[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 79 (Tuesday, April 27, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22277-22278]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov
]
[FR Doc No: 2021-08724]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
[Docket No. OSHA-2011-0194]
Cotton Dust 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 the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval of the
information collection requirements specified in the Cotton Dust
Standard.
DATES: Comments must be submitted (postmarked, sent, or received) by
June 28, 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-2011-0194).
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 a 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, the reporting burden (time and
costs) is minimal, the 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 a 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 information collection requirements specified in the Cotton
Dust Standard protects workers from the adverse health effects that may
result from their exposure to cotton dust. The major information
collection requirements of the Cotton Dust Standard include: Performing
exposure monitoring, including initial, periodic, and additional
monitoring; notifying each worker of their exposure monitoring results
either in writing or by posting; implementing a written compliance
program; and establishing a respiratory protection program in
accordance with OSHA's Respiratory Protection Standard (29 CFR part
1910.134).
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
The agency is requesting a decrease in the current burden hours
from 9,532 to 9,177, a total decrease of 355 hours. The decrease was
due to a decrease in the number of exposed employees from 4,957 to
4,543. In addition, there was a $518 decrease in the overall cost of
medical exams ($1,340,992 to $1,340,474), as a result of a decrease in
the number of medical exams.
The agency will summarize any comments submitted in response to
this notice and will include this summary in the request to OMB to
extend the approval of the information collection requirements
contained in the Standard.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
Title: Cotton Dust Standard (29 CFR 1910.1043).
OMB Control Number: 1218-0061.
Affected Public: Business or other for-profits.
Number of Respondents: 4,543.
Frequency of Responses: On occasion.
Estimated Number of Responses: 24,369.
Average Time per Response: Varies.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 9,177 hours.
Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $1,340,474.
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-2011-0194). 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.
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 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 at (202) 693-2350, (TTY (877) 889-5627) for
information about materials not available from the website, and for
assistance in using the internet to locate docket submissions.
V. Authority and Signature
James S. Frederick, Acting 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 19, 2021.
James S. Frederick,
Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2021-08724 Filed 4-26-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-26-P
