Coal getters, drifters and transport workers are not so frequently ill this year

OSTRAVA – Like vitaminization in the mines or not, this three-month experimental campaign has been running in our coalfield from this year January, the preceding year alike. The coal getting, preparatory and transport staff are given five tablets of Juwital C, with 100 mg of vitamin C in each tablet, once a week. Their everyday consumption should increase their immunity partially and improve prevention of respiratory diseases and flu epidemics.

This form of the preventive protection of the extraordinarily exposed group of working miners has been recommended by the Regional Health Authority; the vitamins have been provided by the health insurance company within the framework of its protective program “Fraternal Coalfield Sickness Insurance Scheme”. “The campaign is repeated this year from January till March, based on positive results of 2008, when the sickness rate in the mines was reduced for the whole monitored period by 2.1% in average. In other words, 90 people more were present daily at work, compared with the preceding year,” says  Pavel Beránek, consultant of the OKD BOZP (Safety and Occupational Health Protection) Department Manager. “And this year the sickness rate is lower even by 3.1%, i.e. plus 136 persons daily, compared with the preceding year “, adds the latest data.

Ms. Beránek stresses in the same breath that this positive development is also affected by other factors. In particular by the fact that the first three days of illness are not compensated to the people, that the people resolve minor chill by taking the holiday and that they are more particular about their health. Despite we can assume that the vitaminization contributes to the positive figures above - OKD coal getters, drifters and transport workers consume daily ca 4400 vitamin C tablets as prevention from respiratory diseases and flu epidemics.

How will the whole situation develop in the future? Time will tell us. The OKD management exerts every effort to improve state of health of the exposed mine staff groups and in this form tries to reduce the sickness rate in particular during the first half of the year, when the flue epidemics are usually rife. Results of vitaminization are assessed regularly monthly and we are looking forward to the quarterly data.

(Josef Lys)