Abstract

CARRANZA BERNARDO, Trinidad Gabriela; FRANCO ENRIQUEZ, Jesús Gabriel; GAONA, Enrique  and  NORIEGA ELIO, Mariano. Health and safety evaluation of a radiation therapy department in Mexico City. Salud de los Trabajadores [online]. 2012, vol.20, n.2, pp.155-165. ISSN 1315-0138.

Radiation therapy is a cancer therapy modality that uses ionizing radiation in various procedures. Occupationally Exposed Persons (OEP), patients, and the general public may be at risk if facilities do not meet existing health and safety regulations. We studied a radiation therapy department in Mexico City to ascertain health and safety conditions, identify the main hazards and work demands, and develop recommendations for intervention. In order to carry out the study, a variant of the model called Verification, Diagnosis, and Monitoring Occupational Health in Companies (PROVERIFICA in Spanish) was used. This consists of three data collection tools: the Certificate of General Company Information (CIGE), Complex Workplace Health Diagrams (DCST) and a Verification Questionnaire (CV) (acronyms are based on the corresponding terms in Spanish). Sixty health professionals worked in the radiation therapy department. The main hazards to which they are potentially exposed are ionizing radiation and biohazardous materials. Their work demands are related to the organization and division of tasks, and high physical demands. Health and safety problems found included the lack of a specific health and safety program, lack of any emergency action plans and lack of an equipment maintenance program. The study showed low Efficiency Percentages, due in some cases to lack of compliance with current occupational health regulations.

Keywords : ionizing radiation; radiation protection; occupational exposure; occupational health; model.

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