THE INTEGRAL ESTIMATION OF PERCEIVED DISCOMFORT CONDITION OF THE URANIUM PROCESSING ENTERPRISE EMPLOYEES AND CITY RESIDENTS WITH ARTIFICIALLY INCREASED NATURAL SOURCE OF RADIOACTIVITY

Introduction. After the Chernobyl accident radio-anxiety of the population remains one of the most acute psychosocial problems in Ukraine, especially in the regions where uranium is extracted and processed. Uranium raw material ? basis of nuclear fuel for nuclear energy ? has been processed in Zhovti Vody of Dnipropetrovsk region since 1950s. Zhovti Vody is a unique place. The city is surrounded with the uranium production facilities: the hydrometallurgical factory and the uranium waste tailing damp. Purpose. Our aim was to estimate perceived health status of Zhovti Vody citizens (population category ?В?) and the employees of the industrial complex ?Eastern Mining Processing Plant? (MPP), who work with radiation sources daily (categories ?A? and ?B?). Materials and Methods. We checked the health status of average Zhovti Vody citizens (102) and industrial complex employees (104), who work with radiation sources daily. The samplings deferred only by the place of employment of respondents. The average age of respondents (M ± m) was 41.6 ± 0.9 years. The gender (р > 0.9) and age (р > 0.7) characteristics were similar for both groups. The applied research methods were developed and tested by the specialists of V. M. Bekhterev Psychoneurological Research Institute (Saint Petersburg). Discussion 1. According to the integral estimation of the perceived discomfort condition: the employees complained less of pain, but citizens who did not work in the industrial complex complained more. 2. Mental health of the population corresponds to the low (by anxiety and frustration indices) and middle assessment levels (on the constriction and aggressiveness scales). However, the employees of the industrial complex showed the lower degree of symptom expression. 3. The majority of population (88.3 %) showed the low level of social frustration regardless to the place of employment. 4. The correlation between physical and mental health statuses (anxiety, constriction, psychological and social frustration) confirmed interaction between pain and psychological symptoms. The employees of the industrial complex showed better estimation of perceived health status comparing with citizens, who work in other institutions. Thus, the employees of any industrial complexes normally express less radio-anxiety, because they work with radioactive sources daily.