2015-31741. Proposed Data Collection Submitted for Public Comment and Recommendations

AGENCY:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION:

Notice with comment period.

SUMMARY:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as part of its continuing efforts to reduce public burden and maximize the utility of government information, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This notice invites comment on a proposed new information collection request entitled “Mining Industry Surveillance System”.

DATES:

Written comments must be received on or before February 16, 2016.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CDC-2015-0113 by any of the following methods: Federal eRulemaking Portal: Regulation.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.

Mail: Leroy A. Richardson, Information Collection Review Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road NE., MS-D74, Atlanta, Georgia 30329.

Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name and Docket Number. All relevant comments received will be posted without change to Regulations.gov, including any personal information provided. For access to the docket to read background documents or comments received, go to Regulations.gov.

Please note: All public comment should be submitted through the Federal eRulemaking portal (Regulations.gov) or by U.S. mail to the address listed above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

To request more information on the proposed project or to obtain a copy of the information collection plan and instruments, contact the Information Collection Review Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road NE., MS-D74, Atlanta, Georgia 30329; phone: [phone]; Email: [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), Federal agencies must obtain approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for each collection of information they conduct or sponsor. In addition, the PRA also requires Federal agencies to provide a 60-day notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including each new proposed collection, each proposed extension of existing collection of information, and each reinstatement of previously approved information collection before submitting the collection to OMB for approval. To comply with this requirement, we are publishing this notice of a proposed data collection as described below.

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology; and (e) estimates of capital or start-up costs and costs of operation, maintenance, and purchase of services to provide information. Burden means the total time, effort, or financial resources expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, disclose or provide information to or for a Federal agency. This includes the time needed to review instructions; to develop, acquire, install and utilize technology and systems for the purpose of collecting, validating and verifying information, processing and maintaining information, and disclosing and providing information; to train personnel and to be able to respond to a collection of information, to search data sources, to complete and review the collection of information; and to transmit or otherwise disclose the information.

Proposed Project

Mining Industry Surveillance System—New—National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Background and Brief Description

The mission of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is to promote safety & health at work for all people through research and prevention. The Federal Mine Safety & Health Act of 1977, section 501, enables NIOSH to carry out research relevant to the health and safety of workers in the mining industry. Surveillance of occupational injuries, illnesses, and exposures has been an integral part of the work of the NIOSH since its creation by the Occupational Safety and Health Act in 1970. Surveillance activities at the Office of Mine Safety and Health Research (OMSHR), a Division of NIOSH, are focused on the nation's mining workforce. OMSHR is planning to develop the Mining Industry Surveillance System, a unique source of longitudinal information on U.S. mines and their employees. Its purpose will be to: (1) Track changes and emerging trends over time; (2) provide current data to guide research and training activities; (3) provide updated demographic and occupational data for the mining workforce; and (4) provide denominator data to help understand the risk of work-related injuries, disease, and fatalities in specific demographic and occupational subgroups. The goal of the proposed project is to improve its surveillance capability related to the occupational risks in mining. NIOSH is requesting a three-year approval for this data collection.

NIOSH is planning to use the Mining Industry and Workforce Survey (MIWS) to collect data for the Mining Industry Surveillance System. Data will be collected through surveys conducted on a rotating basis in mining sectors aligned with national mining association. In Phase 1 of the project, the MIWS will be conducted in the stone/sand and gravel mining sector in year 1, the metal/nonmetal mining sector in year 2, and the coal mining sector in year 3. Data from this survey will provide denominator data so that accident, injury, and illness reports can be evaluated in relation to the population at risk.

Additionally, NIOSH cannot separately determine the number of contractor employees working in metal, nonmetal, stone, or sand and gravel mines. The survey will collect mine-level data on contractor employees to allow NIOSH to determine the quantity of contract labor that mine operators use and the type of work these employees perform. NIOSH will also use the MIWS to collect mine-level data that will provide a valuable picture of the current working environment (work schedules and shift work practices) used in the U.S. mining industry.

Based on the stratification and sample size allocation plan developed for this project, 34% of all sampled mines have fewer than 10 employees. Mines with 10 or fewer employees will not have to do any sampling as they will be asked to provide data for all of their employees. Small mines will require up to 45 minutes to complete the survey. Mines with 11 or more employees will need up to 1.5 hours given their need to generate an employee roster and sample 10 of their employees. Thus, NIOSH is estimating that the average annual burden to complete the survey will be 1 hour. Non-responding mines will be asked to complete the Nonresponse Survey which consists of only seven questions. NIOSH estimates that the burden for this brief survey will be 10 minutes or less.

The total estimated burden hours are 1,397. There is no cost to the respondents other than their time.

Estimated Annualized Burden Hours

Type of respondents	Form name	Number of respondents	Number of responses per respondent	Avg. burden per response (in hrs.)	Total burden (in hrs.)
Responding Stone/Sand & Gravel Mines (Year 1)	Mining Industry & Workforce Survey	526	1	1	526
Nonresponding Stone/Sand & Gravel Mines (Year 1)	Nonresponse Survey	350	1	10/60	58
Responding Metal/Nonmetal Mines (Year 2)	Mining Industry & Workforce Survey	369	1	1	369
Nonresponding Metal/Nonmetal Mines (Year 2)	Nonresponse Survey	246	1	10/60	41
Responding Coal Mines (Year 3)	Mining Industry & Workforce Survey	363	1	1	363
Nonresponding Coal Mines (Year 3)	Nonresponse Survey	242	1	10/60	40
Total					1,397

Leroy A. Richardson,

Chief, Information Collection Review Office, Office of Scientific Integrity, Office of the Associate Director for Science, Office of the Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.