Perm National Research Polytechnic University (Perm, Russia)
G. Z. Faynburg, Director, Institute of Occupational Safety, Production and Human, Doctor of Engineering Sciences, Professor, faynburg@mail.ru
K. A. Chernyi, Head of Department, Doctor of Engineering Sciences, Associate Professor
L. M. Vedeneeva, Candidate of Engineering Sciences, Associate Professor
Ensuring the safety of underground mining operations is achieved, among other things, through compliance with safety regulations combined with the organization of mine ventilation as the primary means of managing the underground air environment. Therefore, when the Perm Polytechnic Institute was established in the Western Urals in 1960, a department was created, widely known as the Department of «Occupational Safety and Mine Ventilation.» It was through the efforts of its staff that the Perm Scientific School of Mine Aerology essentially emerged in the 1960s–1980s and became renowned. The circumstances of the 70-year history of the Perm Scientific School of Mine Aerology have led it to generate several different scientific directions and achieve great success. Today, the main scientific core of this School, associated with mine aerology and mining thermophysics, operates within the Mining Institute of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. However, the directions it spawned – engineering aerophysical support for speleoclimatotherapy in sylvinite speleochambers and systematic management of production and labor safety – continue to develop within the walls of the Perm National Research Polytechnic University. This article is devoted to the history of the achievements of these directions in the 21st century. The development of the theory of speleotherapy and speleoclimatotherapy as a hormesis effect of the speleoenvironment on the human body is presented, along with methods for measuring the aeroionic and aerosol composition of the aerodisperse environment of speleochambers. Considerable attention is paid to the development of the theory of occupational safety management in market conditions at corporate, municipal, regional, and federal levels, the creation of regulatory documents for management systems, international cooperation, and methods for assessing the integrated risk of underground mining operations.
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