Mental work capacity and reliability among nuclear power plant operators

Address for correspondence:\ud Assoc. Prof. A. Agovska, MD, PhD\ud Department of Hygiene, Medical Ecology and Nutrition; Medical University - Sofia;\ud 15 Akad. Iv. Geschov bulv.; 1431 Sofia, Bulgaria; \ud tel. (359 2) 9152103; 0888 775284\ud tel. (359 2) 851 08 37\ud e-mail: aiabg@yahoo.comExamination is performed on the mental work capacity of the operators in NPP – Kozloduy, and its importance for the control of the operative staff’s reliability. Psycho-physiological studies on 50 operators were performed. By computer-based psycho-physiometer (PPM) the following examinations were carried out: Simple sensorymotor reaction (SSMR), Visual-motor reaction of moving object (VMRMO), Landolt’s test, Dynamic and static tremor-reaction as well as the dynamic of their changes in the real work time. At the same time, there were measured the heart rate (HR) and the skin resistance (SR). The operators kept high\ud level of mental work capacity during the whole shift, also an indicator for high reliability. In all tests at the end of the shift, the HR was slightly raised, an indicator for a higher “physiological price” of the fulfi lment. The SR was constant, which shows emotional steadiness in the examined operators. The evaluation of operator’s behavioral reliability is closely related to the evaluation of their mental work capacity. The proposed PPM-system could be used for periodical control of the work capacity and the functional state of the operators and is suitable for work in the services of occupational medicine