[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 173 (Friday, September 6, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72899-72900]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-20044]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
[Docket No. OSHA-2011-0027]
Respiratory Protection 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 Respiratory
Protection Standard.
DATES: Comments must be submitted (postmarked, sent, or received) by
November 5, 2024.
ADDRESSES:
Electronically: You may submit comments and attachments
electronically at https://www.regulations.gov, which is 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 https://www.regulations.gov. Documents in the docket are
listed in the https://www.regulations.gov index; however, some
information (e.g., copyrighted material) is not publicly available to
read or download through the websites. All submissions, including
copyrighted material, are available for inspection through the OSHA
Docket Office. Contact the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-2350 (TTY
(877) 889-5627) for assistance in locating docket submissions.
Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and OSHA
docket number (OSHA-2011-0027) for the Information Collection Request
(ICR). OSHA will place all comments, including any personal
information, in the public docket, which may be made 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, 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 the 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, 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 that OSHA obtain such information with minimum burden upon
employers, especially those operating small businesses, and to reduce
to the maximum extent feasible unnecessary duplication of effort in
obtaining information (29 U.S.C. 657).
The following sections describe who uses the information collected
under each requirement, as well as how they use it. The purpose of
these requirements is to provide protection for the health of workers
exposed to airborne contaminants, physical hazards, and biological
agents.
The Respiratory Protection Standard (29 CFR 1910.134; hereafter,
``the Standard'') contains information collection requirements that
require employers to: develop a written respirator program; conduct
worker medical evaluations and provide follow-up medical evaluations to
determine the worker's ability to use a respirator; provide the
physician or other licensed healthcare professional with information
about the worker's respirator and the conditions under which the worker
will use the respirator; and administer fit tests for workers who will
use negative- or positive-pressure, tight-fitting facepieces. In
addition, employers must ensure that workers store emergency-use
respirators in compartments clearly marked as containing emergency-use
respirators. For respirators maintained for emergency use, employers
must label or tag the respirator with a certificate stating the date of
the inspection, the name of the individual who did the inspection, the
findings of the inspection, required remedial action, and the identity
of the respirator.
The Standard also requires employers to ensure that cylinders used
to supply breathing air to respirators have a certificate of analysis
from the supplier stating that the breathing air meets the requirements
for Type 1--Grade D breathing air; such certification assures employers
that the purchased breathing air is safe. Compressors used to supply
breathing air to respirators must have a tag containing the most recent
change date and the signature of the individual authorized by the
employer to perform the change. Employers must maintain this tag at the
compressor. These tags provide assurance that the compressors are
functioning properly.
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 to
protect workers, 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, and
transmission techniques.
III. Proposed Actions
OSHA is requesting that OMB extend the approval of the information
collection requirements contained in the Respiratory Protection
Standard. The agency is requesting an adjustment increase in burden
from 8,400,365 to 8,502,430 hours, a difference of 102,065 hours. This
increase is due to an increase in the number of employers using
respirators that are covered by the Standard. Also, the agency is
requesting an increase in cost of $8,352,662 going from $406,397,822 to
$416,350,792.
OSHA will summarize the 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.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
Title: Respiratory Protection Standard.
OMB Control Number: 1218-0099.
Affected Public: Business or other for-profits.
Number of Respondents: 733,538.
Number of Responses: 28,796,953.
Frequency of Responses: On occasion.
Average Time per Response: Varies.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 8,502,430.
Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $416,350,792.
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 https://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal
eRulemaking Portal; or (2) by facsimile (fax), if your comments,
including attachments, are not longer than 10 pages you may fax them to
the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-1648. All comments, attachments,
and other material must identify the agency name and the OSHA docket
number for the ICR (Docket No. OSHA-2011-0027). You may supplement
electronic submission by uploading document files electronically.
Comments and submissions are posted without change at https://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 https://www.regulations.gov index, some information (e.g., copyrighted
material) is not publicly available to read or download from this
website. All submission, including copyrighted material, are available
for inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office. Information on
using the https://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, Deputy 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. 8-2020
(85 FR 58393).
Signed at Washington, DC, on August 29, 2024.
James S. Frederick,
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2024-20044 Filed 9-5-24; 8:45 am]
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