[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 159 (Thursday, August 18, 2022)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 50803-50804]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-17800]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
29 CFR Parts 1910 and 1926
[Docket No. OSHA-2018-0004]
RIN 1218-AD10
Advance Notice of Proposed Rule Making (ANPRM)--Blood Lead Level
for Medical Removal
AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Labor.
ACTION: Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM); extension of
comment period.
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SUMMARY: The period for submitting public comments is being extended by
60 days to allow stakeholders interested in this rulemaking additional
time to collect information and data necessary for comment and response
to this ANPRM.
DATES: The comment period for the proposed rule that published at 87 FR
38343 on June 28, 2022, is extended. Comments on the ANPRM and other
information must be submitted by October 28, 2022.
ADDRESSES:
Written comments: You may submit comments and attachments,
identified by Docket No. OSHA-2018-0004, electronically at http://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Follow
the instructions online for making electronic submissions.
Instructions: All submissions must include the agency's name and
the docket number for this ANPRM Docket No. OSHA-2018-0004. When
uploading multiple attachments into Regulations.gov, please number all
of your attachments because www.regulations.gov will not automatically
number the attachments. For example, Attachment 1_title of your
document, Attachment 2_title of your document, Attachment 3_title of
your document, etc. When submitting comments or recommendations on the
issues that are raised in this ANPRM, commenters should explain their
rationale and, if possible, provide data and information to support
their comments or recommendations. Wherever possible, please indicate
the title of the person providing the information and the type and
number of employees at your worksite.
All comments, including any personal information you provide, will
be placed in the public docket without change and will be publicly
available online at www.regulations.gov. Therefore, OSHA cautions
commenters about submitting information they do not want to be made
available to the public or submitting materials that contain personal
information (either about themselves or others) such as Social Security
Numbers and birthdates.
Docket: To read or download comments and materials submitted in
response to this Federal Register document, go to Docket No. OSHA-2018-
0004 at www.regulations.gov. All comments and submissions are listed in
the www.regulations.gov index; however, some information (e.g.,
copyrighted material) is not publicly available to read or download
through that website. All submissions, including copyrighted material,
are available for inspection at the OSHA Docket Office. Documents
submitted to the docket by OSHA or stakeholders are assigned document
identification numbers (Document ID) for easy identification and
retrieval. The full Document ID is the docket number plus a unique
four-digit code. OSHA is identifying supporting information in this
ANPRM by author name and publication year, when appropriate. This
information can be used to search for a supporting document in the
docket a https://www.regulations.gov. Contact the OSHA Docket Office at
202-693-2350 (TTY number: 877-889-5627) for assistance in locating
docket submissions.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Press inquiries: Contact Frank Meilinger, Director, Office of
Communications, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S.
Department of Labor; telephone: (202) 693-1999; email:
meilinger.francis2@dol.gov.
General information and technical inquiries: Contact Andrew
Levinson, Director, Directorate of Standards and Guidance, Occupational
Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor; telephone
(202) 693-1950; email: Levinson.andrew@dol.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 28, 2022, OSHA published an Advance
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) to seek input on potential
revisions to its standards for occupational exposure to lead based on
medical findings since the issuance of OSHA's lead standards that
adverse health effects in adults can occur at Blood Lead Levels (BLLs)
lower than the medical removal level (>=60 [mu]g/dL in general
industry, >=50 [mu]g/dL in construction) and lower than the level
required under current standards for an employee to return to their
former job status (<40 [mu]g/dL). The agency is seeking input on
reducing the current BLL triggers in the medical surveillance and
medical removal protection provisions of the general industry and
construction standards for lead. The agency is also seeking input about
how current ancillary provisions in the lead standards can be modified
to reduce worker BLLs.
The public comment period for this ANPRM was to close on August 29,
2022, 60 days after publication of the ANPRM. However, OSHA received
multiple stakeholder requests for an extension of the public comment
period (Document ID OSHA-2018-0004-0088 (requesting an extension of 90
additional days), OSHA-2018-0004-0089 (requesting an extension of 90
additional days), OSHA-2018-0004-0091 (requesting an extension of 60
days), OSHA-2018-0004-0092 (requesting a minimum extension of 30 days)
and OSHA-2018-0004-0093 (requesting an extension of 90 days)). The
comments state that due to the breadth and complexity of the technical
issues involved in this ANPRM, more
time is needed to gather data and information and to coordinate
responses from organization members to develop a comprehensive
response.
OSHA agrees to an extension and believes a 60-day extension of the
public comment period is sufficient and appropriate in order to address
these stakeholder requests. Therefore, the public comment period will
be extended until October 28, 2022.
Authority and Signature
Douglas Parker, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational
Safety and Health, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20210, authorized the preparation of this document
pursuant to the following authorities: sections 4, 6, and 8 of the
Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 653, 655, 657),
Secretary of Labor's Order 8-2020 (85 FR 58393 (Sept. 18, 2020)) 29 CFR
part 1911 and 5 U.S.C. 553.
Signed at Washington, DC, on August 2, 2022.
Douglas L. Parker,
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2022-17800 Filed 8-17-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-26-P
