2011-30534. Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Cancer Risk in U.S. Radiologic Technologists: Fourth Survey (NCI)

Summary: Under the provisions of section 3507(a)(1)(D) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the National Cancer Institute, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve the information collection listed below. This proposed information collection was previously published in the Federal Register on September 21, 2011 (76 FR 58520) and allowed 60 days for public comment. One public comment was received in which the individual suggested asking the respondents to report the number of procedures performed per month rather than per week because of the infrequency of some procedures. The program staff will assess this during the pre-test. The purpose of this notice is to allow an additional 30 days for public comment. The National Institutes of Health may not conduct or sponsor, and the respondent is not required to respond to, an information collection that has been extended, revised, or implemented on or after October 1, 1995, unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

Proposed Collection: Title: Cancer Risk in U.S. Radiologic Technologists: Fourth Survey (NCI). Type of Information Collection Request: Reinstatement with change of a previously approved collection (OMB No. 0925-0405, expiration 02/28/2011). Need and Use of Information Collection: By conducting a fourth cohort follow-up survey in an ongoing cohort study of U.S. Radiologic Technologists (USRT), updated information will be collected on cancer and other medical outcomes, personal medical radiation procedures, and other risk factors from all participants, plus detailed employment data from subgroups of participants who performed or assisted with fluoroscopically-guided or radioisotope procedures. Researchers at the National Cancer Institute and The University of Minnesota have followed a nationwide cohort of 146,000 radiologic technologists since 1982, of whom 110,000 completed at least one of three prior questionnaire surveys and 23,454 are deceased. This cohort is unique because estimates of cumulative radiation dose to specific organs (e.g. breast) are available and the cohort is largely female, offering a rare opportunity to study effects of low-dose radiation exposure on breast and thyroid cancers, the two most sensitive organ sites for radiation carcinogenesis in women. The fourth survey will be administered by mail to approximately 93,000 living and located cohort members who completed at least one of the three previous surveys to collect information on new cancers and other disease outcomes, detailed work patterns and practices from technologists who worked with radioisotopes and interventional radiography procedures, and new or updated risk factors that may influence health risks. New occupational and medical radiation exposure information will be used to improve radiation dose estimates. The annual reporting burden is reported in Table 1. There are no capital costs, operating costs and/or maintenance costs to report.

Table 1—Estimates of Annual Burden Hours

Type of respondent	Instrument	Number of respondents	Frequency of response	Average time per response (hours)	Annual hour burden
Cohort members (overall target group)	Fourth Survey CORE Module (Attachment 1A)	21,700	1	30/60 (0.5)	10,850
Cohort members (subgroup 1 of overall target group)	Fourth Survey NM Module (Attachment 1B)	7,000	1	20/60 (0.33)	2,333
Cohort members (subgroup 2 of overall target group)	Fourth Survey FG Module (Attachment 1C)	6,300	1	10/60 (0.17)	1,050
Medical office clerks	Medical Validation (Attachment 3)	2,053	1	15/60 (0.25)	513
Total		37,053			14,746

Request for Comments

Written comments and/or suggestions from the public and affected agencies are invited on one or more of the following points: (1) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functioning of the National Cancer Institute, including whether the information will have practical utility; (2) 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; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

Direct Comments to OMB

Written comments and/or suggestions regarding the item(s) contained in this notice, especially regarding the estimated public burden and associated response time, should be directed to the Attention: NIH Desk Officer, Office of Management and Budget, at [e-mail] or by fax to [phone]. To request more information on the proposed project or to obtain a copy of the data collection plans and instruments, contact: Michele M. Doody, Radiation Epidemiology Branch, National Cancer Institute, Executive Plaza South, Room 7051, Bethesda, MD 20892-7238, or call non-toll-free at [phone] or email your request, including your address to: [e-mail].

Comments Due Date

Comments regarding this information collection are best assured of having their full effect if received within 30 days of the date of this publication.

Dated: November 21, 2011.

Vivian Horovitch-Kelley,

NCI Project Clearance Liaison, National Institutes of Health.