[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 67 (Friday, April 9, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18557-18558]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-07295]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
[Docket No. OSHA-2011-0027]
Respiratory Protection Standard; 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 comments.
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SUMMARY: OSHA solicits public comments concerning the proposal to
extend OMB approval of the information collection requirements
specified by the Respiratory Protection Standard.
DATES: Comments must be submitted (postmarked, sent, or received) by
June 8, 2021.
ADDRESSES:
Electronically: You may submit comments, including attachments,
electronically at http://www.regulations.gov, the Federal eRulemaking
Portal. Follow the instructions online for submitting comments.
Docket: To read or download comments or other material in the
docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov. Documents in the docket 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 website. All submissions, including
copyrighted material, are available for inspection through the OSHA
Docket Office. Contact the OSHA Docket Office for assistance in
locating docket submissions.
Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and the
OSHA docket number for this Federal Register notice (OSHA-2017-0014).
OSHA will place comments and requests to speak, including personal
information, in the public docket, which may be available online.
Therefore, OSHA cautions interested parties about submitting personal
information such as Social Security numbers and birthdates. For further
information on submitting comments, see the ``Public Participation''
heading in the section of this notice titled SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Seleda Perryman or Theda Kenney,
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 information
collection requirements in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act
of 1995 (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 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
that OSHA 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
information (29 U.S.C. 657).
The Respiratory Protection Standard (29 CFR 1910.134; hereafter,
``the Standard'') contains information collection requirements that
require employers to: Develop a written respirator program; conduct
worker medical evaluations and provide follow-up medical evaluations to
determine the worker's ability to use a respirator; provide the
physician or other licensed healthcare professional with information
about the worker's respirator and the conditions under which the worker
will use the respirator; and administer fit tests for workers who will
use negative- or positive-pressure, tight-fitting facepieces. In
addition, employers must ensure that workers store emergency-use
respirators in compartments clearly marked as containing emergency-use
respirators. For respirators maintained for emergency use, employers
must label or tag the respirator with a certificate stating the date of
the inspection, the name of the individual who did the inspection, the
findings of the inspection, required remedial action, and the identity
of the respirator.
The Standard also requires employers to ensure that cylinders used
to supply breathing air to respirators have a certificate of analysis
from the supplier stating that the breathing air meets the requirements
for Type 1--Grade D breathing air; such certification assures employers
that the purchased breathing air is safe. Compressors used to supply
breathing air to respirators must have a tag containing the most recent
change date and the signature of the individual authorized by the
employer to perform the change. Employers must maintain this tag at the
compressor. These tags provide assurance that the compressors are
functioning properly.
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 that OMB extend the approval of the information
collection requirements contained in the Respiratory Protection
Standard (29 CFR 1910.134). The agency requests an adjustment decrease
of 443,290.41 hours, from 7,622,100 to 7,178,809.59 hours, as a result
of updating the number of establishments and workers covered by the
Standard. The agency is also requesting a $20,004,491.30 decrease as a
result of updating the number of employees covered by the Standard; and
the inclusion of medical costs for those employees that will have
additional medical examinations. The agency will summarize the comments
submitted in response to this notice and will include this summary in
the request to OMB.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
Title: Respiratory Protection Standard (29 CFR 1910.134).
OMB Control Number: 1218-0099.
Affected Public: Business or other for-profits.
Number of Respondents: 699,048.
Frequency of Responses: Initially; Annually; On occasion.
Total Responses: 25,318,635.
Average Time per Response: Varies from 5 minutes (.08 hour) to mark
a storage compartment or protective cover to 8 hours for large
employers to gather and prepare information to develop a written plan.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 7,178,809.59.
Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $352,304,878.70.
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. Please
note: While OSHA's Docket Office is continuing to accept and process
submissions by regular mail, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Docket
Office is closed to the public and not able to receive submissions to
the docket by hand, express mail, messenger, and courier service. All
comments, attachments, and other material must identify the agency name
and the OSHA docket number for the ICR (Docket No. OSHA-2011-0027). 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 electronic comments by
your name, date, and the docket number so that 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.
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
dates 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
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 at (202) 693-2350, (TTY (877) 889-5627)
for information about materials not available through the website, and
for assistance in using the internet to locate docket submissions.
V. Authority and Signature
James S. Frederick, 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 April 1, 2021.
James S. Frederick,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety
and Health.
[FR Doc. 2021-07295 Filed 4-8-21; 8:45 am]
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