Modern methodological approaches to assessing health risks of the working population

Abstract

The article presents a comparative analysis of modern methodological approaches to assessing
occupational health risks for workers in various countries, including Russia, the USA, the European
Union, and China. The key principles, regulatory frameworks, and applied methodologies are considered,
such as the regulatory-oriented approach in Russia, the OSHA system and the science-based
recommendations of NIOSH and ACGIH in the USA, as well as methods based on the employer's
responsibility in the EU. Special attention is paid to the transition from compliance control to
comprehensive risk management. Using a practical example of risk assessment for locomotive crew
workers, the application of a methodology based on the approaches of the US Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is demonstrated,
including the calculation of the Hazard Index. It is established that, despite differences in approaches,
there is a global trend towards the convergence of methodologies and the integration of risk assessment
into occupational health and safety management systems, which is confirmed by the active use of
international standards such as ISO 45001.