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In 1985, a control and measurement laboratory was opened at the department, which was engaged in researching the working conditions of employees and students of the Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute. The achievements and experience of the department’s teachers made it possible to expand the scope of the laboratory’s scientific activities. Scientific work has begun within the framework of economic agreements on the certification and study of working conditions at workplaces in Kharkiv and the Kharkiv region. It should be noted that not only faculty members of the department took an active part in the scientific work of the laboratory. Students of the Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute were also actively involved. The results of research conducted by the student scientific society became the basis for participation in student scientific competitions at various levels.
The developments of the department’s teachers for the USSR Ministry of Electrical Engineering and Instrument Making were repeatedly exhibited at national economy exhibitions. Associate professors S. D. Masterov and M. M. Latysheva were awarded a bronze medal by the All-Union Exhibition of Economic Achievements for their lubrication technology for reducing air pollution in the working area.
From 1983 to 1988, the department was headed by associate professor I. M. Sapunov. At this time, T. S. Pavlenko and candidate of technical sciences V. V. Gorbenko began working at the department. In 1987, the department staff developed a new general course, “Environmental Protection.”
In 1989, professor V. V. Berezutsky became the head of the department. For almost 35 years (from 1989 to 2023), the department was built and developed under his professional leadership.
Taking into account the profile of the department and promising areas of activity, in 1991 the department changed its name to “Occupational and Environmental Safety”.
At that time, the Civil Defense cycle, which had previously been part of the military department, was added to the structure of the department. The department was replenished with teachers V. V. Safanov, V. K. Faist, M. A. Kulakov, candidate of technical sciences Yu. G. Bakharev, N. P. Mandryka, Ph.D. V. M. Bykov, I. S. Stepanov, V. O. Myagkyi, and other employees who had worked fruitfully at the department for many years.
The department grew both quantitatively and qualitatively. Between 1991 and 1993 alone, N. D. Ustinova, N. E. Movmyga, O. A. Muzykina, I. M. Lyubchenko, D. L. Donsky, V. V. Makarenko, S. V. Kotlyarova, candidate of technical sciences S. P. Krivelova, candidate of technical sciences V. F. Raiko, candidate of technical sciences O. O. Kuzmenko, candidate of technical sciences E. V. Doronin.
During that period, the state paid great attention to issues of life safety and occupational safety, environmental protection, and civil defense. In the 1990s, the department developed a set of disciplines that comprehensively covered all aspects of safety issues:
– in industry – “Occupational Safety” and “Occupational Safety in Industry”;
– in emergency situations – “Life Safety in Emergency Situations” and “Civil Defense”;
– in the environment – “Fundamentals of Ecology.”
The fundamentals of life safety were laid down in the discipline “Life Safety.”
These subjects were compulsory for students of all disciplines and forms of study. The number of hours allocated to them increased. The sections “Occupational and Environmental Safety” in graduation theses and projects were also compulsory. Subsequently, following the reform of higher education, this section became compulsory for bachelor’s degree graduates. Each year, the department taught more than 10,000 students, each of whom attended the department seven times during their time at the university.
Later, the disciplines “Life Safety” and “Occupational Safety” were transformed into “Fundamentals of Occupational Safety and Human Health,” and “Occupational Safety in the Industry” and “Civil Protection” into “Occupational Safety in Professional Activities.” This required constant changes to work programs and the development of new lectures and methodological guidelines for laboratory and practical classes.
Professor O. M. Dreval was responsible for ecology, professor V. F. Raiko and later associate professor O. S. Lisogor were responsible for occupational safety, associate professor O. O. Kuzmenko and later professor V. V. Gorbenko were responsible for civil defense, and senior lecturer V. I. Pugach and later associate professors D. L. Donsky and G. Yu. Kravchenko were responsible for civil protection. Associate professor O. O. Kuzmenko was responsible for the courses “Fundamentals of Occupational Safety and Human Health” and “Occupational Safety in Professional Activities.” Associate professor L. F. Shamsha was responsible for distance learning at the department. Later, these duties were performed by associate professor V. V. Makarenko.
In the early 1990s, the department continued to work under commercial contracts, expanding its scope and focusing many of its developments on environmental protection. The geography of cities with which contracts were signed also expanded, covering not only enterprises in Kharkiv (KhTZ, Serp i Molot, 8-GPZ, FED, Hartron, Self-Propelled Chassis Plant, Zhirkombinat), but also plants in other cities (Sevastopol, Zaporizhia, Barashevka in the Kyiv region, etc.).
One of the important and complex tasks of the department was the development in 1992 by associate professors Y. S. Zair-Bek and N. P. Vershinin, on behalf of the State Committee for Nature Protection, of maximum permissible emission standards into the atmosphere for a number of enterprises in Kharkiv and the region, including the Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute’s experimental plant.
Thanks to the fruitful and persistent scientific and organizational work of Professor V. V. Berezutsky, since 1993 the department has been a collective member of the International Academy of Sciences for Ecology and Life Safety.
In the same year, 1993, the department opened a postgraduate program in ecology. Professor V. V. Berezutsky headed this work together with other scientific supervisors of postgraduate students – professors V. V. Gorbenko, V. F. Raiko, and O. M. Dreval. Many of the graduate students remained at the department after completing their postgraduate studies. Among them were N. D. Ustinova, I. M. Lyubchenko, N. E. Movmyga, I. O. Mezentseva, Yu. E. Demidova, N. O. Bukatenko, O. V. Borzilovsky, O. A. Muzykina, N. M. Bessonova, and D. I. Ershov. These measures significantly rejuvenated the department’s staff. Some teachers did not work for long. N. E. Movmyga, I. O. Mezentseva, N. O. Bukatenko, O. A. Muzykina, and D. I. Ershov are still working today.