[Federal Register: June 15, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 114)][Notices] [Page 34799-34801]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr15jn05-97]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
[Docket No. ICR-1218-0126(2005)]
Acrylonitrile 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 comment.
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SUMMARY: OSHA solicits public comment concerning its request for an
extension of the information collection requirements contained in the
Acrylonitrile Standard (the ``AN'' Standard) (29 CFR 1910.1045).
DATES: Comments must be submitted by the following dates:
Hard copy: Your comments must be submitted (postmarked or received)
by August 15, 2005.
Facsimile and electronic transmission: Your comments must be
received by August 15, 2005.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by OSHA Docket No. ICR-
1218-0126(2005), by any of the following methods:
Regular mail, express delivery, hand delivery, and messenger
service: Submit your comments and attachments to the OSHA Docket
Office, Room N-2625, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue,
NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone (202) 693-2350 (OSHA's TTY number
is (877) 889-5627). OSHA Docket Office and Department of Labor hours
are 8:15 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., ET.
Facsimile: If your comments are 10 pages or fewer in length,
including attachments, you may fax them to the OSHA Docket Office at
(202) 693-1648.
Electronic: You may submit comments through the Internet at http://ecomments.osha.gov.
Follow instructions on the OSHA Web page for
submitting comments.
Docket: For access to the docket to read or download comments or
background materials, such as the complete Information Collection
Request (ICR) (containing the Supporting Statement, OMB-83-I Form, and
attachments), go to OSHA's Web page at http://www.OSHA.gov. In
addition, the ICR, comments and submissions are available for
inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office at the address above.
You may also contact Todd Owen at the address below to obtain a copy of
the ICR. For additional information on submitting comments, please see
the ``Public Participation'' heading in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
section of this document.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Todd Owen, Directorate of Standards
and Guidance, OSHA, 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 (PRA-95) (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 (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).
On January 5, 2005, OSHA published the Standards Improvement
Project--Phase II, Final rule (70 FR 1112). The final rule removed and
revised provisions of standards that were outdated, duplicative,
unnecessary, or inconsistent and clarified or simplified regulatory
language. The final rule contained several revisions to collections of
information contained in the AN Standard.\1\ These revisions included:
Reducing the frequency of exposure monitoring and updating compliance
plans; allowing employers the option to post employee exposure-
monitoring results instead of requiring individual notification; and
eliminating the need for employers to report emergencies to OSHA and to
notify OSHA when establishing a regulated area. Those changes reduced
paperwork burden hours while maintaining worker protection and
improving consistency among standards.
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\1\ The Office of Management and Budget approved the reduction
of 1,511 burden hours after reviewing the Information Collection
Request for the Standards Improvement Project--Phase II Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking, published October 31, 2002 (67 FR 66494). On
January 5, 2005, when the final rule was published (70 FR 1112)
documentation was submitted to OMB revising the reduction of 1,511
hours to 1,196 hours to reflect the increase in time to conduct
exposure monitoring.
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The information collection requirements specified in the AN
Standard protect employees from the adverse health effects that may
result from their exposure to AN. The major information collection
requirements of the AN Standard include notifying employees of their AN
exposures, implementing a written compliance program, providing
examining physicians with specific information, ensuring that employees
receive a copy of their medical examination results, maintaining
employee's exposure-monitoring and medical records for specific
periods, and providing access to these records by OSHA, the National
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the affected employees,
and designated representatives.
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 proposes to extend the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB)
approval of these collections of information (paperwork) requirements
necessitated by the AN standard (29 CFR 1910.1045). The Agency will
include this summary in its request to OMB to extend the approval of
these collections of information requirements.
Type of Review: Extension of currently approved information
collection requirements.
Title: Acrylonitrile Standard.
OMB Number 1218-0126.
Affected Public: Business or other for-profits; Federal government;
State, local or tribal government.
Frequency: On occasion.
Average Time Per Response: Varies from 5 minutes (.08 hour) to
provide information to the examining physician to 1.5 hour to conduct
medical examinations.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 3,237.
Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $173,652.
IV. Public Participation--Submission of Comments on This Notice and
Internet Access to Comments and Submissions
You may submit comments and supporting materials in response to
this notice by (1) hard-copy, (2) FAX transmission (facsimile), or (3)
electronically through the OSHA Web page. Because of security-related
problems, there may be a significant delay in the receipt of comments
by regular mail. Please contact the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-
2350 (TTY (877) 889-5627) for information about security procedures
concerning the delivery of submissions by express delivery, hand
delivery and courier service.
All comments, submissions and background documents are available
for inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office at the above
address. Comments and submissions posted on OSHA's Web page are
available at http://www.OSHA.gov. Contact the OSHA Docket Office for
information about materials not available through the OSHA Web page and
for assistance using the Web page to locate docket submissions.
Electronic copies of this Federal Register notice as well as other
relevant documents are available on OSHA's Web page. Since all
submissions become public, private information such as social security
numbers should not be submitted.
V. Authority and Signature
Jonathan L. Snare, 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. 5-
2002 (67 FR 65008).
Dated: Signed at Washington, DC, on June 8, 2005.
Jonathan L. Snare,
Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor
[FR Doc. 05-11811 Filed 6-14-05; 8:45 am]
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