[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 16 (Friday, January 24, 2014)][Notices][Pages 4178-4180]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-01323]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
[Docket No. OSHA-2009-0035]
Standard on Ethylene Oxide; 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 its proposal to
extend OMB approval of the information collection requirements
specified in the Standard on Ethylene Oxide (EtO) (29 CFR 1910.1047).
The standard protects workers from adverse health effects from
occupational exposure to ethylene oxide.
DATES: Comments must be submitted (postmarked, sent, or received) by
March 25, 2014.
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 a copy of your comments and
attachments to the OSHA Docket Office, OSHA Docket No. OSHA-2009-0035,
U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health
Administration, Room N-2625, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington,
DC 20210. Deliveries (hand, express mail, messenger, and courier
service) are accepted during the Department of Labor's and Docket
Office's normal business hours, 8:15 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., e.t.
Instructions: All submissions must include the Agency name and the
OSHA docket number (OSHA-2009-0035) for the Information Collection
Request (ICR). All comments, including any personal information you
provide, 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 address above. 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 Web site. All submissions,
including copyrighted material, are available for inspection and
copying at the OSHA Docket Office. You may also contact Theda Kenney at
the address below to obtain a copy of the ICR.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Theda Kenney or Todd Owen, Directorate
of Standards and Guidance, OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor, 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 accord 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 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 information (29 U.S.C. 657).
The EtO Standard specifies a number of paperwork requirements. The
following is a brief description of the collection of information
requirements contained in the standard.
The information collection requirements specified in the Ethylene
Oxide Standard protect workers from the adverse health effects that may
result from occupational exposure to ethylene oxide. The principal
information collection requirements in the EtO Standard include
conducting worker exposure monitoring, notifying workers of the
exposure, implementing a written compliance program, and implementing
medical surveillance of workers. Also, the examining physician must
provide specific information to ensure that workers receive a copy of
their medical examination results. The employer must maintain exposure-
monitoring and medical records for specific periods, and provide access
to these records by OSHA, the National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health, the affected workers, and their authorized
representatives and other designated parties.
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 its approval of the information
collection requirements specified in the Ethylene Oxide Standard. The
Agency is requesting an overall adjustment decrease of 6,433 burden
hours, from 41,484 to 35,051 burden hours. The decrease in burden hours
is primarily due to the decrease in the number of hospital facilities,
from 4,001 to 3,155 facilities. The Agency will summarize the comments
submitted in response to this notice, and will include this summary in
its request to OMB.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
Title: Standard on Ethylene Oxide (29 CFR 1910.1047).
OMB Control Number: 1218-0108.
Affected Public: Business or other for-profits.
Number of Respondents: 3,155.
Frequency of Responses: On occasion.
Total Responses: 204,878.
Average Time per Response: Varies from five minutes (.08 hour) for
employers to maintain records to one hour for employers to update their
compliance plans.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 35,051.
Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $5,910,696.
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. All
comments, attachments, and other material must identify the Agency name
and the OSHA docket number for the ICR (Docket No. OSHA-2009-0035). 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.
Because of 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 social security numbers 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 Web
site. All submissions, including copyrighted material, are available
for inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office. Information on
using the http://www.regulations.gov Web site to submit comments and access the docket
is available at the Web site's ``User Tips'' link. Contact the OSHA
Docket Office for information about materials not available from this
Web site and for assistance in using the Internet to locate docket
submissions.
V. Authority and Signature
David Michaels, Ph.D., MPH, 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 17, 2014.
David Michaels,
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2014-01323 Filed 1-23-14; 8:45 am]
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