Governor Bill Haslam has proclaimed the week of July 31 through August 4, 2017 as Safety and Health in the Workplace Week in Tennessee.

The Governor's proclamation coincides with the 40th anniversary of the Tennessee Safety and Health Conference, which starts Sunday in Nashville. Each year Tennessee workers are injured or die as a result of workplace accidents or illness.

As of Friday (7/28/17), 21 persons have died in Tennessee this year after they were involved in an accident while working.

The Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration (TOSHA) regulates workplace safety and health, investigates accidents, and encourages safe working conditions through training. "Our goal is for people who come to work, to go home in the same condition they came to work," said TOSHA Assistant Commissioner Steve Hawkins.

Safety directors and managers for Tennessee companies, and from companies in neighboring states, are encouraged to attend the conference and to make employee safety a top priority. "Making the workplace safe sends a message to those who work for a company, that they are a value," said Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Commissioner Burns Phillips.

Since 1947, TOSHA, along with the Tennessee chapter of the American Society of Safety Engineers, have co-sponsored the Tennessee Safety and Health Conference. They hold the conference each year in Nashville and nearly one thousand safety professionals attend the event.

Inside the conference's exhibit hall, companies display the newest safety and health products, as well as demonstrate how they work. Attendees have the opportunity to learn the latest in the field of workplace safety and health during seminars and continuing education classes held during the conference. "We offer about 60 classes, beginning with the basic classes for a person new to the safety and health field, all the way to advanced classes for people who have been in the field for years," Hawkins said.