2010-7586. Asbestos in General Industry; 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 comment.

SUMMARY:

OSHA solicits public comments concerning its proposal to extend OMB approval of the information collection requirements specified in its Standard on Asbestos in General Industry (29 CFR 1910.1001).

DATES:

Comments must be submitted (postmarked, sent, or received) by June 4, 2010.

ADDRESSES:

Electronically: You may submit comments and attachments electronically at http://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Follow the instructions online for submitting comments.

Facsimile: If your comments, including attachments, are not longer than 10 pages, you may fax them to the OSHA Docket Office at [phone].

Mail, hand delivery, express mail, messenger, or courier service: When using this method, you must submit three copies of your comments and attachments to the OSHA Docket Office, OSHA Docket No. OSHA-2010-0018, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Room N-2625, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210. Deliveries (hand, express mail, messenger, and courier service) are accepted during the Department of Labor's and Docket Office's normal business hours, 8:15 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., e.t.

Instructions: All submissions must include the Agency name and OSHA docket number for the Information Collection Request (ICR) (OSHA Docket No. OSHA-2010-0018). All comments, including any personal information you provide, are placed in the public docket without change, and may be made available online at http://www.regulations.gov. For further information on submitting comments see the “Public Participation” heading in the section of this notice titled SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

Docket: To read or download comments or other material in the docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov or the OSHA Docket Office at the address above. All documents in the docket (including this Federal Register notice) are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index; however, some information (e.g., copyrighted material) is not publicly available to read or download through the Web site. All submissions, including copyrighted material, are available for inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office. You may also contact Jamaa N. Hill at the address below to obtain a copy of the ICR.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Todd Owen or Jamaa N. Hill, Directorate of Standards and Guidance, OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-3609, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

The Department of Labor, as part of its 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-95) (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, collection instruments are clearly understood, and OSHA's estimate of the information collection burden is accurate. The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (the 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 (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 efforts in obtaining information (29 U.S.C. 657).

The basic purpose of the information collection requirements in the Standard is to document that employers in general industry are providing their workers with protection from hazardous asbestos exposure. Asbestos exposure results in asbestosis, an emphysema-like condition; lung cancer; mesothelioma; and gastrointestinal cancer.

Several provisions of the Standard specify paperwork requirements, including:

Implementing an exposure monitoring program that notifies workers of their exposure monitoring results; establishing a written compliance program; and informing laundry personnel of the requirement to prevent release of airborne asbestos above the time-weighted average and excursion limit. Other provisions associated with paperwork requirements include: Maintaining records of information obtained concerning the presence, location, and quantity of asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) and/or presumed asbestos-containing materials (PACMs) in a building/facility; notifying housekeeping workers of the presence and location of ACMs and PACMs in areas they may contact during their work; posting warning signs demarcating regulated areas; posting signs in mechanical rooms/areas that workers may enter and that contain ACMs and PACMs, informing them of the identity and location of these materials and work practices that prevent disturbing the materials; and affixing warning labels to asbestos-containing products and to containers holding such products. Additional provisions that contain paperwork requirements include: Developing specific information and training programs for workers; using information, data, and analyses to demonstrate that PACMs do not contain asbestos; providing medical surveillance for workers potentially exposed to ACMs and/or PACMs, including administering a worker medical questionnaire, providing information to the examining physician, and providing the physician's written opinion to the worker; maintaining exposure monitoring records, objective data used for exposure determinations, and medical surveillance; making specified records (e.g., exposure monitoring and medical surveillance records) available to designated parties; and transferring exposure monitoring and medical surveillance records to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) on cessation of business, if so requested by NIOSH.

These paperwork requirements permit employers, workers and their designated representatives, OSHA, and other specified parties to determine the effectiveness of an employer's asbestos-control program. Accordingly, the requirements ensure that workers exposed to asbestos receive all of the protection afforded by the Standard.

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, 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 collection and transmission techniques.

III. Proposed Actions

OSHA is requesting that OMB extend its approval of the information collection requirements contained in the Standard on Asbestos in General Industry (29 CFR 1910.1001). The Agency is requesting to reduce the burden hours associated with the Standard from 23,849 to 11,933 for a total reduction of 11,916 burden hours. The primary reason for this reduction is that the estimated number of affected facilities covered by this Standard has been reduced.

The Agency will summarize the comments submitted in response to this notice, and will include this summary in the request to OMB.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved information collection.

Title: Asbestos in General Industry (29 CFR 1910.1001).

OMB Number: 1218-0133.

Affected Public: Business or other for-profits.

Number of Respondents: 243.

Frequency: Annually; semi-annually.

Average Time per Response: Varies from 5 minutes to maintain records to 1.5 hours for workers to receive training or medical evaluations.

Estimated Total Burden Hours: 11,933.

Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $862,347.

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 http://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal eRulemaking Portal; (2) by facsimile (fax); or (3) by hard copy. All comments, attachments, and other material must identify the Agency name and the OSHA docket number for the ICR (OSHA Docket No. OSHA-2010-0018). You may supplement electronic submissions by uploading document files electronically. If you wish to mail additional materials in reference to an electronic or facsimile submission, you must submit them to the OSHA Docket Office (see the section of this notice titled ADDRESSES). The additional materials must clearly identify your electronic comments by your name, date, and the docket number so the Agency can attach them to your comments.

Because of security procedures, the use of regular mail may cause a significant delay in the receipt of comments. For information about security procedures concerning the delivery of materials by hand, express delivery, messenger, or courier service, please contact the OSHA Docket Office at [phone] (TTY [phone]).

Comments and submissions are posted without change at http://www.regulations.gov. Therefore, OSHA cautions commenters about submitting personal information such as social security numbers and date of birth. Although all submissions are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index, some information (e.g., copyrighted material) is not publicly available to read or download through this Web site. All submissions, including copyrighted material, are available for inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office. Information on using the http://www.regulations.gov Web site to submit comments and access the docket is available at the Web site's “User Tips” link. Contact the OSHA Docket Office for information about materials not available through the Web site, and for assistance in using the Internet to locate docket submissions.

Electronic copies of this Federal Register document are available at http://www.regulations.gov. This document as well as news releases and other relevant information also are available at OSHA's Web page at http://www.osha.gov.

V. Authority and Signature

David Michaels, PhD, MPH, 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. 5-2007 (72 FR 31160).

Signed at Washington, DC, on March 30, 2010.

David Michaels,

Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.