Industrial Injuries and Labor Protection during the Construction of the Western Section of the BAM (1970s-1980s)

Abstract

The article is devoted to one of the poorly studied pages in the historiography of the late Soviet period - the history of industrial injuries and labor protection in the areas of new industrial development. The dynamics of injuries in the construction of the western section of the BAM are considered, its branch specificity is revealed, measures to reduce accidents at work are described. It is noted that the technical re-equipment of production and the optimization of working conditions, occupational training and promotion of occupational safety, the fight against occupational diseases and convalescence and health treatment, administrative influence methods played a leading role in shaping the labor protection system. It is revealed that in the first years high injuries were caused by the use of heavy physical labor in the absence of the necessary social and production infrastructure. It is indicated that in the midst of construction, the main factors were violations of safety engineering, technology and organization of production, speeding up the deadlines for the commissioning of objects, etc. Special attention is paid to labor protection measures. In conclusion, the authors show that the completion of the construction and collapse of the USSR led to the redeployment or disbandment of most enterprises, but the experience of labor protection and prevention of occupational injuries accumulated during the construction of the highway retains its significance to the present.

Keywords

• late socialism
• soviet modernization
• transport construction
• railway transport
• occupational injuries
• labor protection