Alaska Proclaims June as 'Safety Month'

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has proclaimed June as “Safety Month” in Alaska.

This proclamation coincides with the National Safety Council’s “June is National Safety Month 2008” campaign. The theme of this year’s effort is “Make a Difference” and focuses on emergency preparedness, distracted driving, poisoning prevention and fall prevention.

The most recent available statistics rank Alaska with the highest workplace fatality rate and the highest workers’ compensation insurance rates in the nation.

“To make a change, we need to get Alaskans focused on working safer,” said Labor Commissioner Click Bishop. “Improving workplace safety and health is one of the department’s top priorities.”

June is typically an extremely busy month with summer season activities shifting into high gear in Alaska.

South Texas Safety Summit April 9

The Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation (TDI-DWC) will present a regional workplace safety workshop in Edinburg on Wednesday, April 9, at the TEA Educational Service Center located at 1900 West Schunior. The South Texas Safety Summit is one of several Regional Safety Summits offered by TDI-DWC in multiple regions around the state. The cost is $125 per person and includes coffee and snacks. TDI-DWC is hosting this workshop because of the high incidence of nonfatal workplace injuries involving sprains and strains and workplace fatalities resulting from transportation-related incidents. The workshop will offer breakout sessions to help employers and employees prevent these common causes of injury and death. Participants may choose the sessions they wish to attend; each session will be repeated once during the day. Another workshop session will address issues in the construction industry specifically. TDI-DWC instructors will present a 10-hour General Construction course. Each participant completing this entire session will receive an Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) completion card. Texas State Technical College, Waco will provide continuing education credits (.1 CEU per 1 class hour). Register for the High Desert Safety Summit online at http://www.tdi.state.tx.us/wc/safety/employers.html under “Regional Training Seminars”. For more information, contact TDI-DWC at 512-804-4610 or safety.training@tdi.state.tx.us.