[Federal Register: July 26, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 143)][Notices][Page 42419-42421]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr26jy06-115]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
[Docket No. ICR-1218-0205 (2006)]
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Standards for General
Industry; Extension of the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB)
Approval of Information Collection (Paperwork) Requirements
AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Labor.
ACTION: Request for public comment.
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SUMMARY: OSHA solicits public comment concerning its request for an
extension of the information collection requirements specified in its
standards on PPE for General Industry.
DATES: Comments must be submitted by the following dates:
Hard copy: Your comments must be submitted (postmarked or received)
by September 25, 2006.
Fascimile and electronic transmission: Your comments must be
received by September 25, 2006.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by OSHA Docket No. ICR-
1218-0205(2006), by any of the following methods:
Regular mail, express delivery, hand delivery, and messenger
service: Submit you comments and attachments to the OSHA Docket Office,
Room N-2625, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW.,
Washington, DC 20210; telephone (202) 693-2350 (OSHA's TTY number is
(877) 889-5627). OSHA Docket Office and Department of Labor hours are
8:15 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., e.t.
Facsimile: If your comments are 10 pages or fewer, including
attachments, you may fax them to the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-
1648.
Electronic: You may submit coments through the Internet at http://ecomments.osha.gov.
Follow instructions on the OSHA Web page for submitting comments.
Docket: For access to the docket to read or download comments or
background materials, such as the complete Information Collection
Request (ICR) (containing the Supporting Statement, OMB-83-I Form, and
attachments), go to OSHA's Web page at http://www.OSHA.gov. In
addition, the ICR, comments and submissions are available for
inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office at the address above.
You may also contact Theda Kenney at the below to obtain a copy of the
ICR. For additional information on submitting comments, please see the
``Public Participation'' section in SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Theda Kenney or Todd Owen, Directorate
of Standards and Guidance, OSHA, Room N-3609, 200 Constitution Avenue,
NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone (202) 693-2222.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort to reduce
paperwork and respondent (i.e., employer) burden, conducts a
preclearance consultation program to provide the public with an
opportunity to comment on proposed and continuing information
collection requirements in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act
of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). This program ensures that
information is in the desired format, reporint burden (time and costs)
is minimal, collection instruments are clearly understood, and OSHA's
estimate of the information collection burden is accurate.
The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (the OSH Act) (29
U.S.C. 651 et seq.) authorizes information collection by employers as
necessary or appropriate for its enforcement or for developing
information regarding the causes and prevention of occupational
injuries, illnesses, and accidents (29 U.S.C. 657). The OSH Act also
requires that OSHA obtain such information with minimum burden upon
employers, especially those operating small busineses, and to reduce to
the maximum extent feasible unnecessary duplication of efforts in
obtaining information (29 U.S.C. 657).
The general industry PPE standards (29 CFR part 1910, subpart I)
include several paperwork requirements.\1\ The following Describe the
information collection requirements:
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\1\ The Information Collection Request (ICR) does not include
burden hours and costs associated with the information collection
requirements in the standards on respiratory Protection (29 CFR
1910.134) and Electrical Protective Equipment (29 CFR 1910.137),
both of which have been addressed in separate Information collection
Requests (ICRs). See OMB Control Nos. 1218-0099 and 1218-0190,
respectively.
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Hazard Assessment and Verification (29 CFR 1910.132(d)). Paragraph
(d)(1) requires that the employer assess work activities to determine
whether there are hazards present, or likely to be present, which
necessitate the employee's use of PPE. If such hazards are present, or
likely to be present, the employer must communicate selection decisions
to affected employees and verify that the required occupational hazard
assessment has been performed. Paragraph (d)(2) requires that the
verification document, which must be identified as a certification of
hazard assessment, must contain the following information: occupation,
the date(s) of the hazard assessment, and the name of the person
performing the hazard assessment.\2\
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\2\ Paragraph (g) of Sec. 1910.132 specifies that the section's
hazard assessment (paragraph (d)) and training (paragraph (f))
requirements only apply to PPE for the eyes and face, head, feet and
hands.
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The hazard assessment assures that potential workplace hazards
necessitating PPE use have been identified and that the PPE selected is
appropriate for those hazards and the affected employees. The required
certification of the hazard assessment verifies that the required
hazard assessment was conducted.
Training and Verification (29 CFR 1910.132(f)). Paragraph (f)
requires that employers provide training for each employee who is
required to wear PPE. Paragraph (f)(3) requires that employers also
provide retraining when there is reason to believe that any previously
trained employee does not have the understanding and skill to use PPE
properly. Circumstances where such retraining is required include
changes in the workplace or in the types of PPE used that render prior
training obsolete, and inadequacies in the employee's knowledge or use
of PPE that indicate the employee had not retained the requisite
understanding and skill.
Paragraph (f)(4) requires that employers certify that employees
have received and understood the PPE training required in Sec.
1910.132(f). The training certification must include the name of the
employee(s) trained, the date of training, and the subject of the
certification (i.e., a statement identifying the document as a
certification of training in the use of PPE).
The training certification verifies that employees have received
the necessary training and know how to properly use PPE. OSHA
compliance officers may require employers to disclose the certification
records during an Agency inspection.
The part 1910 standards on PPE protection for the eyes and face
(Sec. 1910.133), head (Sec. 1910.135), feet (Sec. 1910.136), and
hands (Sec. 1910.138) do not contain any separate information
collection requirements.
II. Special Issues for Comment
OSHA has a particular interest in comments on the following issues:
Whether the proposed information collection requirements
are necessary for the proper performance of the Agency's functions,
including whether the information is useful;
The accuracy of OSHA's estimate of the burden (time and
costs) of the information collection requirements, including the
validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
The quality, utility, and clarity of the information
collected; and
Ways to minimize the burden on employers who must comply;
for example, by using automated or other technological information
collection and transmission techniques.
III. Proposed Actions
OSHA is requiring OMB to extend their approval of the collection of
information requirements contained in the general industry PPE
standards. The Agency is requesting an increase in burden hours for the
existing collection of information requirements from 3,169,344 to
3,953,759 (a total increase of 784,415 hours). The Agency will
summarize the comments submitted in response to this notice, and will
include this summary in its request to OMB.
Type of Review: Extension of currently approved information
collection requirement.
Title: Personnel Protective Equipment (PPE) Standards for General
Industry (29 CFR part, 1910, subpart I).
OMB Number: 1218-0205.
Affected Public: Business or other for-profits; Federal
Governments; State, local or tribal government; Not-for-profit
institutions.
Number of Respondents: 3,400,000.
Frequency: On occasion.
Average Time per Response: Varies from one minute (.02 hour) to
maintain a training certification record to 29 hours to perform a
hazard assessment.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 3,953,759.
Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $0.
IV. Public Participation--Submission of Comments on This Notice and
Internet Access to Comments and Submissions
You may submit comments and supporting materials in response to
this notice by (1) hard copy, (2) FAX transmission (facsimile), or (3)
electronically through the OSHA Web page. Because of security-related
problems, there may be a significant delay in the receipt of comments
by regular mail. Please contact the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-
2350 (TTY) (877) 889-5627) for information about security procedures
concerning the delivery of submissions by express delivery, hand
delivery, and courier service.
Comments, submissions, and background documents are available for
inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office at the above address.
Comments and submissions posted on OSHA's Web page are available at
http://www.OSHA.gov. Contact the OSHA Docket Office for information
about materials not available through the OSHA Web page and for
assistance in using the Web page to locate docket submissions.
Electronic copies of this Federal Register notice as well as other
relevant documents are available on OSHA's Web page. Since all
submissions become public, private information such as social security
numbers should not be submitted.
V. Authority and Signature
Edwin G. Foulke, Jr., Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational
Safety and Health, directed the preparation of this notice. The
authority for this notice is the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44
U.S.C. 3506 et seq.) and Secretary of Labor's Order No. 5-2002 (67 FR
65008).
Signed at Washington, DC, on July 19, 2006.
Edwin G. Foulke, Jr.,
Assistant Secretary of Labor.
[FR Doc. 06-6487 Filed 7-25-06; 8:45 am]
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