[Federal Register: October 27, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 207)]
[Notices]
[Page 62003-62005]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr27oc05-65]

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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. ICR-1218-0195 (2006)]


The Asbestos in Shipyards Standard; Extension of the Office of
Management and Budget's 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 comment concerning its request for an
extension of the information collection requirements contained in the
Asbestos in Shipyards Standard (29 CFR 1915.1001). This Standard
regulates occupational exposure to Asbestos, thereby preventing serious
illness (e.g., asbestosis, an emphysema-like condition, mesothelioma,
and gastrointestinal cancer) among shipyard employees.

DATES: Comments must be submitted by the following dates:
    Hard copy: Your comment must be submitted (postmarked or received)
by December 27, 2005.
    Facsimile and electronic transmission: Your comments must be
received by December 27, 2005.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by OSHA Docket No. ICR-
1218-0195 (2006), by any of the following methods:
    Regular mail, express delivery, hand delivery, and messenger
service: Submit your comments and attachments to the OSHA Docket
Office, Room N-2625, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue,
NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone (202) 693-2350 (OSHA's TTY number
is (877) 889-5627). OSHA Docket Office and Department of Labor hours
are 8:15 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., ET.
    Facsimile: If your comments are 10 pages or fewer in length,
including attachments, you may fax them to the OSHA Docket Office at
(202) 693-1648.
    Electronic: You may submit comments through the Internet at http://ecomments.osha.gov.
 Follow instructions on the OSHA Web page for submitting comments.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read or download comments or
background materials, such as the complete Information Collection
Request (ICR) (containing the Supporting Statement, OMB-83-I Form, and
attachments), go to OSHA's Web page at http://www.OSHA.gov. In
addition, the ICR, comments and submissions are available for inspection and 
copying at the OSHA Docket Office at the address above. You may also contact Todd Owen
at the address below to obtain a copy of the ICR. For additional information
on submitting comments, please see the ``Public Participation'' heading
in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Todd Owen, Directorate of Standards
and Guidance, OSHA, Room N-3609, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW.,
Washington, DC 20210, telephone: (202) 693-2222.

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 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).
    On January 5, 2005, OSHA published the Standards Improvement
Project--Phase II, Final rule (70 FR 1112). The final rule removed and
revised provisions of standards that were outdated, duplicative,
unnecessary, or inconsistent and clarified or simplified regulatory
language. The final rule contained two revisions to collections of
information contained in the Asbestos in Shipyards Standard. The
revisions included modifying the time the employer has to provide their
employees with exposure monitoring results in 29 CFR
1915.1001(f)(5)(ii) from ``as soon as possible following receipt of the
results'' to ``as soon as possible but no later than five working days
after the receipt of the results,'' and removing the requirement to
send the certification and evaluation documentation required under
Sec.  1915.1001(g)(6)(iii) to OSHA's Directorate of Technical Support.
That reduction in burden hours was taken on the prior information
collection request.
    The information collection requirements specified in the Asbestos
in Shipyards Standard protect employees from the adverse health effects
that may result from occupational exposure to Asbestos. The major
information collection requirements in the Standard include
implementing an exposure-monitoring program that informs employees of
their exposure-monitoring results; at multi-employer worksites,
notification of other onsite employers by employers establishing
regulated areas for the type of work performed with asbestos-containing
materials (ACMs) and/or presumed asbestos-containing materials (PACMs),
the requirements that pertain to regulated areas, and the measures the
employers can use to protect their employees from asbestos
overexposure; developing specific information and training programs for
employees; providing medical surveillance for employees potentially
exposed to ACMs and/or PACMs, including administering an employee
medical questionnaire, providing information to the examining
physician, and providing the physician's written opinion to the
employee; and maintaining records of objective data used for exposure
determinations, employee exposure-monitoring and medical surveillance
records, training records, the record (i.e., information, data, and
analyses) used to demonstrate that PACM does not contain asbestos, and
notifications made and received by building/facility owners regarding
the content of ACMs and PACMs.

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 the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
extend the approval of these collections of information (paperwork)
requirements necessitated by the Asbestos in Shipyards Standard (29 CFR
1915.1001). OSHA will summarize the comments submitted in response to
this notice, and will include this summary in its request to OMB to
extend its approval of these information collection requirements.
    Type of Review: Extension of currently approved information
collection requirements.
    Title: Asbestos in Shipyards Standard.
    OMB Number: 1218-0195.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profits; Federal government;
State, local, or tribal government.
    Number of Respondents: 19.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Average Time Per Response: Varies from five minutes (.08 hour) to
maintain records to 17.3 hours for training a competent person.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 1,426.
    Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $33,635.

IV. Public Participation--Submission of Comments on This Notice and
Internet Access to Comments and Submissions

    You may submit comments and supporting materials in response to
this notice by (1) hard copy, (2) fax transmission (facsimile), or (3)
electronically through the OSHA Web page. 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 (202) 693-
2350 (TTY (877) 889-5627) for information about security procedures
concerning the delivery of submissions by express delivery, hand
delivery, and courier service.
    All comments, submissions and background documents are available
for inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office at the above
address. Comments and submissions posted on OSHA's Web page are
available at http://www.OSHA.gov. Contact the OSHA Docket Office for

information about materials not available through the OSHA Web page and
for assistance using the Web page to locate docket submissions.
    Electronic copies of this Federal Register notice, as well as other
relevant documents, are available on OSHA's Web page. Since all
submissions become public, private information such as social security
numbers should not be submitted.

V. Authority and Signature

    Jonathan L. Snare, Acting Assistant Security 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. 5-2002 (67 FR 65008).

    Dated: Signed at Washington, DC, on October 21, 2005.
Jonathan L. Snare,
Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor.
[FR Doc. 05-21480 Filed 10-26-05; 8:45 am]

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