[Federal Register: March 5, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 42)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 9716-9718]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr05mr07-17]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
29 CFR Part 1910
[Docket No. OSHA-2007-0021]
RIN 1218-AC16
Announcement of Stakeholder Meetings on Occupational Exposure to
Ionizing Radiation
AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Labor.
ACTION: Announcement of stakeholder meetings.
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SUMMARY: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
invites interested parties to participate in informal stakeholder
meetings on Occupational Exposure to Ionizing Radiation. These meetings
are a continuation of OSHA's information collection efforts on ionizing
radiation.
DATES: Stakeholder meetings: The stakeholder meeting dates are:
1. 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., March 16, 2007, Washington, DC.
2. 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., March 26, 2007, Orlando, FL.
Notice of intention to attend a stakeholder meeting: You must
submit a notice of intention to attend the Washington, DC, or Orlando,
FL, stakeholder meeting by March 9, 2007.
ADDRESSES: Stakeholder meetings: The stakeholder meeting locations are:
1. Frances Perkins Building, U.S. Department of Labor, 200
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210.
2. For the location of the Orlando, FL, stakeholder meeting,
contact Liset Navas at (202) 693-1950.
Notices of intention to attend a stakeholder meeting: You may
submit your notice of intention to attend a stakeholder meeting by any
of the following methods:
Electronic: OSHA encourages you to submit your notice of intention
to attend to navas.liset@dol.gov.
Facsimile: You may fax your notice of intention to attend to (202)
693-1678.
Regular mail, express delivery, hand delivery, messenger and
courier service: Submit your notice of intention to attend to Liset
Navas, OSHA, Directorate of Standards and Guidance, Room N-3718, U.S.
Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC
20210; telephone (202) 693-1950. The Department of Labor's and OSHA's
normal hours of operation are 8:15 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., e.t.
Instructions: For further information on the stakeholder meetings
and submitting notices of intention to attend one of the meetings, see
the ``Public Participation'' heading in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
section of this notice.
Because of security-related procedures, the use of regular mail may
cause a significant delay in the receipt of notices of intention to
attend. For information about security procedures concerning the
delivery of materials by hand, express mail, messenger or courier
service, please contact Liset Navas at (202) 693-1950.
Electronic copies of this Federal Register notice are available at
http://www.regulations.gov. This document, non-attributed notes from
the stakeholder meetings, as well as news releases and other relevant
information, will also be available at OSHA's Web page at http://www.osha.gov
.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Seymour, Director, OSHA,
Office of Physical Hazards, Directorate of Standards and Guidance, Room
N-3718, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW.,
Washington, DC 20210; telephone (202) 693-1950.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The use of ionizing radiation has increased significantly in recent
years. Today, ionizing radiation is used in a
[[Page 9717]]
wide variety of workplaces and operations, including security
operations, hospitals and medical offices, dental offices,
manufacturing worksites, research facilities, forestry and other
agricultural worksites, and wastewater treatment plants.
In 2005, OSHA initiated information collection efforts to obtain
data, information, and comment on the increased workplace use of
ionizing radiation and other related issues. These efforts started with
the publication of a Request for Information (RFI) on May 3, 2005 (70
FR 22828). OSHA received 51 comments in response to the RFI. To
supplement this information, OSHA is inviting interested parties to
attend informal stakeholder meetings on the Occupational Exposure to
Ionizing Radiation. OSHA will use the data and materials obtained
through these information collections efforts to determine, in
conjunction with other Federal agencies, whether regulatory action is
necessary to protect employees from ionizing radiation exposure.
OSHA's existing standard on Ionizing Radiation (29 CFR 1910.1096)
was adopted in 1971 pursuant to section 6(a) of the Act (29 U.S.C.
655). The standard has remained largely unchanged since that time.
OSHA's Ionizing Radiation standard applies to all workplaces except
agricultural operations and those workplaces exempted from OSHA
jurisdiction under section 4(b)(1) of the Occupational Safety and
Health Act of 1970 (the Act) (29 U.S.C. 653). Section 4(b)(1) states:
Nothing in this Act shall apply to working conditions of
employees with respect to which other Federal agencies, and State
agencies acting under section 274 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954,
as amended (42 U.S.C. 2021), exercise statutory authority to
prescribe or enforce standards or regulations affecting occupational
safety and health.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has statutory authority for
licensing and regulating nuclear facilities and materials as mandated
by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (as amended)(42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.),
the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 (as amended), the Nuclear
Nonproliferation Act of 1978, and other applicable statutes.
Specifically, the NRC has the authority to regulate source, byproduct
and certain special nuclear materials (e.g., nuclear reactor fuel).
This authority covers radiation hazards in NRC-licensed nuclear
facilities produced by radioactive materials and plant conditions that
affect the safety of radioactive materials and thus present an
increased radiation hazard to workers.
In 1988, OSHA and NRC signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU)
delineating the general areas of responsibility of each agency (CPL
2.86, December 22, 1989). The MOU specifies that at NRC-licensed
facilities OSHA has authority to regulate occupational ionizing
radiation sources not regulated by NRC (CPL 2.86). Examples of non-NRC
regulated radiation sources include X-ray equipment, accelerators,
electron microscopes, betatrons, and some naturally occurring radiation
sources (CPL 2.86). (See the Ionizing Radiation RFI (70 FR 22828) for
additional information on sources of ionizing radiation exposure,
workplace uses of ionizing radiation, and health effects of ionizing
radiation exposure.)
Most recently, the Energy Policy Act of 2005 authorized NRC to
regulate material made radioactive by accelerators by adding
``accelerator-produced material'' to the definition of ``byproduct
material'' that NRC is authorized to license and regulate. The Energy
Policy Act directed NRC to issue licensing and compliance oversight
regulations to carry out the legislation. Until NRC issues and begins
enforcing those regulations, OSHA retains authority over both
accelerators and the materials they produce.
Stakeholder Meetings
OSHA intends to hold four stakeholder meetings on Occupational
Exposure to Ionizing Radiation, two of which the Agency is announcing
in this notice. OSHA will publish a Federal Register notice announcing
the other two stakeholder meetings when meeting arrangements are
finalized. The first stakeholder meeting, to be held in Washington, DC,
will cover the uses of ionizing radiation in the healing arts,
including medicine, dentistry, chiropractor services and veterinary
medicine. The second stakeholder meeting, to be held in Orlando, FL, in
conjunction with the Annual Research Symposium of the American Society
for Nondestructive Testing, will cover nondestructive testing. The
other two stakeholder meetings will cover non-medical use of
accelerators and the use of ionizing radiation in security operations.
OSHA encourages interested parties to attend only the stakeholder
meeting that deals with their industry, occupation, or operation.
The stakeholder meetings will be an opportunity for informal
discussion and the exchange of data, ideas, and points of view. To make
the stakeholder meetings as productive as possible, OSHA requests that
interested parties attending stakeholder meetings be prepared to
discuss the following issues relating to occupational exposure to
ionizing radiation in their respective industries, occupations, or
operations:
Uses of ionizing radiation;
Available exposure data;
Controls utilized to minimize exposure; and
Training.
In addition, OSHA will use the stakeholder meetings to discuss comments
and materials received in response to the RFI.
Each stakeholder meeting will begin with OSHA's presentation on
Agency responsibilities related to occupational exposure to ionizing
radiation followed by stakeholder questions. OSHA will devote the
remainder of each meeting to informal discussions on the topics above
and related issues. In particular, OSHA is interested in hearing
firsthand from employers and employees and in reviewing exposure data.
Meeting participants are not expected to prepare and present formal
testimony.
Public Participation--Submission of Notices of Intention To Attend and
Access to Docket
You may submit notices of intention to attend one of the
stakeholder meetings (1) electronically, (2) by facsimile, or (3) by
hard copy. All notices must identify the Agency name and docket number
for this notice (Docket No. OSHA-2007-0021). Because of security-
related procedures, the use of regular mail may cause a significant
delay in the receipt of notices of intention to attend. For information
about security procedures concerning the delivery of materials by hand,
express mail, messenger or courier service, please contact Liset Navas
at (202) 693-1950.
Notices of intention to attend a stakeholder meeting must include
the following information:
Name and contact information;
Affiliation (e.g., organization, association), if any;
The stakeholder meeting you plan to attend;
Whether you wish to be an active participant or observer;
and
Whether you need any special accommodations in order to
attend or participate in a stakeholder meeting.
For access to comments and materials received in response to the
RFI, go to OSHA Docket No. H-016 on OSHA's Web page at http://www.osha.gov.
Contact the OSHA Docket Office, Docket No. H-016, 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) for
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information about materials in the RFI docket that are not available
through OSHA's Web page and for assistance in using the Web page to
locate docket submissions.
Electronic copies of this Federal Register notice are available at
http://www.regulations.gov. This document, as well as news releases and
other relevant information, also are available at OSHA's Web page at
http://www.osha.gov.
Authority
This notice was prepared under the direction of Edwin G. Foulke,
Jr., Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health. It is
issued under Sections 4 and 8 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act
of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 653, 657), and Secretary of Labor's Order No. 5-2002
(67 FR 65008).
Signed at Washington, DC on this 27th day of February, 2007.
Edwin G. Foulke, Jr.,
Assistant Secretary of Labor.
[FR Doc. E7-3689 Filed 3-2-07; 8:45 am]
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