[Federal Register: November 3, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 213)]
[Notices]               
[Page 64744-64745]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr03no06-111]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of the Secretary

Submission for OMB Review: Comment Request

October 30, 2006.
    The Department of Labor (DOL) has submitted the following public 
information collection request (ICR) to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. chapter 35). A copy of 
this ICR, with applicable supporting documentation, may be obtained from 
RegInfo.gov at http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain or by contacting 
Darrin King on 202-693-4129 (this is not a toll-free number) / e-mail: 
king.darrin@dol.gov.

    Comments should be sent to Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs, Attn: OMB Desk Officer for the Occupational Safety and Health 
Administration (OSHA), Office of Management and Budget, Room 10235, 
Washington, DC 20503, Telephone: 202-395-7316 / Fax: 202-395-6974 
(these are not toll-free numbers), within 30 days from the date of this 
publication in the Federal Register.
    The OMB is particularly interested in comments which:
     Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility;
     Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the 
burden of the proposed collection of information, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
     Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
     Minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate 
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting 
electronic submission of responses.
    Agency: Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
    Type of Review: Extension without change of currently approved 
collection.
    Title: Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for General Industry (29 
CFR part 1910, subpart I).
    OMB Number: 1218-0205.
    Type of Response: Recordkeeping and Third party disclosure.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profits.
    Number of Respondents: 3,400,000.
    Number of Annual Responses: 49,748,648.
    Estimated Time per Response: Varies by task.
    Total Burden Hours: 3,953,759.
    Total Annualized capital/startup costs: $0.
    Total Annual Costs (operating/maintaining systems or purchasing 
services): $0.
    Description: The main objective of the Occupational Safety and 
Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act) is to ``assure so far as possible every 
working man and woman in the Nation safe and healthful working 
conditions and to preserve our human resources'' (29 U.S.C. 651). To 
achieve this objective, the OSH Act authorizes ``the development and 
promulgation of occupational safety and health standards'' (29 U.S.C. 
651).
    With regard to recordkeeping, the OSH Act specifies that ``[e]ach 
employer shall make, keep and preserve, and make available to the 
Secretary * * * such records * * * as the Secretary * * * may prescribe 
by regulation as necessary appropriate for enforcement of this Act * * 
*'' (29 U.S.C. 657). The OSH Act states further that ``[t]he Secretary 
* * * shall prescribe such rules and regulations as [he/she] may deem 
necessary to carry out [his/her] responsibilities under this Act, 
including rules and regulations dealing with inspection of an 
employer's establishment'' (29 U.S.C. 657).
    Under the authority granted by the OSH Act, the Occupational Safety 
and Health Administration (OSHA) issued personal protective equipment 
(PPE) standards for general industry at 29 CFR part 1910, subpart I 
(subpart I). Section 1910.132(a) requires that PPE, including equipment 
for eyes, face, head, and extremities, protective clothing, respiratory 
devices, and protective shields and barriers, be provided, used, and 
maintained in a sanitary and reliable condition wherever it is 
necessary by reason of hazards of processes or environment, chemical 
hazards, radiological hazards, or mechanical irritants encountered in a 
manner capable of causing injury or impairment in the function of any 
part of the body through absorption, inhalation or physical contact. 
Subpart I specifies several paperwork requirements. The following 
describes the information collection requirements in subpart I and 
addresses who will use the information.

Hazard Assessment and Verification (Sec.  1910.132(d))

    Paragraph (d)(1) requires employers to perform a hazard assessment 
of the workplace to determine if hazards are present, or likely to be 
present, that make the use of PPE necessary. Where such hazards are 
present, employers must communicate PPE selection decisions to each 
affected employee (paragraph (d)(1)(ii)). Paragraph (d)(2) requires 
employers to certify in writing that they have performed the hazard 
assessment. The certification must include the date and the person 
certifying that the hazard assessment was conducted, and the 
identification of the workplace evaluated (area or location).
    The hazard assessment assures that potential workplace hazards 
necessitating PPE use have been identified and 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 (Sec.  1910.132(f))

    Section 1910.132(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 that render prior training 
obsolete, changes in the types of PPE used, 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(s) 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 standards on PPE protection for the eyes and face (29 CFR 
1910.133), head (29 CFR 1910.135, feet (29 CFR 1910.136)), and hands 
(29 CFR 1910.138) do not contain any separate information collection 
requirements.

Darrin A. King,
Acting Departmental Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. E6-18530 Filed 11-2-06; 8:45 am]

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