Biological and ergonomic risks of radiology technicians in a conventional radiology service

INTRODUCTION: Radiology technicians are exposed to occupational risks in their daily work. Among these, there are biological and ergonomic risks. OBJECTIVES: To describe the biological and ergonomic risks in the work process of radiology technicians in a conventional radiology service. METHODS: This was a qualitative, descriptive, and exploratory research. Data collection was conducted through semi-structured interviews with 12 radiology technicians, participant observation, and consensual validation with nine workers. Content analysis was based on the assumptions of the thematic analysis. RESULTS: Exposure to body fluids, contamination of work instruments by biological agents, no disinfection, and no use of personal protective equipment were found to be biological risks. Excessive weight manipulation, inappropriate physical structure, night work, and work instruments that do conform to the principles of body mechanics were identified as ergonomic risks. CONCLUSIONS: The mentioned occupational risks are related to the work conditions of the health service and to inadequate body positioning of radiology technicians.