05-158. Submission for OMB Review: Comment Request

December 22, 2004.

The Department of Labor (DOL) has submitted the following public information collection requests (ICRs) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Public Law 104-13, 44 U.S.C. chapter 35). A copy of each ICR, with applicable supporting documentation, may be obtained by contacting Darrin King on 202-693-4129 (this is not a toll-free number) or e-mail: [e-mail].

Comments should be sent to Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attn: OMB Desk Officer for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Office of Management and Budget, Room 10235, Washington, DC 20503, 202-395-7316 (this is not a toll-free number), within 30 days from the date of this publication in the Federal Register.

The OMB is particularly interested in comments which:

• 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: Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Type of Review: Extension of currently approved collection.

Title: Notice of Alledged Safety and Health Hazards, OSHA-7 Form.

OMB Number: 1218-0064.

Frequency: On occasion.

Type of Response: Reporting.

Affected Public: Individuals or households.

Number of Respondents: 50,955.

Number of Annual Responses: 50,955.

Estimated Time Per Response: 17 minutes for electronic submission; 15 minutes for oral complaints; and 25 minutes for written complaints.

Total Burden Hours: 13,611.

Total Annualized Capital/Startup Costs: $0.

Total Annual Costs (Operating/Maintaining Systems or Purchasing Services): $692.

Description: Under paragraphs (a) and (c) of 29 CFR 1903.11 (“Complaints by employers”) employees and their representatives may notify the OSHA area director or an OSHA compliance officer of safety and health hazards regulated by the Agency that they believe exist in their workplaces at any time. These provisions state further that this notification must be in writing and “shall set forth with reasonable particularity the grounds for the notice, and shall be signed by the employee or representatives of the employee.” Along with providing specific hazard information to the Agency, paragraph (a) permits employees/employee representatives to request an inspection of the workplace. Paragraph (c) also addresses situations in which employees/employee representatives may provide the information directly to the OSHA compliance officer during an inspection. An employer's former employees may also submit complaints to the Agency.

To address the requirements of paragraphs (a) and (c), especially the requirement that the information be in writing, the Agency developed the OSHA-7 Form; this form standardized and simplified the hazard-reporting process. For paragraph (a), they may complete an OSHA-7 Form obtained from the Agency's Web site and then send it to OSHA on-line, or deliver a hardcopy of the form to the OSHA area office by mail or facsimile, or by hand. They may also write a letter containing the information and hand-deliver it to the area office, or send it by mail or facsimile. In addition, they may provide the information orally to the OSHA area office or another party (e.g., a Federal safety and health committee for Federal employees), in which case the area office or other party completes the hardcopy version of the form. For the typical situation addressed by paragraph (c), an employee/employee representation informs an OSHA compliance officer orally of the alleged hazard during an inspection, and the compliance officer then completes the hardcopy version of the OSHA-7 Form; occasionally, the employee/employee representative provides the compliance officer with the information on the hardcopy version of the OSHA-7 Form.

Agency: Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Type of Review: Extension of currently approved collection.

Title: Respiratory Protection (29 CFR 1910.134).

OMB Number: 1218-0099.

Frequency: On occasion.

Type of Response: Recordkeeping; Reporting; and Third party disclosure.

Affected Public: Business or other for-profit; Not-for-profit institutions; Federal government; and State, local, or tribal government.

Number of Respondents: 619,430.

Number of Annual Responses: 19,136,624.

Estimated Time Per Response: Varies from 5 minutes to mark a storage compartment or protective cover to 8 hours for large employers to gather and prepare information to develop a written program.

Total Burden Hours: 6,334,648.

Total Annualized Capital/Startup Costs: $0.

Total Annual Costs (Operating/Maintaining Systems or Purchasing Services): $98,545,304.

Description: The Respiratory Protection Standard (Sec. 1910.134; hereafter, “Standard”) information collection requirements require employers to: Develop a written respirator program; conduct employee medical evaluations and provide follow-up medical evaluations to determine the employee's ability to use a respirator; provide the physician or other licensed health care professional with information about the employee's respirator and the conditions under which the employee will use the respirator; and administrator fit tests for employees who will use negative- or positive-pressure, tight-fitting face-pieces. In addition, employers must ensure that employees 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 inspection, the name of the individual who made 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.

Ira L. Mills,

Departmental Clearance Officer.