STUDIES ON HEALTH AND SAFETY OF UNDERGROUND COAL AND BAUXITE MINERS; INVESTIGATIONS ON RISK FACTORS AND HAZARDS OF THE WORK ENVIRONMENT

摘要

Changes of respiratory, musculosceletal and cardiovascular functions were studied on more than 1100 coal miners. Beside the medical examination, the effect of changes in illumination of the workplace and the effect of simulated rescue alarm, as possible components of the complex workload were also studied on bauxite miners. In good agreement with previous results high incidences of musculosceletal, cardiovascular and respiratory disorders were found in underground coal miners. The highest rate of musculosceletal disorders were observed on the back. (37-38%). Pathological changes in respiratory function were found in coal miners with and without CWP. Incidence of hypertension at rest was found about 45-55% of the miners. Physiological end-point of exercise testing was reached as an average 29% of the miners. Pathological ECG signes were observed in more than 10% of the miners during exercise and hypertension terminated exercise test occurred in 13% of the cases. Increased illumination (from 15-22 lux to 36-45 lux) in the workplace resulted in about 10% decrease in the strain of the miners. During simulated alarm the heart rate considerably increased, indicating that psychological stress can play an important role in the complex load of the miners.