Banca de DEFESA: VALQUIRIA LIMA CAVALCANTI

Uma banca de DEFESA de DOUTORADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : VALQUIRIA LIMA CAVALCANTI
DATE: 04/01/2022
TIME: 14:00
LOCAL: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82735889214?pwd=MlNSeWFTZGt0VEtsNkhkKy90WmNFdz09
TITLE:

PREVENTION POLICIES AND EFFECTS ON THE BENZENE OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE

KEY WORDS:

Benzene; occupational exposure; protection measures.

PAGES: 95
BIG AREA: Ciências da Saúde
AREA: Saúde Coletiva
SUBÁREA: Epidemiologia
SUMMARY:

Context - Benzene has been recognized worldwide as a carcinogen to humans since 1982. This spurred the formulation and implementation of prevention policies based on Conventions of the International Labor Organization. Brazil produces and widely employs benzene in various production processes, resulting in a large number of potentially exposed workers. In 1995, Regulatory Standard 15, 13a, of the Ministry of Labor, MT, established the compulsory implementation of Programs for the Prevention of Occupational Exposure to Benzene (PPEOB). Later MT defined the use of trans-mucic acid (ttMA) as a biomarker of benzene exposure. After 25 years, the effects of this Policy on occupational exposure to this agent are still unknown.
Objective – to describe the advances in the world and, in Brazil, of the prevention policies effects on benzene occupational exposure.
Specific objectives – 1) Study 1: systematize knowledge about the impact of prevention policies on benzene exposure in the world; 2) Study 2- investigate the adoption of NR15, 13a through the degree of implementation of the PPEOB according to components, dimensions and subdimensions, in some companies in Brazil; 3) Study 3- verify the effects on exposure levels, analyzed by a biological marker - trans-mucic acid.
Methods – Study 1: Systematic review of observational studies or literature reviews through publications from 2000 to 2020 sought in Web of Science, PUBMED, VHL, SCIELO, LILACS, EMBASE. Study 2. Pre-post study conducted with documents and databases for the years 2000 and 2017, in industries that employ benzene. Data come from a checklist, drawn up by a Tripartite Commission, employed by the auditors of the MT, inspections accompanied by members of the GTB and technicians of the companies, to evaluate the implementation of the prevention and control actions provided for in the regulation of benzene in which dimensions, subdimensions and component variables were identified. Each variable was answered with 0=not implanted, 1=partially implanted and 2 = fully implanted, used to estimate scores with the unweighted sum of the points corresponding to the variables The degree of implantation corresponds to the proportion achieved of the maximum possible score. The pre-post difference was analyzed with the proportional percentage variation (PPV%) of the degree of implantation over the study time. Study 3. The design is cross-sectional ly conducted with PPEOB documents and databases delivered to the MT by companies inspected every six monthsfrom 2012 to 2017. All companies under inspection of the MT of a state (N=9) with available data were studied. It was defined as exposed to benzene trabalhadores with measurements of EI greater than or equal to 0.5 mg/g of creatinine.
Findings
Study 1. Twenty-five articles were selected that focused on European and North American countries. Average concentrations of benzene in the air declined from the mid-1980s to the end of the study period. In China and Korea, the decline had fluctuations. There were differences in trends according to occupation and companies, even if they were in the same branch of activity. Factors associated with the decline were: reduction in the permitted limits of occupational exposure, regulatory changes and the adoption of technological measures. Study 2. Of the nine companies almost half (n = 4) evolved positively in the implementation of the PPEOB, most commonly with the adoption of Technological Solutions for Collective Protection; three presented variable evolution (positive, negative and stationary), according to the subdimensions and two presented some subdimensions with negative evolution and scope as well as quality of monitoring of benzene exposure. Study 3- Of the 1,058 workers with IBE measures between 2012 and 2017, in the base year of 2012, there were exposed in each of the companies, which was reduced in the last year of the study (2017) to only one of them. Consistently, the highest proportion of exposed occurred in those of negative evolution of the implementation of the PPEOB. The characteristics of the available data compromised the conclusions.
Conclusion: Study 1- scientific evidence shows a decline in the levels of benzene concentrations in the work environments, with variations between countries, companies, and occupations. Study 2 - Despite the small number and limited representativeness of the companies, the findings show advances in the degree of implementation of measures to control benzene exposure in almost half of the companies, although, despite the inspections, 1/3 did not advance significantly. Although the inspections were carried out on a biennial basis, the process of implementing control measures, particularly technological solutions, occurs in the medium or long term, for this reason, in Study 2, we chose to use the data of the first audit performed after the new regulation of benzene, and the last, with an interval of 17 years between the pre and post measures. This large interval limits the conclusions/inferences of this study, specifically. Study 3 - Although with methodological limitations, this study advances knowledge about occupational exposure to benzene in Brazilian companies at a later stage the implementation of a new regulation. Brazilian studies are scarce and focus on a time prior to the publication of new regulation. So, this analysis innovates by revealing the levels of exposure to benzene that workers in occupations and various companies are subject. This information can be valuable to support discussions on improvements in the policy of preventing benzene exposure in the country. However, in general, the conclusions of study 2 and 3 present several limits due to: 1 ) the data were not planned for one of the research, they come from the databases of the MT and the companies, for which the author was allowed access; 2)the data of IBE measurements, used in Article 3, are the responsibility of the companies, relating to compliance with a legal standard, (potential conflict of interest); 3)the sample was not probabilistic or representative, nor guided by the required statistical power of the study, to allow population inferences even if it were for each company separately; 4)the data available for study 3 are sparse with long intervals without records and focusing on some repeated measures making it difficult to analyze the measures of continuous nature; 5) due to the large difference between companies and missing data that have focused on some difficult joint analysis of the data. Despite the limitations, the results obtained showed that, although with positive evolution in the implementation of prevention policy in almost half of the evaluated companies, situations of exposure to benzene still persist in all companies included in this study. These results are significant, especially since it is the first quantitative evaluation after the regulatory framework for the prevention of occupational exposure to benzene. It is suggested the dissemination and return among auditors, workers and in the academic environment, emphasizing the necessary walk in ensuring the rights of the most vulnerable.

BANKING MEMBERS:
Externo à Instituição - JORGE MESQUITA HUET MACHADO
Externa à Instituição - MARCIA SARPA DE CAMPOS MELLO - UNIRIO
Externo à Instituição - DANILO FERNANDES COSTA - UFPB
Interno - 458.053.855-20 - CARLOS ANTONIO DE SOUZA TELES SANTOS - UEFS
Externa à Instituição - MARIA JULIANA MOURA CORRÊA - Fiocruz - RJ
Externa ao Programa - 002.339.945-72 - TANIA MASCARENHAS TAVARES - UFBA
Presidente - 076.826.465-00 - VILMA SOUSA SANTANA - UFBA