Zaton

ZATON, a naturally formed deep river bay used as a mooring for vessels, safe from spring and autumn ice drift. In the USSR there are up to 500 equipped Z., in which a large number of vessels can be accommodated. Most Z. have shipyards and workshops for vessel repair. The number of ship workers living in separate Z. (with their families) ranges from several hundred to several thousand. In the prerevolutionary period, sanitary conditions in Z. were extremely unsatisfactory. Thus, in a number of zatons there was a shortage of housing, and workers lived in dugouts; the allocated premises were in an unsanitary condition, and there was no proper arrangement. From a medical standpoint, Z. were mostly served by paramedic stations. Extreme pollution of Z. was the cause of frequent epidemics in them. At present, only those Z. which are equipped from a sanitary standpoint, have satisfactory workshops, housing premises, etc., are retained. In a number of Z. new worker dwellings have been built, public dining rooms, bathhouses and laundries have been opened; water supply and electric lighting have been installed. Mooring of vessels in Z. and work on their repair cause pollution of both the river and the shore itself; therefore, Z. require intensified sanitary supervision. To observe the sanitary condition of them, in large Z. there is a separate sanitary physician, in small ones - supervision is carried out by the district sanitary physician. For treatment of the population there are outpatient clinics and hospitals. There are sanitary rules of the People's Commissariat of Health on housing, food supervision, water supply, sanitation, etc.; rules for navigation on inland waterways (sections: "On wintering of vessels", "Management of zatons", "Entry and placement of vessels in zatons"), order of the People's Commissariat of Railways, Moscow, 1926; Temporary sanitary-technical rules on water supply on transport, order of the People's Commissariat of Railways of August 10, 1928, brochure No. 467.