Working conditions and disorders of reproductive health among female workers at a coal preparation plant in the Russian Arctic

Introduction. The requirements for managing working conditions for women during pregnancy don’t provide for any restrictions on their work under conditions of exposure to cooling meteorological factors.

Objective. To study the complex influence of cooling meteorological and other harmful occupational factors on the risks of pregnancy disorders and outcomes in female workers at a coal beneficiation plant in the Russian Arctic.

Materials and methods. Three hundred fifteen women of various occupational groups were interviewed; the reproductive history of the workers was studied based on medical records; summary statements of the results of a special assessment of the working conditions in the female workers at the coal preparation plant were copied; summary maps of the working day of the female workers at the preparation plant were copied; the protocols for measuring working conditions factors during workplace certification were analyzed.

Results. The study assessed the occupational reproductive health risks among female workers at the coal beneficiation plant including samplers, operators (pumping units, preparation and bracketing units, conveyors, ball mills), site foremen, floaters, performing work operations in cooling conditions in unheated rooms, and / or in an open area for 1 or more hours per shift. An assessment of the relationship and level of occupational determinacy of complications in the course of pregnancy and childbirth showed that women from groups 1 and 2 working in harmful conditions had complications in pregnancy and childbirth characterized by a high level of correlation with the exposure to health risk factors. The data obtained indicate to an increase in the adverse effect of worksite exposure in combination with a cooling meteorological factor on the course and outcome of pregnancy.

Limitations. The period of the study was from 2018 to 2023. The adverse pregnancy outcome risk assessment of standardized by age for each occupation was not carried out due to an insufficient number of persons in the study groups.

Conclusion. It is necessary to improve the regulatory legal acts governing the protection of the reproductive health in women performing work operations in conditions of high risk of cold exposure.

Compliance with ethical standards. The study was approved by the Local Ethics Committee of the North-Western State Medical University named after I.I. Mechnikov (protocol № 10 dated November 7, 2018). All participants gave informed voluntary written consent to participate in the study.

Contribution:
Vyucheyskaya D.S., Mozzhukhina N.A. – concept and design of the study, collection and processing of materials, data analysis, writing the text of the article, editing;
Kovshov A.A. – processing of materials, data analysis;
Chashchin V.P., Nikanov A.A., Nikonov V.A. – conceptualization, verification.
All authors are responsible for the integrity of all parts of the article and approval of the article final version.

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

Funding. The study had no sponsorship.

Received: April 25, 2025 / Revised: June 16, 2025 / Accepted: June 26, 2025 / Published: September 25, 2025

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