Communication about occupational exposure

Abstract

Brazil is the largest country of Latin America, with 8.5 million square kilometers divided into five regions with 3 time zones. In this large between-country distances, with plenty of radioactive facilities throughout the country, professional education and communication is a must and a challenge. This paper discusses a web-based project designed to provide effective communication about occupational exposure, linking geographically distant workers to high-quality reliable information. The web-based-project UNIPRORAD counts on concepts, definitions and theory about radiological protection based on both national and international standards, guidelines and recommendations. The content includes optimization, monitoring, potential exposure and communication on occupational risk agents in the workplace. Regarding potential exposures, it is essential to consider the concept of “risk” which, even among scientific community, seems to assume a great variety of meanings. Regarding risk agents in the workplace, it is necessary to discuss the identification and evaluation of the various risk agents (physical, chemical biological and ergonomic) addressing attention to their association to ionizing radiation. This article presentsthe authors' experience in the communication of radiological protection in Brazil, presenting global and specific issues on radiological protection, analyzing recommendations and discussing discrepancies among the several valid publications. It is our objective the dissemination of trustful updated communication, providing radioactive facilities relevant, accurate and understandable information. Finally, the article emphasizes the need to spread information wherever it is needed to inform as many people as possible, contributing to develop workers´ professional skills and to improve safety culture in workplace.