Chemical Risk Perception, Safety Practices, Exposure Events, and Self-Reported Health Symptoms Among Laboratory Technicians at Two Universities in Southern Ecuador: A Cross-Sectional Study

Little is known about the risk perception and working conditions of university chemistry laboratory technicians in Latin America. This census-based cross-sectional study aimed to characterize chemical risk perception, safety practices, self-reported chemical incidents and exposure events, and self-reported health symptoms among laboratory technicians at two universities in southern Ecuador, and to explore institutional differences and selected associations. An anonymous questionnaire based partly on the Spanish technical note NTP 578 was completed by 29 of 30 eligible technicians (96.7%). Data were analyzed descriptively and with exploratory tests. In the previous 12 months, 65.5% reported at least one incident or exposure event (inhalation: 58.6%) and 55.2% at least one symptom, most frequently headaches (41.4%). The number of reported events correlated with the number of symptoms (ρ = 0.57; p = 0.001). No significant differences in reported events or symptoms were detected by institution or sex, and training was not significantly associated with reported events; however, training provision differed markedly between institutions (Cramér’s V = 0.75), so this cannot be interpreted as an independent effect of training. Technicians reported high self-perceived risk awareness, whereas fewer than half reported a fume hood that was available and functioning well. These exploratory findings are specific to the two participating institutions.