[Federal Register: July 22, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 140)][Notices] [Page 42389-42390]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr22jy05-96]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
[Docket No. ICR-1218-0104(2005)]
Inorganic Arsenic 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
Inorganic Arsenic Standard.
DATES: Comments must be submitted by the following dates:
Hard copy: Your comments must be submitted (postmarked or received)
by September 20, 2005.
Facsimile and electronic transmission: Your comments must be
received by September 20, 2005.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by OSHA Docket No. ICR-
1218-0104(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 Inorganic Arsenic (IA) Standard, 29 CFR
1910.1018. These revisions included: reducing the frequency of medical
examinations 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. This burden reduction was taken on an earlier ICR.
The information collection requirements remaining in the IA
Standard protect employees from the adverse health effects that may
result from their exposure to IA. The IA Standard requires employers
to: monitor employees' exposure to inorganic arsenic; monitor employee
health; develop and maintain employee exposure-monitoring and medical
records; and provide employees with information about their exposures
and the adverse health effects of exposure to inorganic arsenic.
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 IA Standard. 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: Inorganic Arsenic Standard.
OMB Number: 1218-0104.
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
maintain records to 1.67 hours to complete a medical examination.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 4,861.
Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $396,322.
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 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).
Signed at Washington, DC, on July 19, 2005.
Jonathan L. Snare,
Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor.
[FR Doc. 05-14537 Filed 7-21-05; 8:45 am]
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