[Federal Register: July 26, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 143)]
[Notices]               
[Page 42419-42421]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr26jy06-115]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. ICR-1218-0205 (2006)]

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Standards for General 
Industry; 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 comment.

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SUMMARY: OSHA solicits public comment concerning its request for an 
extension of the information collection requirements specified in its 
standards on PPE for General Industry.

DATES: Comments must be submitted by the following dates:
    Hard copy: Your comments must be submitted (postmarked or received) 
by September 25, 2006.
    Fascimile and electronic transmission: Your comments must be 
received by September 25, 2006.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by OSHA Docket No. ICR-
1218-0205(2006), by any of the following methods:
    Regular mail, express delivery, hand delivery, and messenger 
service: Submit you 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., e.t.
    Facsimile: If your comments are 10 pages or fewer, including 
attachments, you may fax them to the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-
1648.
    Electronic: You may submit coments 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 Theda Kenney at the below to obtain a copy of the 
ICR. For additional information on submitting comments, please see the 
``Public Participation'' section in SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Theda Kenney or 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 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). This program ensures that 
information is in the desired format, reporint 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 its enforcement 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 busineses, and to reduce to 
the maximum extent feasible unnecessary duplication of efforts in 
obtaining information (29 U.S.C. 657).
    The general industry PPE standards (29 CFR part 1910, subpart I) 
include several paperwork requirements.\1\ The following Describe the 
information collection requirements:
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    \1\ The Information Collection Request (ICR) does not include 
burden hours and costs associated with the information collection 
requirements in the standards on respiratory Protection (29 CFR 
1910.134) and Electrical Protective Equipment (29 CFR 1910.137), 
both of which have been addressed in separate Information collection 
Requests (ICRs). See OMB Control Nos. 1218-0099 and 1218-0190, 
respectively.
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    Hazard Assessment and Verification (29 CFR 1910.132(d)). Paragraph 
(d)(1) requires that the employer assess work activities to determine 
whether there are hazards present, or likely to be present, which 
necessitate the employee's use of PPE. If such hazards are present, or 
likely to be present, the employer must communicate selection decisions 
to affected employees and verify that the required occupational hazard 
assessment has been performed. Paragraph (d)(2) requires that the 
verification document, which must be identified as a certification of 
hazard assessment, must contain the following information: occupation, 
the date(s) of the hazard assessment, and the name of the person 
performing the hazard assessment.\2\
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    \2\ Paragraph (g) of Sec.  1910.132 specifies that the section's 
hazard assessment (paragraph (d)) and training (paragraph (f)) 
requirements only apply to PPE for the eyes and face, head, feet and 
hands.
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    The hazard assessment assures that potential workplace hazards 
necessitating PPE use have been identified and that the PPE selected is 
appropriate for those hazards and the affected employees. The required 
certification of the hazard assessment verifies that the required 
hazard assessment was conducted.
    Training and Verification (29 CFR 1910.132(f)). Paragraph (f) 
requires that employers provide training for each employee who is 
required to wear PPE. Paragraph (f)(3) requires that employers also 
provide retraining when there is reason to believe that any previously 
trained employee does not have the understanding and skill to use PPE 
properly. Circumstances where such retraining is required include 
changes in the workplace or in the types of PPE used that render prior 
training obsolete, and inadequacies in the employee's knowledge or use 
of PPE that indicate the employee had not retained the requisite 
understanding and skill.
    Paragraph (f)(4) requires that employers certify that employees 
have received and understood the PPE training required in Sec.  
1910.132(f). The training certification must include the name of the 
employee(s) trained, the date of training, and the subject of the 
certification (i.e., a statement identifying the document as a 
certification of training in the use of PPE).
    The training certification verifies that employees have received 
the necessary training and know how to properly use PPE. OSHA 
compliance officers may require employers to disclose the certification 
records during an Agency inspection.
    The part 1910 standards on PPE protection for the eyes and face 
(Sec.  1910.133), head (Sec.  1910.135), feet (Sec.  1910.136), and 
hands (Sec.  1910.138) do not contain any separate information 
collection requirements.

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 requiring OMB to extend their approval of the collection of 
information requirements contained in the general industry PPE 
standards. The Agency is requesting an increase in burden hours for the 
existing collection of information requirements from 3,169,344 to 
3,953,759 (a total increase of 784,415 hours). The Agency will 
summarize the comments submitted in response to this notice, and will 
include this summary in its request to OMB.
    Type of Review: Extension of currently approved information 
collection requirement.
    Title: Personnel Protective Equipment (PPE) Standards for General 
Industry (29 CFR part, 1910, subpart I).
    OMB Number: 1218-0205.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profits; Federal 
Governments; State, local or tribal government; Not-for-profit 
institutions.
    Number of Respondents: 3,400,000.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Average Time per Response: Varies from one minute (.02 hour) to 
maintain a training certification record to 29 hours to perform a 
hazard assessment.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 3,953,759.
    Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $0.

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.
    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 in 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

    Edwin G. Foulke, Jr., 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. 5-2002 (67 FR 
65008).

    Signed at Washington, DC, on July 19, 2006.
Edwin G. Foulke, Jr.,
Assistant Secretary of Labor.
[FR Doc. 06-6487 Filed 7-25-06; 8:45 am]

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