04-6847. Standard on Portable Fire Extinguishers (Annual Maintenance Certification Record); 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 comment.

SUMMARY:

OSHA solicits comments concerning its proposal to extend OMB approval of the Information Collection requirement contained in the Portable Fire Extinguishers Standard (Annual Maintenance Certification Record) (29 CFR 1910.157(e)(3)). The annual maintenance inspection ensures that portable fire extinguishers are in safe operating condition in case of a fire, while the maintenance record provides evidence to employees and Agency compliance officers that employers performed the required inspections.

DATES:

Comments must be submitted by the following date:

Hard Copy: Your comments must be submitted (postmarked or received) by May 25, 2004.

Facsimile and electronic transmission. Your comments must be received by May 25, 2004.

ADDRESSES:

I. Submission of Comments

Regular mail, express delivery, hand delivery, and messenger service. Submit your comments and attachments to the OSHA Docket Office, Docket No. ICR 1218-0238 (2004), Room N-2625, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210. OSHA Docket Office and Department of Labor hours of operation are 8:15 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., e.s.t.

Facsimile: If your comments, including any attachments, are 10 pages or fewer, you may fax them to the OSHA Docket Office at [phone]. You must include the docket number, ICR 1218-0238 (2004), in your comments.

Electronic: You may submit comments, but not attachments, through the Internet at http://ecomments.osha.gov/​.

II. Obtaining Copies of the Supporting Statement for the Information Collection Request

The Supporting Statement for the Information Collection Request (ICR) is available for downloading from OSHA's Web site at http://www.osha.gov. The Complete ICR, containing the OMB Form 83-I, Supporting Statement, and attachments, is available for inspection and copying in the OSHA Docket Office, at the address listed above. A printed copy of the ICR can be obtained by contacting Theda Kenney at [phone].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Theda Kenney, 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. Submission of Comments on This Notice and Internet Access to Comments and Submissions

You may submit comments in response to this document by (1) hard copy, (2) fax transmission (facsimile), or (3) electronically through the OSHA Web page. Please note that you cannot attach materials such as studies or journal articles to electronic comments. If you have additional materials, you must submit three copies of them to the OSHA Docket Office at the address above. The additional materials must clearly identify your electronic comments by name, date, subject and docket number so that we can attach them to your receipt comments. Because of security related problems there may be a significant delay in the receipt of comments by regular mail. Please contact the OSHA Docket Office at [phone] for information about security procedures concerning the delivery of materials by express delivery, hand delivery and messenger service.

II. 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 correct. The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (the Act) 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).

Paragraph (e)(3) of the Standard specifies that employers must subject each portable fire extinguisher to an annual maintenance inspection and record the date of the inspection. In addition, this provision requires employers to retain the inspection record for one year after the last entry or for the life of the shell, whichever is less, and to make the record available to OSHA upon request. This recordkeeping requirement assures employees and Agency compliance officers that portable fire extinguishers located in the workplace will operate normally in case of fire; in addition, this requirement provides evidence to OSHA compliance officers during an inspection that the employer performed the required maintenance checks on the portable fire extinguishers.

III. 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.

IV. Proposed Actions

OSHA is proposing to extend the information collections requirements in the Portable Fire Extinguishers Standard (Annual Maintenance Certification Record) (29 CFR 1910.157(e)(3)). The Agency will summarize the comments submitted in response to this notice, and will include this summary in its request to OMB to extend the approval of the information collection requirement.

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

Title: Portable Fire Extinguishers Standard (Annual Maintenance Certification Record) (29 CFR 1910.157(e)(3)).

OMB Number: 1218-0238.

Affected Public: Business or other for-profit; not-for-profit institutions; Federal government; State, local, or tribal governments.

Number of Respondents: 9,000,000.

Frequency of Recordkeeping: Annually.

Average Time Per Response: 30 minutes (.50 hour) to perform and record the required maintenance inspection.

Total Annual Hours Requested: 67,500.

Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $19,440,000.

V. Authority and Signature

John L. Henshaw, 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), and Secretary of Labor's Order No. 5-2002 (67 FR 65008).

Signed at Washington, DC, on March 23, 2004.

John L. Henshaw,

Assistant Secretary of Labor.