Health risk assessment for welders (retrospective study)

Introduction. A significant variety of exposure to harmful production factors of the welding process makes it difficult to assess the risk to the health of workers. Health risk assessment is an urgent task for the prevention of occupational and work-related diseases in welders. Objective. The objective of the work is to assess the health risk based on data on the incidence in welders at a modern industrial enterprise with varying intensity of exposure to factors of the working environment and the labour process. Materials and methods. Hygienic studies of the factors of the working environment and health risk assessment were carried out on the basis of 4 workshops of a large enterprise in 2007–2016. Results. Priority classes of diseases according to ICD-10 in welders and locksmiths at a large industrial enterprise have been established. The calculation and assessment of the relative health risk were carried out according to the data of the medical and sanitary part of the enterprise on the temporary disability of employees, depending on age and work experience. Limitations. The study is limited to a retrospective risk assessment based on data from the electronic database of the enterprise for a 10-year period, taking into account cases of the disease according to ICD-10 in workers of two occupational groups exposed to welding aerosol to varying degrees. Conclusions. Health risk assessment for several forms of diseases can be a sensitive and informative indicator under conditions of varying intensity of exposure to production factors.