Introduction. Flight safety is affected by many factors, such as air pressure, wind direction and speed, clouds, and precipitation. Atmospheric monitoring technologies are constantly being improved, and equipment is becoming more accurate, but at the same time potentially more dangerous for the public, especially in matters related to the use of powerful laser-based lidar installations.

The purpose of the study is a hygienic assessment of laser equipment used for monitoring and forecasting the meteorological situation.

Materials and methods. To achieve this goal, a set of hygienic studies was carried out. In total, more than 1,000 measurements were carried out from eight laser installations of various power and technical characteristics. Measurements of the laser radiation were performed in three spectral regions – visible, near and far infrared.

Results. Most designs use a laser as an emitter, which generates short and powerful pulses. To select the laser wavelength, its function and direct purpose are taken into account, and Nd:YAG lasers with wavelengths from 355 nm to 1540 nm are used most often. Studies have shown that during lidar operation, radiation at a wavelength of 355 nm is safe for human eyes and skin, and at wavelengths of 532 nm and 1064 nm is dangerous for human vision and safe for skin. Lidar profilometers that generate radiation in the far infrared range are safe for human eyes and skin.

Limitations. Limitations are related to the wavelengths under consideration and to the operating modes of the equipment.

Conclusion. An analysis of the literature sources indicates a lack of data on the hygienic assessment of laser lidar systems and their immediate safety for humans. For the safe use of lidar installations, it is necessary to conduct a full-fledged hygienic assessment of the laser radiation used in them immediately before commissioning, taking into account the technical characteristics (power, pulse duration, beam diameter, etc.) and the combination of wavelengths used.

Contribution:
Malkova N.Yu. — the concept and design of the study, collection and processing of material, writing a text; editing;
Petrova M.D. — collection and processing of material, writing a text.
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: April 28, 2025 / Accepted: July 14, 2025 / Published: September 25, 2025

Introduction. The federal project “Clean Air” currently covers forty one settlement, including the cities of Petrovsk-Zabaikalsky and Ussuriysk, included in 2023. Comprehensive plans to reduce emissions for these cities are in the approval stage, and therefore studies to assess the levels of air pollution and the contribution of industrial emissions to it remain relevant.

The purpose of the study was to substantiate the priority air pollutants for quotas in the cities participating in the federal project “Clean Air” Petrovsk-Zabaikalsky and Ussuriysk based on calculated and natural data.

Materials and methods. The results of atmospheric air monitoring for 2023–2024 were used. Databases of pollutant emission sources generated for each city were used to carry out consolidated calculations. A hygienic assessment, determination of the frequency of exceeding hygienic standards, and an assessment of the risk to public health were carried out. Based on the data from consolidated volumes, lists of priority pollutants were formed and consolidated dispersion calculations were carried out. Based on the calculated and in-kind data, an assessment of the risk to public health was carried out. The risk values ​​obtained on the basis of the calculated and in-kind data were compared. Visualization of the distribution of concentrations and risk levels was carried out using the ESRI ArcGIS 9.3 geographic information system.

Results. The conducted study made it possible to form lists of pollutants that are priority for quotas within the framework of the federal project “Clean Air” for the cities of the Far Eastern Federal District Petrovsk-Zabaikalsky and Ussuriysk, justified from the position of the predicted advers impact on public health based on the results of risk assessment and monitoring conducted by Federal Service for Supervision in Protection of the Rights of Consumer and Man Wellbeing.

Limitations. The work took into account the results of monitoring conducted by the bodies and institutions of Federal Service for Supervision in Protection of the Rights of Consumer and Man Wellbeing without taking into account the monitoring data of the Federal Service for Supervision in Protection of the Rights of Consumer and Man Wellbeing.

Conclusion. The formed list of priority pollutants for quotas is included in the monitoring programs of the studied cities and will be updated annually in the future as the federal project “Clean Air” is implemented and emissions of priority pollutants are reduced.

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

Contribution:
Fedorov V.N. – concept and design of the study, collection and processing of material, responsibility for the integrity and proportionality of all parts of the article;
Sklizkova N.A. – literature analysis, data analysis, editing the text of the article;
Novikova Yu.A. – statistical analysis, interpretation of results, editing the text of the article;
Myasnikov I.O. – data analysis, editing the text of the article;
Kizeev A.N. – data analysis, adjustment of research design, editing the text of the article.

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 was carried out within the framework of research work 123052400060-7 “Assessment of atmospheric air quality and analysis of public health risks in order to make informed management decisions in the field of ensuring atmospheric air quality and sanitary and epidemiological well-being of the population in cities participating in the federal project “Clean Air” (cities of Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Petrovsk-Zabaikalsky, Ussuriysk, Chegdomyn, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk)”.

Received: April 25 , 2025 / Revised: August 22, 2025 / Accepted: August 26, 2025 / Published: September 25, 2025

Introduction. In the premises of residential and public buildings there are widely used products being a source of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) mainly in the UV-A range (315–400 nm). Introduction of new technologies, change of technical characteristics of UVR sources sets one of the tasks to obtain information about the safety of their use.

The aim of the study. To carry out measurements of UVB energy illuminance produced by ultraviolet lamps for polymerization of coatings and ultraviolet insecticidal lamps, to assess compliance with hygienic standards.

Materials and methods. Six ultraviolet polymerization manicure lamps and four ultraviolet insecticidal lamps with different types of UVI sources of varying power were studied. Measurement points were placed at distances limited by the product design (manicure lamps) and at the distances of use (insecticide lamps). Measurements of UVI energy illuminance levels were carried out in an anechoic shielded chamber.

Results. Levels of radiation in the UV-A range, emitted by polymerization lamps of different type and power, were in the range from 17.1±2.0 W/m² to 37.0±4.3 W/m² and exceeded hygienic standards. The measurement results in this range from stationary insecticidal lamps demonstrated that the values corresponding to hygienic standards are registered at distances of at least 0.45 m, 0.5 m and 0.6 m from devices with total lamp power of 20, 40 and 80 W, respectively, from portable household insecticidal lamp – directly at the lamp body. The measurement results of UVI energy illuminance in the UV-B spectral range from all investigated polymerization and insecticidal lamps were within the permissible values, in the UV-C spectral range – below the sensitivity of the applied measuring instrument.

Limitations. The results of the study can only be applied to measurements of the energy illuminance of UV light produced by UV polymerization and insecticidal lamps (manicure and pedicure lamps, insect traps), using UV-Radiometers.

Conclusion. The widespread use of polymerization lamps poses one of the tasks of developing recommendations for their safe use, taking into account the technical characteristics of the lamps and the time of exposure. To reduce the adverse effects of UV insecticidal lamps, it is necessary to determine and ensure a safe distance from them to the nearest possible location of a person or place them in places of short-term stay of people.

Compliance with ethical standards. The study does not require an opinion from a biomedical ethics committee or other documents.

Contributions:
Kriyt V.E. – research concept; editing;
Sladkova Yu.N. – research design; text writing;
Sklyar D.N. – research design; material processing;
Volchkova O.V.,  Plekhanov V.P. – material collection.
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: April 25, 2025 / Revised: May 26, 2025 / Accepted: June 26, 2025 / Published: September 25, 2025

Introduction. To ensure high-quality mobile communications, base stations (BS) with indoor ones are located in public buildings antennas, which forms the electromagnetic background in the rooms. There is a steady tendency for radiating technology to approach humans directly, and the number of people forced to come into contact with electromagnetic fields (EMF) in the radio frequency (RF) range is sharply increasing, and consideration of these issues is highly relevant. The article presents the results of a hygienic study of the electromagnetic environment in various public buildings.

Material and methods. The methods of managing mobile communications, the composition and technical characteristics, operating modes of equipment, and antenna locations were studied. Instrumental measurements and hygienic assessment of the RF EMF generated by the internal antennas of the base stations were carried out.

Results. Measurements of RF EMF levels were carried out from the antennas of base stations of mobile operators Megafon PJSC, MTS PJSC, VimpelCom PJSC, T2 Mobile LLC at the stage of commissioning and located in the premises of shopping malls and administrative buildings. Instrumental measurements (in the absence of visitors) revealed no excess of the EMF maximum permissible level of 10 MW/cm² for the 0.3–300 GHz range.

Limitations. The results of a study of the electromagnetic environment in six buildings of shopping malls and administrative buildings are presented.

Conclusion. RF EMF in the premises, as well as electromagnetic fields created by the antennas of the distribution zone in open areas, are a factor of forced risk to public health. Despite the fact that no exceedances of the maximum permissible levels were recorded during measurements, it was concluded that it was necessary to develop methodological approaches to measuring the levels of electromagnetic fields created by radio-electronic means of modern information technologies in public buildings.

Compliance with ethical standards. The study does not require a conclusion on biomedical ethics, since it is the result of generalization of many years of work of scientists in this direction.

Contribution:
Kalinina N.I. – the concept and design of the study, data analysis, writing a text, editing;
Dubrovskaya E.N. – the concept and design of the study, editing;
Kostina K.E. – editing.
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: April 25, 2025 / Revised: June 4, 2025 / Accepted: June 26, 2025 / Published: September 25, 2025

Introduction. The development of the infrastructure of populated areas of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) leads to an increase in the anthropogenic load on the environment of the population and may have a adverse impact on living conditions and the morbidity rate in the population. Despite the increase in cargo handling in the NSR ports, the quality of atmospheric air is systematically monitored only in the largest populated areas – the NSR ports. The choice of priority indicators for monitoring is an important condition for obtaining objective data on the adverse impact of port infrastructure emissions on public health.

The purpose of the study. To determine priority indicators of atmospheric air quality under the influence of settlements (ports) of the NSR for the formation of monitoring programs.

Materials and methods. Official data from social and hygienic monitoring by Federal Service for Supervision in Protection of the Rights of Consumer and Man Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor) in twelve settlements and ports in the Northern Sea Route were used. An electronic database has been created. The analysis was carried out using MS Office Excel.

Results. The analysis of monitoring programs showed that over 2021–2024, the quality of atmospheric air was shown to be monitored in the territory of five settlements – ports of the NSR. The most complete list of priority pollutants is established for atmospheric air in the cities of Murmansk and Arkhangelsk, the smallest – in the cities of Anadyr and Pevek. All ports of the NSR were found to be characterized by specific pollutants of atmospheric air caused by the transshipment of various cargoes, which dictates the need to take them into account when forming monitoring programs

Limitations. The work used the results of laboratory tests of atmospheric air quality conducted by Rospotrebnadzor institutions as part of social and hygienic monitoring, and did not involve data from other organizations.

Conclusion. The study showed uneven coverage of atmospheric air quality monitoring in populated areas – ports of the NSR, which made it possible to formulate proposals for inclusion in monitoring programs of priority pollutants, taking into account the specifics of the cargo handled in the ports.

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

Contribution:
Myasnikov I.O. – concept and design of the study, collection and processing of material, responsibility for the integrity and proportionality of all parts of the article;
Novikova Yu.A. – data analysis, correction of the research design, editing the text of the article;
Kizeev A.N. – literature analysis, data analysis, editing of the text of the article;
Fedorov V.N. – statistical analysis, interpretation of results, editing of the text of the article;
Sklizkova N.A. – analysis data, editing the text of the article.
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: April 25, 2025 / Revised: August 28, 2025 / Accepted: August 29, 2025 / Published: September 25, 2025

Introduction. In recent years, the Russian Federation has seen a steady gain in the incidence of chronic non-communicable diseases and temporary disability, which creates the preconditions for an increase in contraindications to work due to health reasons, which are the reason for establishing occupational unsuitability in workers.

The study aims. To study the structure of contraindications to work and the patterns of formation of professional unsuitability, identify risk factors for its development and rank them into 5 groups to develop criteria for the risk management system for occupational unsuitability.

Materials and methods. Based on the data of periodic medical examinations of one hundred twelve thousand five hundred forty six workers conducted in 2019–2023 at the Research Institute of Occupational Health, the structure of contraindications to work was established and risk factors for the development of professional suitability in workers were determined based on the analysis of 4,100 examinations. The objects of the study were workers of 29 occupations. The Pearson agreement criterion and relative risk indicуs were calculated.

Results. The proportion of employees who had contraindications to work and were considered unfit was 2.3%. A decrease in the proportion of those who are not qualified among all those who have passed the examination has been established from 62.9% to 19.9%. In 77.7% of cases, unsuitability was recognized as permanent, in 19.1% – temporary, in 3.2% of cases – the employee was recognized as fit to perform certain types of work. The average age of the unfit is 55.7±0.3 years. The highest proportion of unfit people was found among electricians (25.7%) and fitters of various profiles (21.4%). Most often, contraindications were detected due to contact with noise (24.4%) and when working at height (36.8%). Among those unsuitable, the average number of harmful production factors was established to be 4.80±0.31, the number of diseases detected in 1 worker was 5.8±0.06. Frequent contraindications (reasons for professional unsuitability) were eye diseases (48.3% of cases), ear diseases (18.6%), and diseases of the circulatory system (12.6%).

Limitations. The study is limited to the analysis of the results of occupational unsuitability examinations performed in the clinic of the Research Institute of Occupational Health in 2019–2023. These limitations allow planning further studies.

Conclusion. The results of the study are the basis for developing a ocupational unsuitability risk management system and aimed at introducing personalized prevention based on the results of periodic medical examinations.

Compliance with ethical standards. The study did not require the conclusion of the Ethics Committee.

Contribution:
Bukhtiyarov I.V. — concept and design of the study;
Zibarev E.V. — concept and design of the study, writing the text;
Vostrikova S.M. — data collection and processing, writing the text;
Kravchenko O.K. — data collection and processing, writing the text;
Umnitsyna О.B. — data collection and processing, writing the text;
Bessonova A.K. — data collection and processing;
Mukhin K.S. — data collection and processing.
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: April 23, 2025 / Accepted: June 26, 2025 / Published: September 25, 2025

Introduction. Until now, the development of rheumatoid arthritis has been customarily not considered as a typical complication of pneumoconiosis in electric welders and gas cutters.

Materials and methods. The medical documentation related to the circumstances of the examination in the clinic of the North-West Scientific Center for Hygiene and Public Health in an electric welder of a shipbuilding enterprise, who was found to have a combination of diffuse focal opacities in the lungs with rheumatoid arthritis, was studied and analyzed.

Results. The diffuse focal opacities in the lungs typical for pneumoconiosis and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis had been developed in a shipbuilding enterprise welder with about 15–16 years of experience. The pathology was classified as welder’s pneumoconiosis complicated by rheumatoid arthritis. The investigation of the case of occupational disease, has been going on for more than 3 years due to the difficulties in collecting information about the patient’s working conditions at several different enterprises in the past. At that period of time, the patient was unjustifiably dismissed from work without adequate financial compensation. Following up the patient demonstrated the development of methotrexate-induced alveolitis as a complication of the rheumatoid arthritis treatment. The presented clinical case demonstrated certain shortcomings of the regulatory framework for occupational pathology, requiring clearer regulation.

Limitations. The described observation is referred to isolated cases, therefore, for more representative conclusions, generalizations based on larger factual data are desirable.

Conclusion. In the clinical aspect, the described case is an argument in favor of the possibility of recognizing rheumatoid arthritis as a complication of pneumoconiosis caused by exposure to metal condensation aerosols, including pneumoconiosis of electric welders and gas cutters.

Compliance with ethical standards. The study was performed using non-invasive methods and complies with the ethical standards of the Helsinki Declaration of the WMA, the principles of the National Standard of the Russian Federation GOST R 52379-2005 “Good Clinical Practice” and other regulatory requirements of the Russian Federation. Before the start of the study, approval was obtained from the Local Ethics Committee of the Northwestern Scientific Center of Hygiene and Public Health, protocol No. 531.1 dated January 16, 2025.

Contribution:
Boiko I.V. — concept and design of the study, writing the text, editing;
Shalukho E.S. — collection of material and data processing;
Orlova G.P. — collection of material and data processing, writing the text;
Andreenko O.N. — collection of material, data processing, editing.
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: April 25, 2025 / Accepted: June 26, 2025 / Published: September 25, 2025

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

Introduction. The work of a boatmaster is characterized by a complex of unfavorable factors, including noise, vibration, limited space, social isolation and high psycho-emotional stress. Prolonged exposure to these factors can lead to fatigue, decreased concentration, impaired coordination, and, as a result, an increased risk of accidents.

Materials and methods. The research was carried out on five automated passenger ships. Psychophysiological parameters were studied before the beginning, in the middle and at the end of the navigation period in sixty four people. The study group included 25 boatmasters, 25 mechanics, and 14 helmsmen. The indicators of the activity of the central nervous system, psychological characteristics and trend in mental performance were determined using the PC “Psychotest”. Indicators of the activity of the cardiovascular system and indicators of changes in physical performance were studied using the PC “Psychophysiologist”. Statistical processing was carried out using the Statistica ver. 10 software. The results were processed and evaluated with a standard algorithm using quantitative and qualitative criteria. The estimate is supplemented by a 95% confidence interval, which was calculated by the Wilson method. With a normal distribution of measurement results, the average values (M) and the average square deviation (σ) are calculated. The statistical significance level is assumed to be p < 0.05.

Results. The results of the assessment of the impact of working conditions on the psychophysiological state of boatmasters during the navigation period allowed establishing that despite the results of a special assessment of the working conditions in boatmasters as “acceptable”, prolonged round-the-clock exposure to vibro-acoustic factors of the ship’s environment can and does have an adverse impact on the state of the body in the crew.

Limitationsy. Limited access to subjects during navigation.

Conclusion. The adverse impact of prolonged round-the-clock exposure to environmental factors is manifested by a decrease in the mental and physical performance of shipwrights and contributes to a decrease in the functionality of the cardiovascular system.

Compliance with ethical standards. The study was conducted in compliance with the standards of the Bioethics Committee of the Research Institute of Complex Problems of Hygiene and Occupational Diseases, established in accordance with the World Medical Association's Declaration of Helsinki "Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Human Subjects" as amended in 2013. All participants provided informed, voluntary, and written consent to participate in the study (Minutes of the Local Ethics Committee No. 33.1 dated April 26, 2021).

Contribution:
Kopytenkova O.I. – collection of literature data, collection and processing of material, writing a text;
Dubrovskaya E.N. – the concept and design of the study, collection of literature data, collection and processing of material, editing;
Levanchuk L.A. – collection of literature data, collection and processing of material, editing.
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: April 25, 2025 / Revised: May 12, 2025 / Accepted: June 26, 2025 / Published: September 25, 2025

Introduction. The problem of vibration exposure remains relevant in modern occupational pathology. Modern epidemiological studies show exposure to vibration to be associated with peripheral circulatory disorders, arteriole spasm and the subsequent development of dystrophic changes in the vascular wall.

The purpose of the study. To identify the features of the trend in the pulsation index (PI) of the upper extremities in stages 1 and 2 of effects of vibration from exposure to whole-body and hand-arm vibration by ultrasound.

Materials and methods. Ultrasound scanning of the arteries of the upper extremities was performed in sixty seven patients. In contrast to effects of vibration, the inverse ratio of the total growth rate has been established to be observed from whole-body and hand-arm vibrations only from the whole-body vibration, that is, a higher growth rate occurs at stage 2 of effects of vibration was measured on the distal part of the forearm.

Results. However, at the same time, changes from whole-body and hand-arm vibration are more pronounced in effects of vibration stage 1.

Limitations. The main disadvantages of ultrasound are the long-term and operator-dependent method.

Conclusion. With an increase in the degree of effects of vibration, regardless of the effects of such harmful production factors as whole-body and hand-arm and only whole-body vibration, the difference in changes in the PI index decreases, which is significantly pronounced at the 1^st stages of the disease. Standardization of the protocol of ultrasound examination of the upper extremities will subsequently help to assess the dynamics and level of initial angiodystonic lesions in patients whose diagnosis can prevent irreversible consequences of chronic ischemia at the early stages of development.

Compliance with ethical standards. The study was conducted in compliance with the ethical standards of the Helsinki Declaration of the World Medical Association. The minutes of the meeting of the Local Ethics Committee of the Northwestern Scientific Center for Hygiene and Public Health No. 2022/50.2 dated 12/28/2022 were received. All participants gave informed voluntary written consent to participate in the study.

Contribution:
Kuprina N.I. — the concept and design of the study, collection and processing of material, statistical processing, writing a text, editing;
Petrova M.D. — processing of material, writing a text;
Shilov V.V. — responsibility for the integrity of all parts of the manuscript and approval of the manuscript final version;
Kovshov A.A. – statistical processing, analysis and interpretation of results, editing.
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: April 25, 2025 / Revised: July 14, 2025 / Accepted: July 22, 2025 / Published: September 25, 2025

Introduction. Modern technologies of iron ore mining reduce, but do not eliminate, the increased risk of developing occupational pathology.

The aim. Occupational health at open-pit iron ore mining on the Kola Peninsula deposits.

Materials and methods. Analysis of information from the Murmansk region occupational disease register and results of social and hygienic monitoring in the section “Working conditions and occupational morbidity” for 2004–2023.

Results. In open-pit iron ore mining, noise, aerosols with predominantly fibrogenic action (APFA) and harmful chemicals had the largest shares in the structure of harmful production factors: 16.8%, 16.3%, 15.6%. Over twenty years, the share of whole-body vibration increased (from 4.6 to 7.6%) and there was a decrease in the shares of noise (from 19.3 to 14.6%), APFA (from 17.7 to 14.6%) and harmful chemicals (from 17.5 to 12.5%). In 2004–2023, 320 diseases were first diagnosed in 222 workers, including drivers of quarry dump trucks (n=90), excavator operators (n=50). and bulldozer operators (n=27). The most common diseases were vibration disease (n=135), radiculopathy (n=41) and sensorineural hearing loss (n=28), while over 20 years there was a rise in the proportion of vibration disease (from 6.9 to 70.5%), and a decrease in the proportion of sensorineural hearing loss (from 27.6 to 7.7%). The number of diseases diagnosed in one miner was 1.44±0.04 cases, the incidence rate reached 28.09 cases / 10,000 workers. The risk of developing occupational pathology in 2019–2023 exceeded the indicators in 2004–2008: RR = 1.70; 95% CI 1.10–2.63.

Limitations. Lack of data on working conditions before 2004 that could influence the occupational pathology development in 2004–2023.

Conclusion. It is necessary to improve methods of preventing occupational pathology in workers engaged in iron ore mining on the Kola Peninsula, especially vibration disease in quarry truck drivers, excavator, and bulldozer operators.

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

Contribution. The author confirms sole responsibility for the study conception and design, data collection, analysis and interpretation of results, and manuscript preparation.

Conflict of interest. The author declares no conflict of interest.

Funding. The study had no sponsorship.

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

Introduction. The algorithm for arranging of the feature psychophysiological profile of specialists in assisting occupations includes the results of a special assessment of working conditions, subjective assessments of working conditions by employees, psychodiagnostics of indicators of the emotional sphere, calculation of integral indicators of health, followed by a correlation analysis of the results obtained.

Aim of the work — to study the subjective assessment of working conditions by employees; psychodiagnostics of indicators of the emotional sphere; calculation and analysis of integral indicators of health and correlational dependencies; development and testing of an algorithm for the psychophysiological profile of interned specialists in assisting occupations, taking into account a special assessment of working conditions.

Materials and methods. Fifty seven trained subjects, including 33 nursing assistants (group 1) and 24 oncologists (group 2), all women, participated in the cross-sectional study using questionnaires, anthropometric and physiological measurements, calculation of basic health indicators, and psychodiagnostics of emotional indicators. The statistical significance of the differences in the studied indicators between the groups was assessed using the Mann–Whitney U-test. The Spearman correlation coefficient was used to study the relationship between the parameters.

Results. The common features of the psychological and physiological profiles of the interned subjects of the two occupations are: “a high degree of responsibility and work intensity” – the main problem in the workplace; the body mass index of the subjects is higher than the statistical norm; a slow rate of aging; a low level of burnout; the dominance of personal anxiety relative to reactive; the absence of mental health disorders. The specifics of occupational activity include the identification of unfavorable labor factors in accordance with a special assessment of working conditions at the workplace, the number, direction, and strength of correlations between the studied indicators.

Limitations. The study is limited by the time frame of the medical examination; the small number of subjects without the possibility of ranking them by age and internship groups.

Conclusion. The proven algorithm can be used to assess early occupational health disorders for workers in different occupations.

Compliance with ethical standards. The study was approved by the local Ethics committee of the Nizhny Novgorod Scientific Research Institute of Hygiene and Occupational Pathology (minutes of meeting No. 2 dated January 28, 2021), conducted in accordance with the generally accepted scientific principles of the Helsinki Declaration of the World Medical Association (2000, ed.2013) and Order of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation No. 266 dated 06/19/2003. All participants gave informed voluntary written consent to participate in the study.

Contribution:
Vasilyeva T.N. – formation of the primary hypothesis, concept and design of the study, data analysis, writing the text of the manuscript;
Umnyagina I.A. – editing of the article;
Skvortsova V.A. – primary data acquisition and processing, design development;
Telyupina V.P. – obtaining primary data, conducting correlation analysis.
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: April 2, 2025 / Accepted: June 26, 2025 / Published: September 25, 2025

Introduction. Upgrading of nickel production technologies, in this case the transition from electrolytic to more modern electroextractive refining, is not always accompanied by an improvement in the working conditions in the employees involved.

The aim of the study. To analyze working conditions and occupational respiratory diseases in workers at electrolytic and electroextractive nickel production.

Materials and methods. We studied the data of industrial control at nickel industry enterprises and the Murmansk regional register of occupational diseases for 2004–2023.

Results. A comparative analysis of hygienic data revealed a 2.4-3.5-fold decrease in the concentration of nickel hydroaerosols at the electrolytic bath operator workplaces and a 4.4–31.4-fold increase in chlorine concentrations in the workplace air of the hydrometallurgical department during the transition to electroextractive refining. Clinical studies have shown the transition to electroextraction method to be accompanied by a decline in the number and in the proportion of workers with occupational respiratory diseases (p=0.002–0.003), a 24.5% decrease in the level of occupational morbidity (from 56.12 cases to 42.35 cases per 10,000 workers), a decrease in the risk of developing respiratory occupational diseases (OR=1.89; 95% CI 1.31–2.73). Over 10 years, only one case of acute chlorine poisoning was registered.

Conclusion. We have no found adverse impact of elevated chlorine concentrations on the development of occupational respiratory diseases in workers engaged in electrowinning nickel refining. However, further improvement of nickel electrowinning technology is necessary to reduce the concentration of nickel and chlorine salt hydroaerosols, as well as more effective personal respiratory protection equipment is needed. The impact of working conditions on workers’ health during electrowinning nickel refining requires a longer study.

Compliance with ethical standards. Ethics approval was not required for this study.

Contribution:
Syurin S.A. — study conception and design, data collection, analysis and interpretation of results, bibliography compilation and referencing, writing text;
Kovshov A.A. — data collection, analysis and interpretation of results, writing text;
Kiryanova M.N. — analysis and interpretation of results, bibliography compilation and referencing, writing text;
Shilnikovskaya A.V. — data collection.
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: April 25, 2025 / Revised: July 10, 2025 / Accepted: July 14, 2025 / Published: September 25, 2025

Introduction. The characteristics of the physical development in children include an assessment of their morphofunctional development and biological age (compliance with the passport age, lagging behind and ahead of them), which is necessary to determine the child’s health group. At the same time, updated standards are needed to assess the child’s biological age.

The aim of the study. To study the growth indices in the child population in various subjects of the Russian Federation for the development of biological development standards.

Material and methods. The analytical study was conducted. The following databases were analyzed: “Physical development in children, adolescents, and youth in the Russian Federation in 2000–2021”, “Physical development in children, adolescents, and youth in the Russian Federation in 2021–2023”, “Trend in physical development in the child population in the regions of the Russian Federation depending on demographic and socio-economic factors since 1970s to 2020s”. Observations of the physical and biological development of 330,872 boys and 321,357 girls, aged 7–17 years living in 79 regions, obtained in 2021–2024 were selected. The data were compared with historical indices established in the 1970s (78,008 observations). Standard statistical data processing was performed using the Statistica 13.0 package.

Results. The biological development in children and adolescents in the regions of the Russian Federation was found to occur at different rates, there are “regional scenarios”. All regions are classified into three categories. The first group includes 15 regions with an accelerated rate – the first growth crossover occurs at 10 years and the second growth crossover at 13 years. The second group consists of 54 regions with children and adolescent’s growth and develop at average rate – the first crossover at 11 years and the second crossover at 14 years. And the third group includes 10 regions with a slower rate – the first crossover at 12 years and the second crossover at 14 years.

Limitations. Insufficient volume or complete absence of data for a number of Russian Federation regions is a limitation of the study.

Conclusion. Standards for biological development have been developed for children and adolescents aged of 7–17 years for 54 subjects of the Russian Federation, in which children and adolescents grow and develop at an average rate.

Compliance with ethical standards. The study was approved by the local ethical committee of the N.I. Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University (meeting protocol No. 239 dated April 15, 2024) and the Helsinki Declaration of the World Medical Association (as amended 2013) was carried out.

Contribution:
Popov V.I. – conceptualization, general supervision, editing;
Skoblina N.A. – methodology, validation, investigation;
Milushkina O.Yu. – methodology, writing text, editing;
Fedotov D.M. – formal analysis, writing text, review, editing;
Ivanov M.S. – formal analysis, writing text, review, editing.
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: March 16, 2025 / Revised: April 2, 2025 / Accepted: June 26, 2025 / Published: September 25, 2025

Introduction. To provide the population of the Leningrad Region with high-quality drinking water in 2019–2024, water treatment stations were installed in twenty settlements supplied with water from underground sources.

The purpose of the study. Assessment of the effectiveness of reducing the cumulative risk as a result of the installation of water treatment plants in settlements of the Leningrad region supplied from underground water sources.

Materials and methods. The study used the results of industrial control of water quality in centralized water supply systems of settlements in the Leningrad region for 2017–2024. An electronic database was formed, statistical data processing was carried out, and a list of controlled indices was analyzed. The values of the total risk and the effectiveness of measures were calculated using a computer software.

Results. A comprehensive assessment of the effectiveness was carried out for water treatment plants in 18 populated areas. The values ​​of the total risk before installation ranged from 0.067 to 0.368, after – from 0 to 0.159, the effectiveness of the water treatment plant installation ranged from 15.3% to 100%.

Limitation. The results of production control were used to assess the effectiveness measures to improve the quality of drinking water in the Leningrad region.

Conclusion. A comprehensive assessment of the effectiveness of measures to improve the quality of drinking water was conducted for 18 settlements in the Leningrad region. In 8 localities, the effectiveness of the event was 100%, in 2 localities – less than 20.0%. The use of a comprehensive efficiency assessment methodology in the planning and implementation of measures to improve the quality of drinking water makes it possible to justify their choice from the standpoint of minimizing the risk to public health.

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

Contribution:
Novikova Y.A. – concept and design of the study, data analysis, editing of the article text;
Sklizkova N.A. – analysis of literary data, processing of material, writing of text;
Myasnikov I.O. – concept and design of the study, editing of text;
Fedorov V.N. – statistical analysis, interpretation of results, editing of the article text;
Kopytenkova O.I. – editing the text of an article;
Istorik O.A. – collection of material.
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: April 25, 2025 / Accepted: June 26, 2025 / Published: September 25, 2025

Introduction. The Murmansk Region is a highly industrialized region of the Russian Arctic. Therefore, the quality of its surface waters is significantly influenced by both climatic and geographical factors, as well as by mining activities. In light of this, it is an urgent priority to conduct a comprehensive hygienic assessment of the status of water supply sources in the urban areas within the region.

Materials and methods. The yearbooks of the Main Geophysical Observatory named after A.I. Voeikov “The state of atmospheric pollution in Russian cities” for 2021–2022; state reports “On the state of sanitary and epidemiological welfare of the population in the Murmansk region” for 2021–2023, the results of laboratory studies of the surface water sources quality for 2018–2023; sanitary and epidemiological conclusions on the possibility of using water bodies for drinking and domestic water supply. A study was conducted on 13 surface water bodies in the Murmansk Region, which serve as sources of drinking water for 14 settlements in the region.

Results. The most frequent excess of hygiene standards was observed in the following indicators: sanitary-chemical – Fe, Ni, Hg, Mn, NH₄, benz(a)pyrene, phenol; generalized including chemical oxygen demand (COD), biological oxygen demand (BOD), permanganate oxidizability, pH; sanitary as microbiological – GCB, TCB, E. coli, coliphages. A list of indices has been determined for inclusion in the programs of industrial surface water sources quality control in the Murmansk region. The water treatment was determined to be provided only in 5 of the 13 water sources in the region with widespread disinfection. Chlorination is used at 11 of the 13 water sources, and ultraviolet irradiation is used at the other 2 ones.

Limitations. In this research the list of indicators was limited by the research programs of social and hygienic monitoring and UGMS. Sampling points in the UGMS don`t correspond to water intake points in all settlements. Also, the results of laboratory tests of water before entering distribution networks aren`t considered in this work. In addition, the risk assessment was carried out taking into account the uncertainties associated with the fact that the population uses water after water treatment. The risk assessment in this situation was aimed at identifying priority indicators that need to be included in production control programs.

Conclusions. The supervisory authorities are recommended to pay attention to the widespread excess of hygienic standards for sanitary-microbiological indicators in the Murmansk region`s drinking water to prevent outbreaks of infectious diseases with aquatic transmission.

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

Contribution:
Stepanyan A.A. – content formation, statistical processing of results and data analysis;
Isaev D.S. – accumulation and data analysis;
Kovshov A.A. – concept and design of the study;
Sergeev A.A. – text verification and editing.
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: April 25, 2025 / Revised: May 21, 2025 / Accepted: June 26, 2025 / Published: September 25, 2025

Introduction. The Federal Project “Clean Air” has been implemented in the country since 2019. Its aim is to considerably improve ambient air quality by directive-controlled reduction of emissions of ‘priority pollutants’ – chemicals that persist in ambient air in levels higher than the valid safe standards and/or make their contribution to population health risks.

The aim of this study. To suggest an algorithm for substantiating, verifying and correcting lists of priority pollutants and objects for which emission quotas are to be set considering all accumulated experience in the Project implementation. The ultimate goal is to achieve effective management of ambient air quality and population health risks.

Materials and methods. The results of aggregated calculations per cities included in the Project, lists of priority pollutants and objects for which emission quotas are to be set, health risk assessment results, data obtained by instrumental measurements of ambient air quality at social and hygienic monitoring posts.

Results. The suggested algorithm of actions aimed at selecting and creating more precise lists of pollutants with established quotas and their emission sources in areas covered by the Federal Project includes verification of priority pollutant lists with instrumental monitoring data, mandatory establishment of causes and sources of considerable discrepancies between “Clean Air” calculated and field data, identification and parameterization of unaccounted emission sources. Our suggestion is that a list of objects for which emission quotas are to be set should include economic entities making a contribution to violation of safe standards and creating unacceptable health risks. They should be included regardless of their category, total emission mass and other secondary characteristics that do not have a direct correlation with an actual impact on the environment and human health.

Limitations. The limitations of the study are related to the analyzed data set: only cities included in the quota experiment are included.

Conclusion. The algorithm involves a shift from directive-established reduction in emissions from all economic entities with priority pollutants in their emissions to a targeted calculated reduction adequate to a risk level and a contribution made by a given economic entity to this risk. Effectiveness of the Project activities should be assessed per residual risk levels (which should be verified with monitoring data, epidemiological and/or specialized profound biomedical examinations). Such assessments should become a mandatory element in the system for setting emission quotas. We have developed recommendations to improve the regulatory base for setting emission quotas, which assign greater significance to population health indicators within the whole system for managing ambient air quality.

Compliance with ethical standards. This study did not require a biomedical ethics committee opinion (the study was performed on publicly available official statistical data).

Contribution:
Zaitseva N.V. – concept and design of the study, editing, approval of the final version of the article;
May I.V. – editing, writing the text, approval of the final version of the article.
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: July 4, 2025 / Revised: July 28, 2025 / Accepted: August 6, 2025 / Published: September 25, 2025

In recent decades, the issue of using generics has become significant in the markets for pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and other industrial products. This review examines current approaches to assessing the effectiveness and safety of generics including pharmaceuticals and pesticides. The review is based on data from domestic and foreign literature, as well as online resources. Information was searched from the OECD, Scopus, Medline, and RSCI databases. The review presents and discusses the regulatory documents governing the assessment of the effectiveness and safety of generics. For generic drugs, pharmaceutical, biological, and therapeutic equivalence is evaluated. Technical-grade active ingredients of generic pesticides are not subjected to a full cycle of studies if their equivalence to the original active substance has been demonstrated. In such cases, the assessment includes the manufacturing process of the generic pesticide, the minimum content of the active substance, and the maximum allowable levels of impurities, supported by the analysis of at least five production batches. Additionally, an in silico hazard assessment of impurities is conducted. The genotoxicity of the technical-grade product and/or its impurities is also evaluated, and if necessary, toxicological, ecotoxicological, or other relevant data on the technical-grade product and/or its impurities are considered. The effectiveness of pesticides is assessed under the real-world (field) trials.

Contribution:
Ilyushina N.A. – concept and design of the study, processing and analysis of material, writing the text;
Egorova O.V. – processing and analysis of material;
Revazova Yu.A. – writing the text; processing and analysis of material.
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 is a part of the state assignment (registration № 125012700793-3).

Received: April 2, 2025 / Accepted: July 14, 2025 / Published: September 25, 2025

Introduction. High emissions from various technological processes and the increasing practical use of lead oxide nanoparticles (NPs PbO) make it relevant to assess their toxicity. The use of non-targeted blood metabolomics methods to study the effects of NPs PbO on mammalian organisms has not previously been described in the literature.

The purpose of this work. To apply metabolomic analysis to study the subchronic and chronic inhaled effects of NPs PbO on laboratory animals.

Materials and methods. The experiment was conducted on fifty female rats randomly divided into equal groups. Some of the animals were exposed to inhaled NPs PbO for 2 months: experimental group and control. Another part of the animals was exposed to inhaled NPs PbO for 8 months: the experimental group and the control. The concentration of NPs PbO in the respiration zone of the animals was 0.215 mg/m³. A semi-quantitative metabolomic blood test was performed using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry.

Results. According to the results of a metabolomic analysis of animal blood after 2 months of exposure, a decrease in the content of 5 LPC, 3 LPE and an increase in the content of 1 LPC were detected. At the same time, exposure to NPs PbO in the same concentration for 8 months was shown to cause an increase in the content of 5 LPC, 4 acylcarnitines, 2 polyunsaturated fatty acids, as well as a decrease in 1 LPC. The constructed ROC curves for the combination of the detected metabolites had an AUC = 0.975 for subchronic exposure and AUC = 0.948 for chronic exposure.

Limitations. The study was conducted using female Wistar rats with no potential sex differences taken into account.

Conclusion. Metabolic changes in the blood after inhaled exposure to NPs PbO at a concentration of 0.215 mg/m³ are characterized by a multidirectional violation of lipid metabolism at different periods, probably indicating autophagy after subchronic exposure and apoptosis after chronic exposure.

Compliance with ethical standards. Ethics approval was provided by the institutional Ethics Committee of the Yekaterinburg Medical Research Center for Prophylaxis and Health Protection in Industrial Workers (protocol No. 4 of July 12, 2022).

Contribution:
Unesikhina M.S. — data collection and processing, draft manuscript preparation, editing;
Minigalieva I.A. — study conception and design, editing;
Kikot A.M. — editing;
Sutunkova M.P. — study conception and design, editing.
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: February 10, 2025 / Revised: June 18, 2025 / Accepted: June 26, 2025 / Published: September 25, 2025