[Federal Register: February 19, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 33)][Notices]               [Page 7522-7524]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr19fe10-116]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. OSHA-2009-0042]

 
Peer Review, Conflict of Interest and Disclosure Form; Request 
for 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 comments concerning its proposal to extend the 
Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval of the Conflict of 
Interest (COI) and Disclosure Form which is used to determine whether 
or not a conflict of interest exists for a potential peer review panel 
member.

DATES: Comments must be submitted (postmarked, sent, or received) by 
April 20, 2010.

ADDRESSES: 

    Electronically: You may submit comments and attachments 
electronically at http://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal. Follow the instructions online for submitting 
comments.
    Facsimile: If your comments, including attachments, are not longer 
than 10 pages, you may fax them to the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-
1648.
    Mail, hand delivery, express mail, messenger, or courier service: 
When using this method, you must submit three copies of your comments 
and attachments to the OSHA Docket Office, Docket No. OSHA-2009-0042, 
U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health 
Administration, Room N-2625, 200 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC 
20210. Deliveries (hand, express mail, messenger, and courier service) 
are accepted during the Department of Labor's and Docket office's 
normal business hours, 8:15 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., e.t.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the Agency name and OSHA 
docket number (OSHA-2009-0042). All comments, including any personal 
information you provide, are placed in the public docket without 
change, and may be made available online at http://www/regulations.gov. 
For further information on submitting comments see the "Public 
Participation" heading in the section of this notice titled 
"SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION."
    Docket: To read or download comments or other material in the 
docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov or to the OSHA Docket Office 
at the address above. All documents in the docket (including this 
Federal Register notice) are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov 
index; however, some information (e.g., copyrighted material) is not 
publicly available to read or download through the Web site. All 
submissions, including copyrighted material, are available for 
inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office. You may contact Jamaa 
Hill at the address below to obtain a copy of the Information 
Collection Request (ICR).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jamaa Hill or Todd Owen, Directorate 
of Standards and Guidance, OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor, 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, reporting burden (time and cost) 
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 the 1970 (the Act) (29 U.S.C. 651 
et seq.) authorizes information collection by employers as necessary or 
appropriate for enforcement of the Act or for developing information 
regarding the causes and prevention of occupational injuries, 
illnesses, and accidents (29 U.S.C. 657).
    OSHA conducts peer reviews to review a draft product for quality by 
specialists in the field who were not involved in producing the draft. 
The selection of participants in a peer review is based on expertise, 
with due consideration of independence. The Office of Management and 
Budget published the Final Information Quality Bulletin for Peer Review 
on December 15, 2004. The Bulletin states "* * * the agency must 
address reviewers' potential conflicts of interest (including those 
stemming from ties to regulated businesses and other stakeholders) and 
independence from the agency." The Bulletin requires agencies to adopt 
or adapt the committee selection policies employed by the National 
Academy of Sciences (NAS) when selecting peer reviewers who are not 
Government employees. To fulfill this requirement, OSHA has developed a 
Conflict of Interest (COI) and Disclosure Form, based on NAS' Conflict 
of Interest Disclosure form. This form will be used to determine 
whether or not a conflict exists for a potential peer review panel 
member.

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 requirement, 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 proposes to extend OMB's approval of the COI form; thus, 
retaining OSHA's current burden hour estimate of 27 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 a currently approved collection.
    Title: OSHA's Conflict of Interest (COI) and Disclosure Form.
    OMB Number: 1218-0255.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households.
    Number of Respondents: 36.
    Frequency of Responses: On occasion.
    Average Time per Response: One half hour (.5 hour) for respondents 
to complete Tier 1 for "influential scientific assessments;" and 1 
hour for respondents to complete both Tier 1 and Tier 2 for "highly 
influential scientific assessments."
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 27.
    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 in response to this document as follows: 
(1) Electronically at http://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal; (2) by facsimile (FAX); or (3) by hard copy. All 
comments, attachments, and other material must identify the Agency name 
and the OSHA docket number for the ICR (Docket No. OSHA-2009-0042). You 
may supplement electronic submissions by uploading document files 
electronically. If you wish to mail additional materials in reference 
to an electronic or facsimile submission, you must submit them to the 
OSHA Docket Office (see the section of this notice titled ADDRESSES). 
The additional materials must clearly identify your electronic comments 
by your name, date, and the docket number so the Agency can attach them 
to your comments.
    Because of security procedures, the use of regular mail may cause a 
significant delay in the receipt of comments. For information about 
security procedures concerning the delivery of materials by hand, express 
delivery, messenger, or courier service, please contact the OSHA Docket Office 
at (202) 693-2350 (TTY (877) 889-5627). Comments and submissions are posted 
without change at http://www.regulations.gov. Therefore, OSHA cautions commenters 
about submitting personal information such as social security numbers and 
date of birth. Although all submissions are listed in the http://
www.regulations.gov index, some information (e.g., copyrighted 
material) is not publicly available to read or download through this 
Web site. All submissions, including copyrighted material, are 
available for inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office. 
Information on using the http://www.regulations.gov Web site to submit 
comments and access the docket is available at the Web site's "User 
Tips" link. Contact the OSHA Docket Office for information about 
materials not available through the Web site, and for assistance in 
using the Internet to locate docket submissions.

V. Authority and Signature

    David Michaels, PhD, MPH, 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. 5-2007 
(72 FR 31159).

    Signed at Washington, DC, this February 4, 2010.
David Michaels,
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2010-3253 Filed 2-18-10; 8:45 am]
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