[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 30 (Friday, February 14, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9636-9637]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-02642]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
[Docket No. OSHA-2011-0059]
Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Chemicals in Laboratories;
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 Occupational
Exposure to Hazardous Chemicals in Laboratories.
DATES: Comments must be submitted (postmarked, sent, or received) by
April 15, 2025.
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-2011-0059 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 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 reduce employees' risk of death or serious injury by
ensuring that employment has been tested and is in safe operating
condition.
The Standard entitled ``Occupational Exposure to Hazardous
Chemicals in Laboratories'' (29 CFR 1910.1450; the ``Standard'')
applies to laboratories that use hazardous chemicals in accord with the
Standard's definitions for ``laboratory use of hazardous chemicals''
and ``laboratory scale.'' The Standard
requires these laboratories to maintain worker exposures at or below
the permissible exposure limits specified for the hazardous chemicals
in 29 CFR part 1910, subpart Z. The laboratories do so by developing a
written Chemical Hygiene Plan (CHP) that describes the following:
standard operating procedures for using hazardous chemicals; hazard-
control techniques; equipment-reliability measures; worker information
and training programs; conditions under which the employer must approve
operations, procedures, and activities before implementation; and
medical consultations and examinations. The CHP also designates
personnel responsible for implementing the CHP and specifies the
procedures to be used to provide additional protection to workers
exposed to particularly hazardous chemicals.
Other information collection requirements of the Standard include:
documenting exposure monitoring results; notifying workers in writing
of these results; presenting specified information and training to
workers; establishing a medical surveillance program for overexposed
workers; providing required information to the physician; obtaining the
physician's written opinion on using proper respiratory equipment; and
establishing, maintaining, transferring, and disclosing exposure
monitoring and medical records. These collection of information
requirements, including the CHP, control worker overexposure to
hazardous laboratory chemicals, thereby preventing serious illnesses
and death among workers exposed to such chemicals.
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 Occupational Exposure to Hazardous
Chemicals in Laboratories. The agency is requesting to decrease the
current burden hour estimate from 622,482 to 602,594 hours, a total
decrease of 19,888 hours. Although there was an increase in the worker
and establishment estimates, we discovered a calculation error that
created an overestimate of the burden hours in the last request for
clearance. The error is corrected under this request and therefore
created a decrease in the burden hours. Additionally, the capital cost
estimate has decreased from $83,566,611 to $42,357,006, a total
decrease of $41,209,605. This decrease is a result of a decrease in the
medical consultation and medical examination price estimates used for
this analysis, reflecting an updated method of deriving these prices.
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: Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Chemicals in
Laboratories.
OMB Control Number: 1218-0131.
Affected Public: Business or other for-profits.
Number of Respondents: 125,636.
Number of Responses: 2,009,466.
Frequency of Responses: On occasion.
Average Time per Response: Varies.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 602,594.
Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $42,357,006.
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 OSHA-2011-0059. 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
Scott C. Ketcham, 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.
Scott C. Ketcham,
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2025-02642 Filed 2-13-25; 8:45 am]
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