Month: November 2014

Kansas workplace fatalities decrease in 2012

Kansas had 76 workplace fatalities in 2012 compared to 78 recorded in 2011, according to the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, conducted by the Kansas Department of Labor, Workers Compensation Division in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Some of the statistics include:

– Transportation incidents in Kansas accounted for 65.8 percent of the fatal work-related injuries in 2012 with 50 fatalities. Of the 50 transportation-related fatal injuries, 33 fatalities or 66 percent were roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicles. Non-roadway incidents, such as a tractor overturned in a farm field, accounted for another six fatalities or 12 percent of the transportation-related fatal injuries. Transportation incidents that involved pedestrians accounted for three fatalities or 6 percent of the total. If you’ve been injured at work, then you can easily get help with your work related injuries here.

– Within the goods producing industry group, the natural resources and mining industry had the most work-related fatalities for 2012 with 20 or 26.3 percent of the total. This industry includes the agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting sector.

– May had the highest number of fatal work-related injuries with a total of 12 or 15.8 percent of the 76 fatalities.

– Fatal workplace injuries in 2012 occurred most frequently on Monday with 18 or 23.7 percent of the 76 fatalities occurring on that day of the week. Friday was the second highest with 16 fatalities.

The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries program collects data from multiple sources for every workplace fatality recorded. Each case must have two or more substantiating documents. These source documents include death certificates, workers compensation reports, motor vehicle accident reports, Occupational Safety and Health Administration reports, news accounts, coroner’s reports, obituaries, employer questionnaires, and other federal and state records. Each fatality is counted in the state where the incident occurs regardless of the state of employment. This ensures there is no duplication of reporting by the states. It should also be noted that although states are required to keep records of heart attack and illness victims, they are excluded from the count.

For more information regarding this survey, visit the Bureau of Labor Statistics website at http://www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfoi1.htm.

KCKCC to hold bone marrow registration drive

by Kelly Rogge

Kansas City Kansas Community College’s chapter of Phi Theta Kappa is sponsoring a Bone Marrow Registration Drive Nov. 19 on the KCKCC Main Campus.

This drive gives those individuals between the ages of 18-55 who are serious about wanting to save a life, a chance to register as a potential bone marrow donor.

The registration drive is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 to 7 p.m. Wed., Nov. 19, in Lower Jewell building on the campus, 7250 State Ave. The drive is sponsored by Phi Theta Kappa.

Blood cancer is the second leading cause of all cancer deaths in the United States and kills more children than any other disease. Many patients can be saved, however, with a bone marrow transplant – that is if they can find a matching donor.

Registration is free, fast and simple. Individuals who are at least 18-years-old and no more than 55-years-old and in good health can complete a brief registration form to be considered. A swab test from inside the mouth will also be conducted. The whole process should take less than 10 minutes.

Donors and patients should share at least eight HLA tissue characteristics to be considered a good match. There are more than 7,000 known HLA types that occur, making finding a potential donor difficult. The more donors who register, the greater chance a match will be made. After the registration process, the donor’s information will appear on a national registry. Once on this registry, indivudals must be willing to donate to anyone if there is a match. Information will remain on the registry until 61-years of age or until it is removed.

If selected, a representative from Delete Blood Cancer will be in contact to obtain further health-related information. Additional testing will also be completed to determine that you are the best possible match for the patient in need. The actual donation will be in the form of a peripheral blood stem cell donation or a marrow donation.

For those who wish to participate, but are unable to attend the registration drive, registration can also be completed online at deletebloodcancer.org. Delete Blood Cancer is the largest bone marrow donor center in the world, working to defeat blood cancer.

For more information on the Bone Marrow Registration Drive or to volunteer, contact Stacy Tucker, director of Honors Education-Phi Theta Kappa at KCKCC, at 913-288-7239.
Kelly Rogge is the public information supervisor at KCKCC.

Road crews preparing for snow

With snow in the forecast for Saturday, the Kansas Department of Transportation is ready, a spokesman said.

This year KDOT has implemented new snow fighter training courses to better educate new equipment operators on all aspects of roadway snow and ice control as well as how to maintain their equipment.

KDOT has a staff of 1,200 ready for winter weather, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; they have taken their dry runs and have stored 200,000 tons of salt in preparation for this Kansas winter, the spokesman said.

Last winter, KDOT spent more than $22 million and used 128,000 tons of salt to clear the state’s highways while plowing approximately 2.8 million miles, effectively plowing the 25,000-mile state system more than 110 times.

“We are constantly fine tuning KDOT’s operation based on what we learned last year,” said Peter Carttar, assistant bureau chief of maintenance. “We are always working to improve what we do.”

KDOT joins with other state and local agencies to enhance the safety of travelers before, during and after the storm.

One of the best ways to stay safe on the road over the next few days and during the upcoming holiday travel period is to know the conditions before venturing out. There are a variety of ways to get updated information about road conditions in Kansas. Travelers can obtain route-specific road conditions and weather by calling 5-1-1 within the state or 866-511-5368 from out of state. The same information and more can be obtained by visiting the KanDrive website, http://www.kandrive.org, which also has maps, camera views of many routes and more, and the 511 mobile text only site, http://511mm.ksdot.org.

Those planning to travel during or after the storm should follow these safety tips:

• Completely clean frost and snow off all windows, mirrors, and lights, and use headlights to provide optimum visibility.

• Slow down, accelerate and brake gently, and increase following distance between other vehicles.

• Don’t use cruise control.

• Allow for more travel time.

• Always wear a seat belt, and secure children in the proper child safety seats.

• Slow down and move over for stopped emergency vehicles and maintenance crews.

• If involved in a non-injury crash on an interstate, U.S. highway, or any divided or multi-lane road in the state of Kansas, and if you are not transporting hazardous materials, you are required by law to move your vehicle out of the lane of traffic. This law is intended to help keep drivers and passengers safe by getting them out of the lane of traffic and away from oncoming vehicles.

• If possible, remain in your vehicle, and remain buckled up, that way if a crash would occur involving your car or another vehicle nearby, you are more protected than if you are out in the roadway or even on the shoulder.

• If involved in a traffic crash, or need assistance, call 911, or contact the Kansas Highway Patrol at *47 (*HP) from a cell phone. Call *582 (*KTA) on the Kansas Turnpike.