Methylene Chloride Standard; Extension of the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) Approval of Information Collection (Paperwork) Requirements

Federal Register, Volume 79 Issue 233 (Thursday, December 4, 2014)

Federal Register Volume 79, Number 233 (Thursday, December 4, 2014)

Notices

Pages 72030-72031

From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office www.gpo.gov

FR Doc No: 2014-28499

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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Docket No. OSHA-2011-0060

Methylene Chloride Standard; 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 comments.

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SUMMARY: OSHA solicits public comments concerning its proposal to extend the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval of the information collection requirements specified in the Methylene Chloride Standard (29 CFR 1910.1052).

DATES: Comments must be submitted (postmarked, sent, or received) by February 2, 2015.

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 (202) 693-

1648.

Mail, hand delivery, express mail, messenger, or courier service: When using this method, you must submit your comments and attachments to the OSHA Docket Office, Docket No. OSHA-2011-0060, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 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 (OSHA-2011-0060) for the Information Collection Request (ICR). 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 from the Web site. All submissions, including copyrighted material, are available for inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office. You also may contact Theda Kenney at the address below to obtain a copy of the ICR.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Theda Kenney or Todd Owen, Directorate of Standards and Guidance, OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-3609, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone (202) 693-

2222.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

1. 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 accord 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 OSH 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 Standard protects workers from the adverse health effects that may result from their exposure to methylene chloride (MC). The requirements in the Standard include worker exposure monitoring, notifying workers of their MC exposures, administering medical examinations to workers, providing examining physicians with specific program and worker information, ensuring that workers receive a copy of their medical examination results, maintaining workers' exposure monitoring and medical examination records for specific periods, and providing access to these records by OSHA, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the affected workers, and their authorized representatives.

2. 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.

3. Proposed Actions

   The Agency is requesting an adjustment decrease in the number of burden hours from 63,560 to 54,481 hours (a total decrease of 9,079 hours). The reduction is a result the Agency's estimate, based on updated data, that the number of establishments and workers affected by the Standard has decreased. Also, part of the decrease in burden hours is related to the determination that the training provision of the Standard, although still in effect, is not considered to be a collection of information. The estimated operation and maintenance cost increased from $19,214,570 to $19,381,635 due to the increase in the cost of medical exams and exposure monitoring associated with the Standard.

   Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.

   Page 72031

   Title: Methylene Chloride Standard (29 CFR 1910.1052).

   OMB Control Number: 1218-0179.

   Affected Public: Business or other for-profits.

   Number of Respondents: 78,770.

   Frequency of Response: Annually; semi-annually; quarterly; on occasion.

   Total Responses: 214,575.

   Average Time per Response: Varies from 1 hour for administering a medical examination to 5 minutes (.08 hour) to maintain a worker's medical or exposure record.

   Estimated Total Burden Hours: 54,481.

   Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $19,381,635.

4. 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; or (3) by hard copy. All comments, attachments, and other material must identify the Agency name and the OSHA docket number (Docket No. OSHA-2011-0060) for this ICR. 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 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 (202) 693-2350, (TTY (877) 889-5627).

   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 from 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 from the Web site, and for assistance in using the Internet to locate docket submissions.

5. Authority and Signature

   David Michaels, Ph.D., 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. 1-2012 (77 FR 3912).

   Signed at Washington, DC, on December 1, 2014.

   David Michaels,

   Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.

   FR Doc. 2014-28499 Filed 12-3-14; 8:45 am

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