Influence of occupational factors on the content of heavy metals in biosubstrates of petrochemical industry workers

Introduction. The Yaroslavl region is one of the most industrially developed regions of the country. One of the leading industries is the petrochemical industry. This industry makes a significant contribution to the pollution of the environment with heavy metals. Microelements of heavy metals are capable of bioaccumulation in the human body, which can have an extremely negative impact on the health of oil refinery workers.

The purpose of the study is to study the features of the content of heavy metals in environmental objects and in the biosubstrates in workers in the petrochemical industry of the Yaroslavl region.

Materials and methods. This study is experimental. The study group included fifty workers of the petrochemical industry of Yaroslavl. The content of such elements as zinc, cadmium, lead, and copper in hair samples and soil was determined using the method of inversion voltammetry. Statistical processing of the obtained data was performed using the Attestat and Microsoft Excel 2003 software. The Mann-Whitney criterion and Student’s t-criterion were calculated. Statistically significant differences were recognized at p < 0.05.

Results. We determined that the average concentrations of all the elements under consideration in the workers’ biosubstrates exceed the reference values. Reliable differences in the content of the metals under consideration (zinc, cadmium, copper) were obtained in the biosubstrates of office and shop floor employees. An increase in the concentration of the above-mentioned metals was also revealed as the length of service at the enterprise increased. The content of heavy metals in the soil was evaluated by two indicators: according to the total soil pollution indicator, all the samples under consideration are classified as very highly polluted; no excesses were found when compared with the maximum permissible concentrations taking into account the soil type.

Limitations. The name of the enterprise on the basis of which the material was collected will not appear in the materials of the work, since representatives of this company did not give official permission to announce the results of the study with reference to the name of a specific plant. In addition, data constituting a commercial secret were used to substantiate the results of the study. Commercial secrets are protected by the law “On Commercial Secrets” dated 29.07.2004 No. 98-Federal Law.

Conclusion. The petrochemical industry makes a certain contribution to environmental pollution, which may adversely affect the health of workers at the enterprise under study.

Compliance with ethical standards. The study does not require the submission of a biomedical ethics committee opinion or other documents.

Contribution:
Krylova P.P. — collection and processing of material, statistical processing, writing a text;
Eremeyshvili A.V. — the concept and design of the study, writing a text, editing, approval of the manuscript final version, responsible for the integrity of all parts of the manuscript.
All authors are responsible for the integrity of all parts of the manuscript and approval of the manuscript final version.

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

Funding. The study had no sponsorship.

Received: January 21, 2025 / Revised: February 21, 2025 / Accepted: March 26, 2025 / Published: June 27, 2025

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