Estimate of Working Conditions of Ukrainian Railways Passenger Train Conductors According to the Degree of Harmfulness and Hazard

Rudenko L. A., Katrushov O. V., Filatova V. L., Kostrikov A. V.

HYGIENE AND ECOLOGY

Scentific article

Introduction. Quality and production efficiency of labor on the railway depends on the condition and level of workers’ state of health. Activity of conductors, working on the railway passenger trains, is constantly as­ sociated with impacts on the organism of a number of physical, chemical, biological, psychological and other fac­ tors: sudden changes in temperature rate, noise and vibration, level of dust in the workroom, disturbance of sleep and rest, psychophysiological and neuro­emotional stresses, etc. A significant moment that confirms the ne­ cessity and relevance of this study is the emergence of new harmful factor of conductors’ working environment, i. e., electromagnetic radiation of mains frequency. Refitting of railway vehicles with new state­of­the­art equipment, development and enhancement of new advanced technologies in the passenger services – all this radically change the nature and working conditions of railway passenger conductors. Purpose of research. To estimate the sanitary conditions and nature of working conditions of conductors at railway passenger trains. To study the impact of nature and working conditions on the organism of conductors at railway passenger trains. Object and Methods. Railway passenger conductors, aged from 20 to 45 years old, and with 0,5 – 25 year expe­ rience have been studied; 1984 individuals constituted the observation group. The following techniques have been used: timing observations to determine the distribution of time in gradation of numbers of functional responsibilities of female conductors according to the degree of severity and pressure of working activity during the work shift; laboratory and instrumental methods for objective sanitary assessment of occupational microclimate, level of ambi­ ent light, noise and vibration, intensity of the mains frequency electromagnetic fields at the conductors’ workplaces; statistics to calculate rates and estimate the reliability of the obtained results. Results and Discussions. Time studies have been carried out depending on the distance (duration) of the trip and season and included the following 3 stages: preparatory stage (I), i. e., taking over the carriage by the conduc­ tor; the main stage (II), i. e., passenger servicing during the journey; the final stage (III), i. e., taking off the carriage into depot by the conductor. The studies proved that it is necessary to perform differentiated estimation of working conditions of conductors, working on the railway passenger trains, apart from short­distance and long­distance traffic, as they are different as for duration of continuous impact of specific factors onto the workers’ organism. Results of timing observations over the conductors’ activity grounded the sanitary assessment of working con­ ditions in compliance with “Sanitary Classification of Labor According to the Rates of Harmfulness and Hazard Fac­ tors of Working Environment, Severity and Pressure of Working Process”. Conclusions. Activity of conductors, working on the railway passenger trains, is assigned to the 3rd class of the 1st stage according to the rates of harmfulness, severity and pressure of working process in compliance with “Sanitary Classification of Labor According to the Rates of Harmfulness and Hazard Factors of Working Environment, Severity and Pressure of Working Process”.

railway conductor, harmfulness, severity and pressure of work

«Bulletin of problems biology and medicine» Issue 3 part 2 (111), 2014 year, 93-96 pages, index UDK 613. 62. 656. 2