In the area of ​​Workers’ Health actions are being created to implement health protection policies aimed at reducing work-related diseases. One of these actions is promoted by Cesteh/Ensp/Fiocruz and by Sinpospetro/RJ and consists in reducing the level of exposure to benzene at gas stations in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Benzene is the sixth riskiest substance for health because of its carcinogenic properties (BARALE, 1995 (1), WHO, 1993 (2), ACGIH, 2003 (3)). Three projects were developed to study the exposure to benzene and to implement actions to minimize its risk. The pilot project gathered about 10 job positions and assessed 108 workers. The results showed that 30% presented hematological disorders related to benzene, 7 of them with leukopenia. The project has been expanded to zone AP5.3 and is under development, assessing the workers' environment through biological indicators.

The use of printed educational material is common practice in health programs and can achieve significant results in their promotion and prevention. A character that identifies the habits of the workers was created to form emotional bonds and stimulate changes in their behavior, increasing the receptivity of the information contained in the forms. This methodology used the participants’ experience and reality, addressing aspects that are part of their environment and their work activity. This study demonstrated that Character Design can be used to support education, awareness and prevention campaigns and is a great tool for transmitting information.