2010-18985. Submission for OMB Review: Comment Request

July 28, 2010.

The Department of Labor (DOL) hereby announces the submission of the following public information collection request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. chapter 35). A copy of the ICR, with applicable supporting documentation; including, among other things, a description of the likely respondents, proposed frequency of response, and estimated total burden may be obtained from the RegInfo.gov Web site at http://www.reginfo.gov/​public/​do/​PRAMain or by contacting Linda Watts Thomas on 202-693-2443 (this is not a toll-free number)/e-mail: [e-mail].

Interested parties are encouraged to send comments to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attn: OMB Desk Officer for the Department of Labor—Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Office of Management and Budget, Room 10235, Washington, DC 20503, Telephone: [phone]/Fax: [phone] (these are not toll-free numbers), E-mail: [e-mail] within 30 days from the date of this publication in the Federal Register. In order to ensure the appropriate consideration, comments should reference the OMB Control Number (see below).

The OMB is particularly interested in comments which:

• Evaluate whether the proposed information collection requirements are necessary for the proper performance 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 collections 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 without change of a previously approved collection.

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

OMB Control Number: 1218-0133.

Affected Public: Business or other for-profits.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 243.

Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 11,933.

Estimated Total Annual Costs Burden (excludes hourly wage costs): $862,347.

Description: 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.

For additional information, see the related 60-day preclearance notice published in the Federal Register on April 5, 2010, (75 FR 17164).

Dated: July 28, 2010.

Linda Watts Thomas,

Acting Departmental Clearance Officer.