RISK MANAGEMENT AND PREVALENCE OF ARTERIAL HYPERTENSION IN A COHORT OF PEOPLE LIVING IN THE AFFECTED AREA OF RADIOACTIVE WASTE STORAGE

Abstract

Relevance: The Republic of Kazakhstan occupies a leading place in the world in terms of uranium ore reserves, where
about 25% of the world's proven uranium reserves are concentrated. Currently, more than 200 million tons of radioactive
waste has accumulated on the territory of the Republic in the form of tailings from concentration plants, heap leaching piles,
tailing dumps of hydrometallurgical plants, dumps of poor and unprocessed marketable ore, which are very dangerous as a
source of radioactive and chemical pollution of the environment. Currently, there are several radioactive waste tailings in use
in the republic. The largest of them is the tailing dump of radioactive waste of the Hydrometallurgical Plant of the
Stepnogorsk Mining and Chemical Combine which has been operating since 1956. The plant is one of the largest complexes
for the production of uranium oxide and other rare metals. The main types of industrial waste are the tailings of uranium ore
processing, which, in terms of the content of radionuclides, are classified as hazard class I. Its mining undoubtedly causes an
increase in uranium production and an increase in the complex of technogenic radiation and toxic effects. At the same time,
an urgent issue is the assessment of the impact of low doses of ionizing radiation on the population living in the zone of
impact of technogenic factors of the radioactive wastestorage of uranium processing enterprises, and the study of the risk of
somatic morbidity.
Aim: to assess the possible impact of technogenic factors of the storage of radioactive waste of a uranium processing
enterprise on the risk and prevalence of arterial hypertension in the population.
Materials and methods: The results of a cohort retrospective study over three years among persons exposed to longterm exposure to negative technogenic factors on the frequency and risk of developing somatic diseases in the main group -
the population living near the storage of radioactive waste of uranium production, as well as the control group – the
population of the city of Akkol located more than 100 km from the city of Stepnogorsk constituting the control group. The
study covers 399 people, including 255 people in the main group and 174 people in the control group. The results of the
study were processed using the IBM SPSS Statistics 20 software product and the Microsoft Excel program. Statistical
calculations were carried out using the sanitary statistics method.
Results: Studies have shown that long-term exposure to low doses can lead to an increase in somatic morbidity. The
most characteristic for people living near radioactive waste storage facilities is the pathology of the cardiovascular system, in
the structure of which the first rank is occupied by arterial hypertension – 83%, which indicates the possible influence of
small doses of ionizing radiation on the risk and prevalence of arterial hypertension in the population.
Conclusions: The data obtained show that long-term residence of the population in this territory has a significant impact
on the prevalence of arterial hypertension.