Volume 96, Nº 7 (2017)

The article presents the main results of scientific investigations of the Northwest Public Health Research Center, obtained in 2000-2016 during the implementation of the international projects in the field of environmental health in the Arctic, local food-and-water security and diseases associated with food and water transmission routes, ecotoxicology of persistent toxic substances (PTS), evaluation of exposure of various Arctic populations (including the indigenous people) to PTS, assessment of PTS effects on the body and health risks for the population.

There was executed the sanitary-hygienic assessment of residential areas in the zone of possible impact of industrial activity of the Center for the elimination of Intercontinental ballistic missiles affiliated to the Federal State Unitary Enterprise “Center for Operation of Ground-Based Space Infrastructure Facilities” located in the Nizhny Novgorod region. There were performed full-scale studies of air samples, water reservoirs and sources of drinking water, the soil on the content of components of liquid rocket fuels and their degradation products. Studies have shown full-time work enterprises not to be accompanied by the emission of unsymmetrical dimethyl hydrazine, Tetramethyl-2-tetrazene, NDMA into the environment. In samples of water from open stagnant water bodies there was detected both dimethylamine in concentrations exceeding MPC by 1.1 - 1.3 times, and formaldehyde in the concentration below the MAC. All soil samples also contain FA and DMA in concentrations significantly lower than the MPC. As, Be, Cd, Pb in drinking water was not detected within the sensitivity of the method, Ni content, Zn, Mg, Mn, Al does not exceed hygienic standards. Fe content in the water of centralized water supply amounted to 1.5 MAC.

Minor towns with population size of 50-100 thousand people are much rarely studied in regards of the ecological-hygienic assessment of human environment, in spite of the fact that they are characterized by specific ecological problems. The objective of the study was the hygienic assessment of the impact of urban environment on population health status in Tikhvin and Gatchina towns of the Leningrad region. Morbidity rate in the population of Tikhvin and Gatchina in 2005-2015, atmospheric emissions of industrial enterprises, findings on monitoring for both atmospheric air pollution and centralized drinking water supply, as well as motor transport noise levels were studied. Population health risk stipulated by industrial emissions and noise exposure was calculated. Statistical data treatment with correlation analysis of the relationship between environmental pollution indices and population morbidity was carried out. The study revealed increased atmospheric air pollutant concentrations in Gatchina, which might be connected with motor transport effect. Acute non-carcinogenic risk levels resulting from air pollutants are on the borderline of the admissible level, while in Tikhvin town those values are significantly lower. Estimated concentrations of atmospheric pollutants produced by industrial emissions are by 1.5-2 times lower than the actual levels shown by monitoring. Noise levels and predicted health risks in Gatchina are on the borderline of the admissible level, while in Tikhvin they are significantly reduced. The statistically significant gain in the general primary morbidity rate indices due to respiratory diseases in Gatchina town, correlated with atmospheric air pollution, was revealed. Our study showed that despite the presence of large industrial enterprises in studied towns, motor transport proved to be the key factor that forms air pollution and noise load, more typical of large cities.

Every day in the city of St. Petersburg there is formed more than 10,000 m³ of sewage sludge. The main mass of deposits is stored at the landfill for storing waste with an area of up to 150 hectares. Toxic substances and pathogens contained in sediments can penetrate into the environment stipulating the significant pollution of the environment. In the arsenal of technologists dealing with the problem of sewage sludge disposal, there are numerous approaches and solutions, for instance: drying sludge, incineration, composting, vermicomposting, eco-concrete fixation. However, tried everything methodological approaches have not found their applications because of the impossibility of decrease in toxicity due to the presence of substances in the resulting substance of 1^st and 2^nd classes of danger, having a translocation mechanism of transition in plants. And, nevertheless, the problem of sewage sludge cannot be solved by used approaches because of the high toxicity caused by the presence of substances of the 1^st and 2^nd hazard classes in the obtained substance, for which the translocation mechanism of environmental contamination is characteristic. The aim of our work is the substantiation of the hygienic safety of the utilization of products obtained by geotube technology from deposits at the Northern Station for aeration «Vodokanal-SPb» in road construction. As the object of research there was selected the complex of sludge lagoons of the Northern Station for aeration «Vodokanal-SPb» located in the village of Novosilky. Sanitary-chemical, toxicological, parasitological, bacteriological, radiological. It is possible to observe the binding of ionic forms of ecotoxicants, transition of them to a bound state, which provides for the environmental safety. Helminthological and bacteriological studies show the epidemic safety of the product obtained by geotubing. Geotube technology seems to be the most promising in the treatment of accumulated sludge beds on sewage sludge.

The aim of the study was to establish relations between the acute and chronic fatigue of workers, and between chronic fatigue and age dynamics of indices of health. In 859 women, white-collar workers, with normal fatigue at work of various degree and different physiological labor intensity there was determined an annual gain of professional risks (GPR): syndromes of motor, visual, and non-specific chronic fatigue; indices of the physical performance; morbidity with temporary disability. During the year the health is deteriorating both in 59% of women who are very tired at work, and 63% of women with chronic fatigue syndrome. Under a high level of the physiological intensity of labor GPR increases by 2 times for diseases of the cardiovascular system and by 2.2-times for the disorders of the musculoskeletal system. For hygienic evaluation rate of aging working in harmful conditions, there are required values of age population trends in health indices observed in favorable habitat, without the harmful effects of professional and non-professional factors.

Autonomous sensory polyneuropathy of upper extremities is one of the most common occupational diseases of peripheral nervous system. Findings of the study of working conditions in two major worker jobs in which occupational polyneuropathies of upper extremities are prevalent, namely: house-painters and plasterers, as well as mining job workers (underground miners, shaft miners, breakage face miners) are reported. Hygienic investigations envisaged detailed studies of working conditions in workers with diagnosed occupational peripheral nervous system disease. The intensity and hardness of working process, illumination level, spectral noise characteristics, noise, vibration, temperature, humidity, and air velocity levels, as well as adverse chemical concentrations in workplace air were assessed. House-painters as well as miners were found to work with pronounced physical overloads, working conditions being classified as 3.2-3.3 (2-3 degree harmful) according to indices of working process hardness. In spite of new technologies being introduced into the working process, manual labor part in these jobs still remains to be the great. Comparison of findings revealed certain differences in some characteristics of working process hardness. Working process hardness shown by dynamic and static physical load on upper extremities was found to be the most significant harmful occupational factor resulting in polyneuropathy in house-painters and plasterers. Development of polyneuropathy in miners was caused by a combination of adverse occupational factors: working process hardness, local vibration, cold microclimate. Our findings indicated the importance of the study of health state in painters and miners. Working conditions must be taken into account in the process of development of preventive and remedial measures for occupational polyneuropathy treatment.

In the article there are considered questions of legal regulation of the admission of foreign nationals (or individuals without nationality) to work in decreed professions in the Russian Federation. To date migration processes are shown to affect not only the demographic situation in our country, but the level of infectious diseases rates, especially in large cities. The health status of the population depends directly on the literacy level of workers in various industries, especially decreed contingents of high epidemiological risk. It is noted that along with the medical examination of foreign citizens (persons without citizenship) for issuance of a work permit or a patent in the Russian Federation in the framework of the immigration laws in Bodies of internal. Affairs, the law provides for obligatory preliminary and periodic medical examinations for certain types of work with registration of personal medical books, the passage of professional hygienic preparation and certification. These kinds of economic activities include organizations associated with the production, storage, transportation and sale of food products and drinking water, the upbringing and education of children, municipal and consumer services. There are considered provisions of the main legal acts in the volume of medical examinations and obligatory knowledge of Russian for obtaining the work permit of migrants. There are identified key organizational-legal and methodological and problematic aspects that require coordination of activities of state structures and functioning of enterprises. The training of the special contingent is noted to contribute to the improvement of medical-hygienic knowledge among foreign citizens and the population, prevention of infectious diseases, the formation of understanding the need for positive changes in lifestyle, and support the desire to change, contributes to the creation of appropriate motivation in relation to their health, development of skills of a healthy lifestyle. There are analyzed issues of the awareness of employees about the necessity of medical prevention, including healthy lifestyle, the main causes of non-compliance of legislation.

The necessity of carrying out field observation of physical factor parameters (noise, infrasound, vibration) in the process of engineering-and-environmental exploration on the areas allotted for capital construction is regulated by current sanitary-hygienic documents and standards related to the construction. Capital construction objects cover industrial and nonproduction buildings and facilities, as well as linear objects: highways, railways, underground lines, pipelines. Requirements for a scope and a list of measured indices of the effect of physical factors with taking into account the purpose of projected buildings and facilities are not established in the available documents. While realizing expert activities by the inspection body at the North-West Public Health Research Center, studies of parameters of physical factor in certain fields were executed on construction allotted areas to be redundant and often useless (that is, inapplicable for further use). As regards the problem under consideration, requirements according to current sanitary-hygienic and construction regulations were analyzed. A short record of sheet review of explorations made by North-West Public Health Research Center and those undergone expert examination by the inspection body at the North-West Public Health Research Center within the period of 2014-2016 is given. A list and a scope of indices of physical factors (noise, infrasound, vibration) which should be measured in field conditions during environmental investigations of the areas allotted for construction with taking into account function and specific character of the projected object. The reported study resulted in grounding the necessity to develop “Guidelines on assessment and measurement of physical fields on the areas of engineering-and-environmental surveys” which can enhance the effectiveness of accomplished studies, to optimize the scope and to eliminate excessive requirements in designing and expert examination, and in the long run will help in saving funds invested into construction, including state budget ones.

The article presents results of exploratory research on the assessment of the impact of Wi-Fi equipment on the organism of laboratory animals. The study was executed in a specially equipped semi-anechoic chambers, to eliminate the influence of other sources, which can have a direct or indirect impact on animals. As a source of EMR there was used the router for wireless access to the Internet (brand: ZyXEL Keenetic Extra). Laboratory animals (20 white male mice), and control group (20 animals)were placed at a distance of 0.5 m and 1 m from the EMR source in a room without EMR source. Weekly every laboratory animal performed tests on the assessment of behavioral reactions, depression and working memory using the test «open field», «T-maze», «forced swimming». After 36-days round-the-clock exposure in animals there was a decrease in indices of horizontal and vertical locomotor activity, the development of the depressive state on the 25^th day of the study.

The analysis of investigations on hygienic and toxicological assessment of the volume of fire extinguishers gives reason to believe that at this stage they do not have a single sound methodical approach. This situation often causes conflicting opinions on the results, calling into question their practical value, makes it difficult to compare fire-extinguishers on hygienic and toxicological criteria, increases the material, labor and time required to perform stadies. In the preparation of the paper there was used “many years” personal experience on the toxicological research and hygienic regulation of fire volume extinguishing means, and also the data analysis of domestic and foreign scientific publications, regulatory and technical literature in this area. The list of basic medical and technical requirements to means of fire volume extinguishing, which will allow use of the available information and to seek specifically missing information on fire-extinguishers for the making of an informed decision concerning the possibility of their use in confined manned spaces. As hygiene regulations it is proposed to set the time of human stay in a safe environment with effective fire-extinguishing concentration of the test fire extinguishing agents which can be suggested not as a “maximum allowable”, but as “emergency” — maximum permissible length of stay. When assessing the risk of fire extinguishing means it has been justified the refusal to study the nature of the combined action of fire-extinguishers with the factors of the fire, the quantitative and qualitative composition of the possible products of thermal destruction of fire extinguishing agents. There was proposed an algorithm for the study, which will unify the toxicological and hygienic assessment of fire extinguishing agents, improve the repeatability and reproducibility of the results, save time and money by completing the research at the stage, the results of which could reasonably indicate to the impossibility of the use of fire-extinguishers in the presence of a person without means of enforcement of protection of respiration.

The paper presents the results of measurement, prediction and assessment of noise in the territory in the zone of the influence of the railway transport. The railway transport is established to be a source of excess acoustic impact on the environment within the area of sanitary break (100 m). The dependence of the change in noise levels from freight trains at a distance of 100 m from the source and up to 30 m from the ground surface was revealed. Equivalent sound levels in octave bands for the railway section of the model are calculated. Based on the results of field measurements and calculated data, the identification of indices of risk for adverse reactions in the population living in the zone of influence of the Railways was executed. The paper presents results of the calculation of the probability of occurrence of complaints on excessive noise and the likelihood of irritation at the noise, and the results of the calculation of risk indices of pathologies of the nervous and cardiovascular systems. The research made it possible to identify the regulatory documentation discrepancy in the definition of the health gap between the line source traffic noise and residential buildings. Field measurements and executed on their basis their modeling of the noise propagation (without obstacles) have shown that on the boundary of the regulatory sanitary protection zone (100m) in the congested section of the railway the noise level of 60-62 dBA is maintained. The risk of irritation to the noise and the likelihood of complaints is assessed as “acceptable”. The risk of pathology of the cardiovascular system is evaluated as “low”. At a distance of 50 m (65 dBA) with bearing in mind age-related changes after 70 years of exposure the risk reaches of extreme values — 0,935. Construction sites located less than 100 m from the railway were shown to fall into the zone of acoustic discomfort. There was substantiated the necessity of resolving differences in regulatory documentation by harmonizing sanitary and technical groups documents regulating methods of measurement, prediction and evaluation of sound levels on the territories in the zone of influence of the Railways.

The study was aimed to assess the dynamics of risk indices for population health at main stages of surface source water treatment for centralized domestic water supply of the Leningrad region communities. Practical application issues of calculation procedure for the integrated assessment of drinking water from centralized water supply by chemical safety indices, as exemplified by Vsevolozhsk communities (Leningrad region) water supply from the Lake Ladoga and the Neva River as water sources, are discussed. Results of quality monitoring of water from centralized domestic supply system at the stage of water intake, at the output of water treatment, and in the distributing system, accomplished by Russian Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing administration and Center of hygiene and epidemiology in the Leningrad region were used as study materials. The following study techniques were used: descriptive statistics, comparative analysis, risk assessment, generalization. Microsoft Excel program was used for analysis and statistical treatment. Integral water quality index appears to be quite an informative integrated index of the efficacy of the water treatment, however, the same index value can be derived by various combinations of risk values of reflex-olfactory, non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic effects. Therefore, during the calculations, a “risk index of the effects of chronic exposure” was introduced with a view to distinguishing them from effects caused by the adverse organoleptic properties of water (reflex-olfactory effects). For the population these properties are the main reason for refusal from the use drinking water, and at the same time they are physiological, lying outside the pathology. The risk of effects of chronic exposure, carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic, expresses the probability of the development of pathology in time, but not the likelihood of an immediate refusal to use drinking water due to its unsatisfactory organoleptic qualities.

In the model experiment on C57BL /6 mice there were established features of the impact of heavy metals and chelators of essential metals on proliferation and apoptosis of epithelial skin cells (keratinocytes). For the execution of a study 40 test animals were divided into seven experimental and 1 control groups, each consisted of five animals. The proliferative and apoptotic activity of keratinocytes was determined by the immunohistochemical method and evaluated by calculating the proliferation index and the index of apoptosis in the cells of the surface epithelium and the epithelial cells of hair follicles in the late anagen stage. Comparative analysis of the proliferation index of the control group and experimental groups showed administration of zinc sulfate, sodium dichromate and zinc chelator (N, N, N`, N`-tetrakis (2-pyridylmethyl) ethylenediamine) to animals to give rise in a statistically significant increase in the proliferative activity of keratinocytes. The decline of proliferation index was detected in animals treated with lead acetate and copper chelator (ammonium tetrathiomolybdate). Introduction of an iron chelator (deferoxamine) had no effect on the proliferative activity of keratinocytes in experimental animals. Induction of apoptosis of epithelial cell was noted under the administration of nickel sulfate, sodium dichromate, lead acetate and zinc chelator (N, N, N`, N`-tetrakis (2-pyridylmethyl) ethylenediamine) to animals. In mice received deferoxamine zinc sulfate and apoptotic activity of keratinocytes has not changed. The use of cluster analysis allowed to classify substances administered to experimental animals, taking into account their simultaneous effect on the studied cellular processes. Lead acetate, iron chelator (deferoxamine) and copper chelator (ammonium tetrathiomolybdate) were shown to reduce the proliferative activity of keratinocytes and have little effect on apoptosis of the epithelial cells of the skin. Zinc sulfate, nickel sulfate, sodium dichromate and zinc chelator (N, N, N`, N`-tetrakis (2-pyridylmethyl) ethylenediamine) activate cell proliferation and induce apoptosis of keratinocytes.

На протяжении последних десяти лет среди мировой общественности идет активная дискуссия о возможности развития рака мозга у пользователей сотовыми телефонами. При этом ряд Международных организаций имеют диаметрально противоположные точки зрения. Например, Международное агентство по исследованию рака (IARC), принадлежащая ВОЗ, в мае 2011 году опубликовало свое решение о том, что ЭМИ мобильных телефонов могут являться промоторами опухоли мозга глиомы по группе 2В (1). Однако уже на заседаниях Консультативного комитет ВОЗ по международной программе « ЭМП и здоровье населения» в 2011 и 2012 годах формировалось мнение о недоверии к этому решению IARC.