2020-01500. Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Standard on 4,4′-Methylenedianiline for General Industry

ACTION:

Notice of availability; request for comments.

SUMMARY:

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) sponsored information collection request (ICR) titled, “Standard on 4,4′-Methylenedianiline for General Industry” to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval for continued use, without change, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). Public comments on the ICR are invited.

DATES:

The OMB will consider all written comments that agency receives on or before February 28, 2020.

ADDRESSES:

A copy of this ICR with applicable supporting documentation; including a description of the likely respondents, proposed frequency of response, and estimated total burden may be obtained free of charge from the RegInfo.gov website at http://www.reginfo.gov/​public/​do/​PRAViewICR?​ref_​nbr=​201912-1218-011 (this link will only become active on the day following publication of this notice) or by contacting Frederick Licari by telephone at 202-693-8073, TTY 202-693-8064, (these are not toll-free numbers) or by email at [e-mail].

Submit comments about this request by mail to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attn: OMB Desk Officer for DOL-OSHA, Office of Management and Budget, Room 10235, 725 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20503; by Fax: [phone] (this is not a toll-free number); or by email: [e-mail]. Commenters are encouraged, but not required, to send a courtesy copy of any comments by mail or courier to the U.S. Department of Labor—OASAM, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Attn: Departmental Information Compliance Management Program, Room N1301, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20210; or by email: [e-mail].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Frederick Licari by telephone at 202-693-8073, TTY 202-693-8064, (these are not toll-free numbers) or by email at [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

This ICR seeks to extend PRA authority for the Standard on 4,4′-Methylenedianiline for General Industry (29 CFR 1910.1050) information collection. This program ensures that information is in the desired format, the 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 Act or for developing information regarding the causes and prevention of occupational injuries, illnesses, and accidents (see 29 U.S.C. 657). The OSH Act also requires OSHA to obtain such information with a minimum burden upon employers, especially those operating small businesses, and to reduce to the maximum extent feasible unnecessary duplication of efforts in obtaining information (see 29 U.S.C. 657). The information collection requirements specified in the 4,4′- Methylenedianiline Standard for General Industry (the “MDA Standard”) (29 CFR 1910.1050) protect workers from the adverse health effects that may result from their exposure to MDA, including cancer, liver, and skin disease. The major paperwork requirements specify that employers must perform initial, periodic, and additional exposure monitoring; notify each worker in writing of their results as soon as possible but no longer than five (5) days after receiving exposure monitoring results; and routinely inspect the hands, face, and forearms of each worker potentially exposed to MDA for signs of dermal exposure to MDA. Employers must also: Establish a written compliance program; institute a respiratory protection program in accordance with OSHA's Respiratory Protection Standard (29 CFR 1910.134); and to develop a written emergency plan for any construction operation that could have an MDA emergency (i.e., an unexpected and potentially hazardous release of MDA). Employers must label any material or products containing MDA, including containers used to store MDA-contaminated protective clothing and equipment. They also must inform personnel who launder MDA-contaminated clothing of the requirement to prevent release of MDA, while personnel who launder or clean MDA-contaminated protective clothing or equipment must receive information about the potentially harmful effects of MDA. In addition, employers are to post warning signs at entrances or access ways to regulated areas, as well as train workers exposed to MDA at the time of their initial assignment, and at least annually thereafter. Other paperwork provisions of the MDA standard require employers to provide workers with medical examinations, including initial, periodic, emergency and follow-up examinations. As part of the medical surveillance program, employers must ensure that the examining physician receives specific written information, and that they obtain from the physician a written opinion regarding the worker's medical results and exposure limitations. The MDA standard also specifies that employers are to establish and maintain exposure monitoring and medical surveillance records for each worker who is subject to these respective requirements, make any required record available to OSHA compliance officers and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) for examination and copying, and provide exposure monitoring and medical surveillance records to workers and their designated representatives. Finally, employers who cease to do business within the period specified for retaining exposure monitoring and medical surveillance records, and who have no successor employer, must notify NIOSH at least 90 days before disposing of the records and transmit the records to NIOSH if so requested.

This information collection is subject to the PRA. A Federal agency generally cannot conduct or sponsor a collection of information, and the public is generally not required to respond to an information collection, unless the OMB under the PRA approves it and displays a currently valid OMB Control Number. In addition, notwithstanding any other provisions of law, no person shall generally be subject to penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information that does not display a valid Control Number. See 5 CFR 1320.5(a) and 1320.6. The DOL obtains OMB approval for this information collection under Control Number 1218-0184.

OMB authorization for an ICR cannot be for more than three (3) years without renewal, and the current approval for this collection is scheduled to expire on January 31, 2020. The DOL seeks to extend PRA authorization for this information collection for three (3) more years, without any change to existing requirements. The DOL notes that existing information collection requirements submitted to the OMB receive a month-to-month extension while they undergo review. For additional substantive information about this ICR, see the related notice published in the Federal Register on November 12, 2019 (84 FR 61077).

Interested parties are encouraged to send comments to the OMB, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the address shown in the ADDRESSES section within thirty-(30) days of publication of this notice in the Federal Register. In order to help ensure appropriate consideration, comments should mention OMB Control Number 1218-0184. The OMB is particularly interested in comments that:

• Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information will have practical utility:
• Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used.
• Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and
• Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses.

Agency: DOL-OSHA.

Title of Collection: Standard on 4,4′-Methylenedianiline for General Industry (29 CFR 1910.1050).

OMB Control Number: 1218-0184.

Affected Public: Private Sector: Businesses or other for-profits.

Total Estimated Number of Respondents: 10.

Total Estimated Number of Responses: 574.

Total Estimated Annual Time Burden: 319 hours.

Total Estimated Annual Other Costs Burden: $24,180.

Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3507(a)(1)(D).

Dated: January 22, 2020.

Frederick Licari,

Departmental Clearance Officer.