95-14491. Cooperative Agreement for Occupational Safety and Health Silicosis Prevention Partnership

[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 114 (Wednesday, June 14, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31315-31317]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-14491]



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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
[Announcement 557]


Cooperative Agreement for Occupational Safety and Health 
Silicosis Prevention Partnership

Introduction

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National 
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), announces the 
availability of funds for fiscal year (FY) 1995 for a cooperative 
agreement program for occupational safety and health silicosis 
prevention partnership.
    The Public Health Service (PHS) is committed to achieving the 
health promotion and disease prevention objectives of Healthy People 
2000, a PHS-led national activity to reduce morbidity and mortality and 
improve the quality of life. This announcement is related to the 
priority area of Occupational Safety and Health. (For ordering Healthy 
People 2000 see the Section Where To Obtain Additional Information.)

Authority

    This program is authorized under Sections 20(a) and 22(e)(7) of the 
Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 [29 U.S.C. 669(a) and 
671(e)(7)].

Smoke-Free Workplace

    The PHS strongly encourages all grant recipients to provide a 
smoke-free workplace and promote the nonuse of all tobacco products, 
and Public Law 103-227, the Pro-Children Act of 1994, prohibits smoking 
in certain facilities that receive Federal funds in which education, 
library, day care, health care, and early childhood development 
services are provided to children.

Eligible Applicants

    Applications may be submitted by public and private, non-profit and 
for-profit organizations and governments and their agencies. Thus, 
universities, colleges, research institutions, hospitals, other public 
and private organizations, State and local health departments or their 
bona fide agents, federally recognized Indian tribal governments, 
Indian tribes or Indian tribal organizations, and small, minority- and/
or women-owned businesses are eligible to apply.

Availability of Funds

    Approximately $250,000 is available in FY 1995 to fund one to two 
awards. It is expected that the award(s) will begin on or about 
September 30, 1995, for a 12-month budget period within a project 
period of up to three years. Funding estimates may vary and are subject 
to change.
    Continuation awards within the project period will be made on the 
basis of satisfactory progress and the availability of funds.

Purpose

    The purpose of this agreement is to conduct a program of applied 
research to identify barriers to the successful application of 
recognized prevention methods and identify effective measures that will 
promote the prevention of silicosis.
    Potential areas of exploration include, but are not limited to: (1) 
Work organization and behavioral factors which influence the acceptance 
of (or resistance to) occupational exposure to silica dust; (2) 
economic incentives and disincentives for silicosis prevention, 
especially those which are built into existing or alternative systems 
for controlling dust exposures, providing health care, purchasing 
insurance, and compensating disabled workers; (3) educational materials 
and technical manuals available to workers, employers, and design 
engineers with roles in preventing silicosis; and (4) successes and 
shortcomings of current inspection and enforcement activities. 
Exploration of these areas will require a variety of approaches which 
might include scientific comparisons of the effectiveness of 
alternative prevention strategies, including lessons learned from the 
control of other hazardous materials; statistical analyses of existing 
data; focus groups; and theoretical and observational studies by 
behavioral and other social scientists, engineers, and educators.

Program Requirements

    In conducting activities to achieve the purpose of this program, 
the recipient will be responsible for conducting activities under 
A.(Recipient Activities), and CDC/NIOSH will be responsible for 
conducting activities under B.(CDC/NIOSH Activities).

A. Recipient Activities

    1. Identify existing barriers to implementation of known effective 
silicosis prevention methods based on available information and on data 
collected as a part of this agreement, when necessary.
    2. Identify potential promotion strategies to test for their 
effectiveness in removing the barriers to successful prevention of 
silicosis.
    3. Develop and carry out protocols for implementing and evaluating 
the effectiveness of the selected promotion methods in various exposure 
situations for which they were designed.
    4. Based on the results of testing the promotion strategies and 
available data from any sources deemed appropriate, recommend effective 
measures or programs (sets of measures) available and applicable for 
use and that others can take for improved, broad implementation of 
silicosis preventions. These measures should be comprised of the most 
effective job- and industry-specific actions, based on their ability to 
remove the barriers to silicosis prevention, actually result in a 
reduction of silica exposure, and prevent silicosis.

B. CDC/NIOSH Activities

    1. Participate in selection of strategies most appropriate for 
testing;
    2. Assist in the development of the overall plan of study design 
for this project; lending technical expertise on industrial hygiene, 
control technology engineering, education, information dissemination, 
behavioral and social science, human factors, intervention (i.e., 
program) evaluation, both qualitative and quantitative research 
methods; and
    3. Provide assistance on the methods for the collection of data, 
including participating in field studies, as well as in the analysis 
and publication of data related to the project.

Evaluation Criteria

    Applications will be reviewed and evaluated according to the 
following criteria:
    1. Responsiveness to the application content specified above, as 
well as demonstration of an understanding of the objectives of the 
proposed cooperative agreement, and the relevance of the proposal to 
the objectives. (40%)
    2. Feasibility of meeting the proposed objectives of the 
cooperative agreement, including a proposed schedule for initiating and 
accomplishing each of the objectives of the cooperative agreement, and 
a proposed method for evaluating the accomplishments. (20%)
    3. Training and experience of the proposed Program Director and 
staff, demonstrating that the Program Director is a recognized 
technical expert appropriate to the task and staff has training or 
experience sufficient to accomplish the proposed objectives. (20%)
    4. The extent to which the institution has a program of recognized, 
documented expertise in publication, information collection, and 
information dissemination in the area of preventing occupational 
disease. (10%)

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    5. Efficiency of resources and uniqueness of program including the 
efficient use of existing and proposed personnel with assurance of a 
major time commitment of the Program Director to the program. Evidence 
of partnership or collaboration with outside organizations (e.g., 
universities, industries, or government agencies) using shared 
resources toward common goals. (10%)
    6. The extent to which the program budget is reasonable, clearly 
justified, and consistent with the intended use of funds. (Not Scored)

Executive Order 12372

    This program is not subject to the Executive Order 12372 review.

Public Health System Reporting Requirements

    This program is not subject to the Public Health System Reporting 
Requirements.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number

    The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number for this program 
is 93.262.

Other Requirements

Paperwork Reduction Act

    Programs that involve the collection of information from 10 or more 
individuals and funded by the cooperative agreement will be subject to 
review and approval by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under 
the Paperwork Reduction Act.

Human Subjects

    If the proposed project involves research on human subjects, the 
applicant must comply with the Department of Health and Human Services 
Regulations, 45 CFR Part 46, regarding the protection of human 
subjects. Assurance must be provided to demonstrate that the program 
will be subject to initial and continuing review by an appropriate 
institutional review committee. The applicant will be responsible for 
providing assurance in accordance with the appropriate guidelines and 
form provided in the application kit.
    In addition to other applicable committees, Indian Health Service 
(IHS) institutional review committees also must review the project if 
any component of IHS will be involved or will support the research. If 
any American Indian community is involved, its tribal government must 
also approve that portion of the project applicable to it.

Application Submission and Deadline

    The original and two copies of the application PHS Form 5161-1 
(Revised 7/92, OMB Number 0937-0189) must be submitted to Henry S. 
Cassell, III, Grants Management Officer, Grants Management Branch, 
Procurement and Grants Office, Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention (CDC), Mailstop E-13, 255 East Paces Ferry Road, NE, Room 
300, Atlanta, GA 30305, on or before July 26, 1995.
    1. Deadline: Applications will be considered as meeting the 
deadline if they are either:
    (a) Received on or before the deadline date; or
    (b) Sent on or before the deadline date and received in time for 
submission to the objective review group. (Applicants must request a 
legibly dated U.S. Postal Service postmark or obtain a legibly dated 
receipt from a commercial carrier or U.S. Postal Service. Private 
metered postmarks will not be acceptable as proof of timely mailing).
    2. Late Applications: Applications which do not meet the criteria 
in 1.(a) or 1.(b) above are considered late applications. Late 
applications will not be considered in the current competition and will 
be returned to the applicant.

Where To Obtain Additional Information

    To receive additional written information, call [phone]. You 
will be asked to leave your name, address, and telephone number and 
will need to refer to Announcement Number 557. You will receive a 
complete program description, information on application procedures, 
and application forms.
    If you have questions after reviewing the contents of all the 
documents, business management technical assistance may be obtained 
from Oppie Byrd, Grants Management Specialist, Grants Management 
Branch, Procurement and Grants Office, Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention (CDC), 255 East Paces Ferry Road, NE., Room 300, Atlanta, GA 
30305, telephone [phone]. Programmatic technical assistance may 
be obtained from Michael A. McCawley, Ph.D., Environmental 
Investigations Branch, Division of Respiratory Disease Studies, 
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1095 Willowdale Road, Morgantown, 
WV 26505-2888, telephone [phone].
    Please refer to Announcement 557 when requesting information and 
submitting an application.
    Potential applicants may obtain a copy of Healthy People 2000 (Full 
Report, Stock No. 017-001-00474-0) or Healthy People 2000 (Summary 
Report, Stock No. 017-001-00473-1) referenced in the Introduction 
Section through the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing 
Office, Washington, DC 20402-9325, telephone [phone].

    Dated: June 8, 1995.
Diane D. Porter,
Acting Director, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
[FR Doc. 95-14491 Filed 6-13-95; 8:45 am]
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