Vigilância Sanitária em Saúde do Trabalhador em postos revendedores flutuantes de Manaus, Amazonas

Abstract

Work is a fundamental determinant of the health-disease process. The risks associated with worker’s health must be detected and analyzed so that measures must be taken to prevent them. In the Gas Stations workers are exposed to several risks, including chemical exposure, explosions, tramplings, robberies, etc. These establishments are also present on the rivers, lakes and oceans, in boats without propulsion and fixed, especially in the Amazon region, where they are responsible for supplying the vessels. These establishments, classified by the National Petroleum Agency as Floating Gas Stations (FGS), are located mainly in the Amazon region, which concentrates more than 95% (192) of all FGS in Brazil (199), locally known as Pontoes. In Manaus, territory of this study, there are 17 PRF authorized by the National Petroleum Agency. The Floating Gas Stations are very important for this region, characterized by a small extension of highways and wide river network that facilitates the displacement between the municipalities. The Automotive Gas Stations have been the subject of research and interventions on workers' health, but there are no scientific publications about the Floating Gas Stations, as well as systematic actions in these services. In addition, there are no specific rules governing the operation of the Floating Gas Stations. The method used is multi-institutional and multiprofessional research-intervention, a research-action modality used in the field of worker's health; the strategies adopted for structured data collection included a specially adapted check list and interviews with workers. The main results are the specificities of the FGS; the irregularyties found; the interviews with the workers and the measures adopted to mitigate the risks identified in these establishments. The specificities of the Pontoes are related to their aquatic location. Regarding the irregularyties, some are similar to those reported in the scientific literature available for Gas Stations on ground, and others are associated with FGS specificities. Concerning the interviews of the workers, they mainly reported situations related to work accidents; referred morbidity; subjective perception of risks and improvements in processes, conditions and work environments. The precarious processes and working conditions encountered require aditional actions, but the study carried out generated collective learning and institutional conditions for the future, aiming at greater protection and better quality of life for the Floating Gas Stations’s workers.