approved by the local Ethics Committee of the East-Siberian Institute of Medical and Ecological Research (Protocol LK of East-Siberian Institute of Medical and Ecological Research No. 32/19 dated 09/10/2019), conducted in accordance with the European Convention for the Protection of Vertebrates Used for Experiments or Other Scientific Purposes (ETS No. 123), Directive of the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union 2010/63/EC dated 09/22/2010 on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes.

Contribution:

Sosedova L.M. — concept, literature search, writing, article design, responsibility for the integrity of all parts of the article;
Vokina V.A. — concept, literature search, experiment, writing, statistical processing, article design;
Rukavishnikov V.S. — leadership, analytical work, discussion of relevance and results;
Andreeva E.S. — substantiation of relevance, literature search, experiment, results processing;
All co-authors — approval of the final version of the article, responsibility for the integrity of all parts of the article.

Funding. The scientists have carried out the work within the framework of grant No. 075-15-2020-787 of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation for the implementation of a major scientific project in priority areas of scientific and technological development (the project "Fundamentals, methods and technologies of digital monitoring and forecasting of the ecological situation of the Baikal natural territory").

Conflict of interests. The authors declare no conflict of interests.

Received: 01.12.2023 / Accepted: 06.12.2023 / Published: 29.12.2023

Introduction. In Russian railway transport, flaw detection is one of the reliable methods for assessing the quality of trackbed condition and the most important component of traffic safety. The working conditions of defectogram interpreters in railway transport refer to a complex form of work organization, because professional activities are carried out year-round in various climatic regions, under conditions of exposure to industrial noise and vibration, magnetic fields, etc., contact ultrasound, etc., as well as a number of factors of an unavoidable nature — work in conditions of moving vehicles.

The study aims to carry out a comparative assessment of the production load of specialists in decoding flaw patterns of removable and mobile flaw detection equipment in railway transport, depending on intra-group differences in working conditions.

Materials and methods. The authors conducted industrial physiological and hygienic studies with the participation of operators of flaw detectors with different working conditions — decoders of the stationary Center, flaw inspection vehicles and flaw detection wagons. The study was of a complex nature and was carried out at the workplaces of employees, including in the direct performance of official duties. We used timekeeping, professional, and physiological indicators and recorded indicators of functional systems both remotely and through short-term three inspections during the shift.

Results. Using the example of decoding engineers, scientists have shown a high production load throughout the entire work shift, characteristic of representatives of all three studied objects, with its greatest severity among employees of the stationary defect decoding center. We noted the greatest deviations in accommodation indicators by the end of the work shift, which indicates fatigue of the visual analyzer, requiring the use of rehabilitation measures.

Conclusion. There is a high production load and the lack of formation of a stable dynamic stereotype of work, which is associated with a high degree of tension in the work process of employees of all groups of flaw detectors in railway transport. The load is most pronounced among the decoding engineers of the flaw detection centers, which requires the organization of a monitoring system for their professional reliability, optimization of work and rest modes.

Ethics. We have conducted the study in compliance with Ethical principles and the voluntary consent of the participants.

Contribution:
Wilk M.F. — the concept and design of the study, discussion of the material, conclusions;
Tulushev V.N. — collection of material, analysis of results, writing of the text, formulation of conclusions;
Pankova V.B. — concept and design of the study, discussion of the results, writing and editing of the text, conclusions;
Latynin E.O. — mathematical processing and discussion of materials, work with domestic and foreign literature.

Funding. The study had no funding.

Conflict of interests. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Received: 26.11.2023 / Accepted: 01.12.2023 / Published: 29.12.2023

Introduction. An increase in life expectancy, a decrease in the mortality rate of the working-age population and an extension of working longevity are the most important components in the development of the human potential of the Russian Federation. We observe the most unfavorable situation with the achievement of the above-mentioned targets in coal mining.

The study aims to substantiate the priority directions for preserving the health of workers engaged in underground coal mining in modern production conditions based on an assessment of occupational risks to prolong their working longevity.

Materials and methods. The authors have carried out the analysis of official statistics data (state reports of Rospotrebnadzor and the annual report of Rosstat) for 2021–2022 on the state of working conditions and occupational morbidity in the coal industry. We have summarized the materials of Rosugleprof for 2006–2022 on occupational morbidity in coal industry organizations. We have presented the data of epidemiological studies in a cohort of coal miners on the example of the Rostov region.

Results. The authors note the largest proportion of cases of occupational pathology among employees of mining enterprises — 40.3%. The most at risk are: sinkers (10.2% of all newly identified cases of occupational diseases in 2022), miners of the treatment face (6.5%), excavator drivers (4.5%). In the structure of occupational morbidity of miners, the leading place is occupied by radiculopathy — 27.0%; sensorineural hearing loss — 22.9%; vibration disease — 22.0%; respiratory diseases (occupational bronchitis, pneumoconiosis, COPD) — more than 15.5%. In a cohort of miners with an established diagnosis of occupational diseases, it was shown that the standardized relative risk (SRR) of death from diseases of the circulatory system was 1.55 times significantly higher compared with the control population.

Mortality from malignant neoplasms in miners was 44% higher than mortality in the population (SRR=1.44). At the same time, the death rate from the subclass malignant neoplasms of the respiratory system was 2.02 (95% CI 1.85–2.20), and from malignant neoplasms of the bronchi and lungs 2.24 (95% CI 2.04–2.46). The risk of death from respiratory diseases in the cohort of miners was more than 2 times higher than the population indicator (SRR=2.18). A significantly higher frequency of deaths from this class of diseases indicates a causal relationship with dust loads. The prevalence of coronary heart disease (CHD) among coal mine workers is higher than among the unorganized population of large cities and other groups of industrial workers.

Conclusion. Scientists have recorded the most unfavorable working conditions in underground coal mining, which is due to the technologies used and production conditions. The prevention of diseases among miners requires the creation of health groups and the improvement of medical examination methods. Development of an integrated information system for health monitoring and personalized preventive and rehabilitation measures. To solve this problem, it is necessary to study working conditions, scientifically substantiate preventive measures, harmonize special assessment of working conditions and develop criteria for severity and intensity of work, as well as improve the technology for assessing working conditions and personalized risk assessment.

Ethics. The study did not require the conclusion of the Ethics committee.

Contribution:
Golovkova N.P. — concept and design of research, writing and editing;
Kuzmina L.P. — concept and design of the study, editing;
Izmerova N.I. — concept and design of the study, editing;
Leskina L.M. — concept and design of research, writing and editing;
Tolmachev D.A. — concept and design of research, writing and editing;
Varakuta I.S. — concept and design of research, writing and editing;
Lezhnev E.A. — research concept and design, data collection and editing;
Sobolev V.P. — concept and design of the study, editing;

Funding. The study had no funding.

Conflict of interests. The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests.

Received: 22.11.2023 / Accepted: 08.121.2023 / Published: 29.12.2023

Introduction. The annual increase in air temperature is one of the reasons for the occurrence of large-scale destructive fires throughout the world. The consequences of the negative impact of air pollution during forest fires on the respiratory and cardiovascular systems have been widely and well studied. At the same time, insufficient attention is paid to the influence of forest fire smoke on the functioning of the central nervous system.

The study aims to study the morphofunctional state of the central nervous system of white male rats under prolonged exposure to forest fire smoke.

Materials and methods. The study was conducted on 60 outbred white mature male rats weighing 200–220 grams. Animals in the experimental group (n=30) were exposed to daily smoke inhalation for 4 weeks, 4 hours a day, 5 days a week. Rats in the control group (n=30) were supplied with clean air into the chamber. The examination of animals exposed to smoke was carried out in two stages. At the first stage, the morphofunctional state of experimental animals was assessed 24 hours after the end of exposure. At the second stage — 60 days after exposure (long-term period). The examination included an analysis of indicators of the central nervous system: histology and morphometry of the brain.

Results. Analysis of the results of the studied indicators indicates a decrease in motor and exploratory activity in animals exposed to smoke, as well as impairment of the ability to navigate and spatial memory. In the tissue structure of the sensorimotor cerebral cortex, multiple foci of neuronophagia, an increase in the number of degeneratively changed neurons, the formation of glial nodules and expansion of perivascular spaces were found. At the same time, the results of the examination in the long-term period indicated the absence of complete restoration of the identified violations.

Conclusions. The results of experimental modeling revealed cause-and-effect relationships between exposure to forest fire smoke and disturbances in the morphofunctional state of the central nervous system.

Limitations. The study is limited to studying the effects of prolonged 4 weeks, 5 days a week, 4 hours a day, exposure to wildfire smoke on outbred male white rats.

Ethics. The study was conducted in compliance with the rules of humane treatment of animals in accordance with the Helsinki Association of the World Medical Association for the Humane Treatment of Animals (edition — October 2008) in accordance with the requirements of applicability to the protection of vertebrate animals or in another scientific research (ETS). No. 123), Directive 2010/63/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of the European Union of September 22, 2010, on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes. Permission was obtained from the Local Ethics Committee of the Federal State Budgetary Scientific Institution VSIMEI to conduct experiments (protocol No. 32/19 dated May 10, 2019).

Contribution:
Andreeva E.S. — the concept and design of the study, data collection and processing, writing the text, editing;
Novikov M.A. — the concept and design of the study, data collection and processing;
Titov E.A. — the concept and design of the study, data collection and processing.

Acknowledgment. The author expresses his gratitude to the staff of the Laboratory of Biomodeling and Translational Medicine and the Laboratory of Analytical Ecotoxicology and Biomonitoring of the East-Siberian Institute of Medical and Ecological Research for their assistance in the study.

Funding. The work was carried out according to the research plan within the framework of the state task.

Conflict of interests. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Received: 20.11.2023 / Accepted: 10.12.2023 / Published: 29.12.2023

Mental health is an integral part and an essential component of a healthy personality. The Constitution of the World Health Organization (WHO) states: "Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not only the absence of diseases and physical defects." Promoting the preservation of mental well-being is one of the main directions of occupational medicine in modern society. To ensure the high quality of medical care during medical examinations by psychiatrists and psychiatrists-narcologists of persons working in harmful and(or) dangerous working conditions, the authors have developed methodological recommendations, including relevant regulatory and legislative acts. The article provides explanations on the application of each normative document in assessing the professional suitability of working as a psychiatrist and a psychiatrist-narcologist.

Contribution:
Kuzmina S.V. — the concept and design of the study, writing the text;
Garipova R.V. — the concept and design of the study, writing the text;
Berheeva Z.M. — editing.

Funding. The study had no funding.

Conflict of interests. The authors declare no conflict of interests.

Received: 28.11.2023 / Accepted for printing: 06.12.2023 / Published: 29.12.2023

Studies in the area of assessing the effectiveness and consequences of the use of personal protective equipment (including respiratory protection) has always been the subject of attention in occupational medicine. These problems have become particularly relevant during the COVID-19 pandemic. Assessing the effectiveness of personal protective equipment against viruses is complicated by the lack of uniform standardized approaches. It is also necessary to take into account the possible negative effects of personal protective equipment on the health and well-being of healthcare workers due to their frequent and prolonged use. Existing data assessing the effectiveness of masks and respirators indicate some effectiveness of personal protective equipment against viruses, but prolonged use negatively affects the health of workers. It is necessary to continue studies in these directions, improving the methodology. Measures are needed to reduce or prevent the occurrence of negative effects as a result of the use of personal protective equipment, including the creation of favorable working conditions, prevention and treatment of possible changes in health status.

Contribution:

All authors are responsible for the concept and design of the study, editing, writing a text;

Funding. The study had no funding.

Conflict of interests. The authors declare no conflict of interests.

Received: 28.11.2023 / Accepted: 06.12.2023 / Published: 29.12.2023

In occupational health, the management of patients with preliminary and periodic medical examinations for work in harmful conditions, for example, in high-altitude conditions, can be a difficult task. Bronchial asthma is one of the unequivocal contraindications to work in the highlands, however, in light of recent successes in achieving asthma control and the introduction of new types of therapy, this issue may require additional discussion. The article presents arguments both in favor of admitting patients with bronchial asthma to the highlands and against such a decision. The first group includes the elimination of allergens, long-term successes in the treatment of bronchial asthma in the highlands, as well as the fact that the decision not to allow it was popular in the era before the introduction of effective basic therapy for bronchial asthma with inhaled corticosteroids. The group of arguments "against" includes cold air, possible compensation only at relatively low altitudes, as well as remoteness, the inability to fully control compliance with patient requirements and the presence of typical industrial hazards in the form of allergens and irritants in production. It is particularly possible to emphasize the weakness of the evidence base, the extremely scarce number of published studies and the need for careful planning and conducting high-quality prospective observations of high-altitude mine workers, which can serve as a basis for the formation of an evidence base for adjusting admission conditions in the future.

Ethics. The study did not require permission.

Contribution:
Brimkulov N.N. — the concept and design of the study, editing;
Vinnikov D.V. — the concept and design of the study, writing the text.

Funding. The study had no funding.

Conflict of interests. The authors declare no conflict of interests.

Received: 18.10.2023 / Accepted: 05.12.2023 / Published: 29.12.2023

Currently, in the Russian Federation there is an increase in the number of positron emission tomography scans. As a result, the collective dose from radionuclide diagnostics in 2021 compared to 2020 increased by 62.0%, the average effective dose per one study in positron emission tomography (PET) centres of Moscow from 2015 to 2019. increased from 1.71 to 4.41 mSv. This leads to an increase in radiation doses not only for patients, but also for medical workers, and makes it urgent to develop modern effective measures to prevent the adverse effects of ionizing radiation.

The aim of the study is to evaluate the parameters of electromagnetic fields and microclimate in the premises of the radionuclide department of the PET centre.

During the study, in the main working areas of the radionuclide department, the following levels were assessed: the strength levels of electric and magnetic fields of industrial frequency, relative humidity, temperature and air speed using generally accepted measures in occupational hygiene.

zThe main parameters of electromagnetic fields and microclimate (temperature, humidity, air speed) comply with hygienic standards in industrial workplaces. At the same time, in certain working areas of the radionuclide department, higher levels of electromagnetic fields were recorded, as well as a decrease in relative humidity and air velocity.

Monitoring the parameters of electromagnetic fields and microclimate is important for improving the working conditions of medical workers in the radionuclide department of the PET centre, which helps maintain the functional state of workers at a high level, increases concentration and accuracy of movements, increases the speed of work manipulations, and reduces the time of contact with radionuclides when administered to patients and thereby reduce the dose load on health workers.

Ethics. The study does not require the opinion of this committee.

Contribution:
Zabroda N.N. — concept and design of the study, collection and processing of material, analysis of the results, writing the text;
Zhernov Y.V. — concept and design of research, formulation of scientific hypotheses;
Zakharova A.V. — definition of the goal, scientific guidance of research, scientific editing;
Matskevich E.I. — interpretation and discussion of the research results.

Funding. The study had no funding.

Conflict of interests. The authors declare no conflict of interests.

Received: 27.11.2023 / Accepted: 06.12.2023 / Published: 29.12.2023

The epidemiological characteristics of many occupational lesions of the urinary tract organs remain poorly understood and unspecified, since they are described only as sporadic individual or group cases.

Diseases arising from exposure to industrial carcinogens remain an urgent problem in occupational health. Unfortunately, today there is a low detection rate of occupational malignancies of any localization. Occupational oncological diseases with damage to the kidneys and urinary tract develop as a result of direct contact with a production factor with a carcinogenic effect.

The analysis of the conducted studies devoted to the problem of occupational oncological lesions of the kidneys and urinary tract, the frequency of which remains underestimated due to their latent clinical course and the influence of environmental factors, which requires further study of this issue.

For timely diagnosis of malignant neoplasms of the urinary system organs after reaching the length of service of five years, it is recommended to conduct an ultrasound examination of the kidneys and urinary tract and cystoscopy once every five years at the center of occupational pathology for persons working in contact with carcinogens.

Contribution:
Arkhipov E.V. — the concept and design of the study, writing the text;
Garipova R.V. — writing the text;
Strizhakov L.A. — the editing.

Funding. The study had no funding.

Conflict of interests. The authors declare no conflict of interests.

Received: 27.11.2023 / Accepted: 05.12.2023 / Published: 29.12.2023