[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 25 (Thursday, February 6, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6979-6980]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-02306]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
[Docket No. OSHA-2010-0018]
Asbestos in General Industry; Extension of the Office of
Management and Budget's (OMB) Approval of Collection of Information
AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Labor.
ACTION: Request for public comments.
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SUMMARY: OSHA solicits public comments concerning the proposal to
extend the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval of the
collection of information contained in the Standard on Asbestos in
General Industry.
DATES: Comments must be submitted (postmarked, sent, or received) by
April 6, 2020.
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 your comments and attachments
to the OSHA Docket Office, Docket No. OSHA-2010-0018, Occupational
Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-
3653, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20210. Deliveries
(hand, express mail, messenger, and courier service) are accepted
during the OSHA Docket Office's normal business hours, 10:00 a.m. to
3:00 p.m., ET.
Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and the
OSHA docket number (OSHA-2010-0018) for the Information Collection
Request (ICR). All comments, including any personal information you
provide, such as social security number and date of birth, 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 the OSHA Docket Office at
the above address. 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 from the website. All submissions,
including copyrighted material, are available for inspection and
copying at the OSHA Docket Office. You may also contact Theda Kenney at
(202) 693-2222 to obtain a copy of the ICR.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Theda Kenney or Seleda Perryman,
Directorate of Standards and Guidance, OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor,
telephone (202) 693-2222.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The Department of Labor, as part of the 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 collection of
information in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44
U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). This program ensures that information is in the
desired format, reporting 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 (OSH Act) (29 U.S.C. 651 et seq.) authorizes
information collection by employers as necessary or appropriate for
enforcement of the OSH Act 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 OSHA to obtain
such information with minimum burden upon employers, especially those
operating small businesses, and to reduce to the maximum extent
feasible unnecessary duplication of efforts in obtaining said
information (29 U.S.C. 657).
The basic purpose of the collection of information in the Asbestos
in General Industry Standard (29 CFR 1910.1001) (the Standard) is to
document that employers in general industry are
providing their workers with protection from exposure to hazardous
asbestos. Asbestos exposure results in asbestosis, an emphysema-like
condition; lung cancer; mesothelioma; and gastrointestinal cancer.
Several provisions of the Standard require a collection of
information, including: Implementing an exposure monitoring program
that notifies workers of their exposure monitoring results,
establishing a written compliance program, and informing laundry
personnel of the requirement to prevent release of airborne asbestos
above the time-weighted average and excursion limit. Other information
collection in the Standard include: Maintaining records of information
obtained concerning the presence, location, and quantity of asbestos-
containing materials (ACMs) and/or presumed asbestos-containing
materials (PACMs) in a building/facility; notifying housekeeping
workers of the presence and location of ACMs and PACMs in areas they
may occupy during their work; and using information, data, and analyses
to demonstrate that PACMs do not contain asbestos. In addition, the
collection of information in the Standard includes: Providing medical
surveillance for workers potentially exposed to ACMs and/or PACMs,
including administering a worker medical questionnaire, providing
information to the examining physician, and providing the physician's
written opinion to the worker; maintaining records of exposure
monitoring, objective data used for exposure determinations, and
medical surveillance; and making specified records (e.g., exposure
monitoring and medical surveillance records) available to designated
parties.
This collection of information permits employers, workers and their
designated representatives, OSHA, and other specified parties to
determine the effectiveness of an employer's asbestos-control program.
Accordingly, the requirements ensure that workers exposed to asbestos
receive all of the protections afforded by the Standard.
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 requesting an adjustment increase in the burden hours from
11,688 hours to 11,745 hours, for a total increase of 57 hours. The
increase is due to the agency's use of a new method for rounding burden
hours. Capital costs increased, from $963,650 to $1,018,728, an
increase of $55,078. This adjustment is related to increased costs to
conduct a medical examination (from $156 to $165). In addition, the
estimated costs for contract industrial hygiene services to conduct
exposure monitoring sampling increased from $50.25 to $52.52. The
increase in the exposure monitoring sampling cost is due to the
agency's use of a different method of calculating employee
compensation.
OSHA is providing the following summary information about the
Asbestos in General Industry information collection:
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
Title: Asbestos in General Industry (29 CFR 1910.1001).
OMB Control Number: 1218-0133.
Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits.
Number of Respondents: 121.
Frequency of Responses: Varies.
Total Responses: 30,847.
Average Time per Response: Varies.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 11,745.
Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $1,018,728.
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; or (3) by hard copy. All
comments, attachments, and other material must identify the agency name
and the OSHA docket number for this ICR (Docket No. OSHA-2010-0018).
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.
Due to 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 their social security number
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 from this
website.
All submissions, including copyrighted material, are available for
inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office. Information on using
the http://www.regulations.gov website to submit comments and access
the docket is available at the website's ``User Tips'' link. Contact
the OSHA Docket Office for information about materials not available
from the website, and for assistance in using the internet to locate
docket submissions.
V. Authority and Signature
Loren Sweatt, Principal Deputy 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. 1-2012
(77 FR 3912).
Signed at Washington, DC, on January 29, 2020.
Loren Sweatt,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety
and Health.
[FR Doc. 2020-02306 Filed 2-5-20; 8:45 am]
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