["Cataract of metallurgists" in workers of the oxygen-converter production].

The condition of the lens was studied in 1210 workers of steel industry: in 455 workers of an open-hearth shop (OHS) and in 755 workers of oxygen-converter shops (OCS). The intensity of infra-red irradiation was measured at working places in both shops by non-selective radiometer ARGUS-03. A higher level of automation and more advanced technological processes in the OCS ensure a better protection of the organ of vision of the OCS workers from the impact of infrared irradiation. Thus, the OCS workers had a lower occurrence of cataract development and a less intensity in changes of the lens as compared to the similar parameters registered in the OHS workers. The cataract development was proven to be directly dependant on a labor record length: changes in the posterior capsule and opacifications of the lens posterior cortical segments (stages I and II) were observed in those, whose labor record ranged from 10 to 15 years; brown changes in the nucleus and dystrophic changes in the anterior capsule (degree III) were found in those, whose labor record exceeded 15 years.