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Conference Agenda

Overview and details of the sessions of this conference. Please select a date or location to show only sessions at that day or location. Please select a single session for detailed view (with abstracts and downloads if available).

Please note that all times are shown in the time zone of the conference. The current conference time is: 24th Aug 2026, 05:32:52am America, Santiago

Daily Overview

Session

25E: Biotechnology
Virtual location: VIRTUAL: Agora Meetings

Presentation 5

3:52pm - 4:00pm

Health impact of occupational exposure to benzene in service station workers in the city of Guayaquil -Ecuador

Orlando Macias-Pazmiño¹, Carlos Rivera-Aguilar¹, Yulisa Narea-Quiroz², Gabriela Zambrano-Ganchozo³, Luis Duque-Cordova³, Kenny Escobar-Segovia⁴

1: Universidad Espíritu Santo, Samborondón – Ecuador; 2: Universidad Laica Eloy Alfaro de Manabí, Portoviejo – Ecuador; 3: Universidad del Pacifico, Guayaquil – Ecuador; 4: Escuela Superior Politécnica Del Litoral - ESPOL - (EC), Ecuador

The present study aimed to evaluate the health impact associated with occupational exposure to benzene in fuel dispensers at service stations in the city of Guayaquil. This was a cross-sectional study with a mixed, descriptive-correlational approach, based on the application of internationally validated questionnaires and semi-structured interviews to 103 workers. The results revealed that 53.4% of workers reported at least one respiratory symptom, with the most prevalent being those with a work-related temporal relationship: improvement during weekends (17.5%), nocturnal cough (13.6%), and additional symptoms such as headache and dizziness. 83.5% of workers were exposed to fuel vapors for 6 or more hours daily. Statistical analysis showed no significant associations between individual risk factors (exposure time, PPE use, hygiene practices) and symptoms, suggesting that baseline exposure is elevated for the entire working population regardless of the protective measures implemented. These findings contribute to the generation of local empirical evidence to support the implementation of specific medical surveillance programs, periodic environmental measurements, and more robust engineering control strategies in the Ecuadorian service station sector.