4.2. Occupational Safety Performance

In 2019, the companies covered by the ISPSM managed to significantly reduce the number of employees injured as a result of incidents; this number went down by 47% against 2018 (47 persons injured as a result of incidents in 2019 against 89 persons in 2018).

In the reporting year, six incidents were recorded that resulted in seven fatalities at the companies covered by the ISPSM, including four persons at gas and gas condensate processing facilities.

Audits and inspections were conducted at gas and gas condensate processing facilities that determined the root causes of the incidents, and the results of the audits and inspections were used to develop a set of measures aimed at solving technical, organizational and personnel issues.

Gazprom Energoholding also recorded a decrease in the number of persons injured: 18 injured in 2018 against 8 in 2019. The Gazprom Neft Group reported 68 persons injured in 2019 versus 85 in 2018, while Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat had two injured persons in 2019 compared to zero in 2018.

The most common causes of employee injuries were road traffic accidents, with 18 injured persons, or 38% of the total number of persons injured. Notably, all persons were injured in road traffic accidents through a third party’s fault. Given that 41 persons were injured in road traffic accidents in 2018, the number of injured persons decreased by 56% year-on-year.

PJSC Gazprom is working towards mitigating those risks. Specifically, a set of measures was developed to reduce the number of road traffic accidents: traffic safety requirements were established for contractors, and regulations were established for all control stages — from trip planning, pre-trip vehicle approval, monitoring of the vehicles’ speed and drivers’ work and rest time to returning vehicles to their parking areas.

Eight persons, or 17% of the total number of persons injured, received injuries as a result of falls, including five from stairways, two on a flat surface, one with a difference of height. Given that 35 persons were injured due to falls in 2018, the number of injured persons decreased by 77% year-on-year.

Eight persons, or 17% of the total number of persons injured, received injuries due to the impact of moving, flying or rotating items, parts, or machinery — the same number as in 2018.

In 2019, injury frequency rates declined in the subsidiaries of PJSC Gazprom and Gazprom Energoholding LLC, while lost time injury frequency rates decreased in the subsidiaries of PJSC Gazprom, Gazprom Energoholding LLC, and PJSC Gazprom Neft.

In order to eliminate the causes of workplace emergencies (incidents, accidents, fires, etc.) and prevent them from happening again, 12 plans and programs in the field of occupational, process and fire safety were developedandimplemented.

For the prevention of emergencies (incidents, accidents, fires, etc.), “Look out!” leaflets were designed and sent out to subsidiaries.

The executive officers of subsidiaries report on the results of workplace incident investigations and the implementation of remedial and preventive measures at the meetings of PJSC Gazprom’s Process Safety Commission.

In 2019, the situation concerning work-related injuries at PJSC Gazprom and the implementation of the measures to prevent them were on the agenda of meetings with directors general and chief engineers of subsidiaries.

To ensure workplace safety within the Gazprom Group, special labour conditions assessment (SLCA)In accordance with Federal Law No. 426-FZ dated December 28, 2013 “On Special Labour Conditions Assessment”. is carried out every year according to annually updated schedules. Based on its outcomes, labour conditions are categorized into Classes, and activities aimed at the improvement of the employees’ labour conditions are developed and implemented.

The scope of labour conditions control includes all kinds of harmful and hazardous occupational factors (physical, chemical and biological).

Physical factors include:

• vibroacoustic factors (noise, vibration, infrasound, ultrasound);
• non-ionizing radiation (electromagnetic, ultraviolet);
• ionizing radiation (radioactive, alpha-, beta-, gamma-, X-ray);
• illumination of surfaces at workplaces;
• indoor climate (air temperature, speed and humidity; environmental heat load).

Chemical factors are controlled through monitoring and measuring chemicals, compounds and industrial (mostly fibrogenic) aerosols present in the workplace air.

Biological factors are controlled through monitoring and assessing concentrations of microorganism producers and their metabolic products potentially hazardous for people and environment. Such concentrations are measured in the workplace air of the staff members who are mainly involved in health services.

In 2013–2019, the number of workplaces with harmful and hazardous conditions at the subsidiaries and entities of PJSC Gazprom declined from 38% to 14% due to the implementation of measures aimed at improving the working environment.

With a total of 7,000 activities carried out during 2019, labour conditions were improved for 34,600 employees. The measures behind these results included:

• repair of buildings and structures at production facilities;
• purchase, installation and repair of ventilation equipment;
• maintenance of ventilation equipment and dust and gas collectors;
• purchase and maintenance of personal alarm devices that detect hazardous and harmful chemicals.

Given the specifics of PJSC Gazprom’s activities, key harmful or hazardous occupational factors affecting the employees include hard physical work and vibroacoustic factors. In 2019, 32 employees were diagnosed with occupational diseases resulting from the exposure to vibroacoustic factors (noise).

In order to eliminate noise, pressure snubbers were installed in the pressure control units, noise-proof coating was applied around safety relief valves beyond the pressure control units, and the equipment of gas compressor units was upgraded.

The Company has developed and adopted the Labour Conditions Improvement Action PlanRD No. 03-157 dated July 1, 2019., which requires that the causes of harmful noise and vibration conditions at workplaces must be analysed, and the mitigating measures must be implemented.

The Gazprom Group companies record and investigate the cases of occupational diseases as is provided for by the legislation of the Russian FederationRussian Government Resolution No. 967 dated December 15, 2000 “On Approval of the Regulation for Investigations and Records of Occupational Diseases”..