[Federal Register: June 10, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 111)]
[Notices]
[Page 33926-33927]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr10jn05-108]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
[Docket No. ICR-1218-0010(2005)]
Standard on Vinyl Chloride; 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 contained in 29
CFR 1910.1017.
DATES: Comments must be submitted by the following dates:
Hard copy: Your comments must be submitted (postmarked or received)
by August 9, 2005.
Facsimile and electronic transmission: Your comments must be
received by August 9, 2005.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by OSHA Docket No. ICR-
1218-0010(2005), 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 efforts 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)).
The 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 Improvements
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 several revisions to collections of
information in the Vinyl Chloride Standard.\1\ These revisions
included: Reducing the frequency of
[[Page 33927]]
exposure monitoring, employee medical examinations, and updating
compliance plans; allowing employers the option to post employee
exposure-monitoring results instead of requiring individual
notification; eliminating the need for employers to report emergencies
to OSHA and to notify OSHA when establishing a regulated area. Those
changes reduced paperwork burden hours while maintaining worker
protection and improving consistency among standards. The following is
a brief description of the current collection of information
requirements contained in the Vinyl Chloride Standard.
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\1\ The Office of Management and Budget approved the reduction
of 1,938 burden hours after reviewing the Information Collection
Request for the Standards Improvements Project--Phase II Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking, published October 31, 2002 (67 FR 66494). On
January 5, 2005, when the final rule was published (70 FR 1112)
documentation was submitted to OMB revising the reduction of 1,938
hours to 1,220 hours to reflect the increase in time to conduct
exposure monitoring.
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(A) Exposure Monitoring (Sec. 1910.1017(d))
Paragraph 1910.1017(d)(2) requires employers to conduct exposure
monitoring at least quarterly if the results show that employee
exposures are above the permissible exposure limit (PEL), while those
exposed at or above the Action Level (AL) must be monitored no less
than semiannually. Paragraph (d)(3) requires that employers must
perform additional monitoring with samples to be taken whenever there
has been a change in VC production, process or control that may result
in an increase in the release of VC.
(B) Written Compliance Plan (Sec. 1910.1017(f)(2) and (f)(3))
Paragraph (f)(2) requires employers who cannot use engineering and
work-practice controls immediately to reduce employee VC exposures to a
level at or below the PEL to develop and implement a plan for doing so.
Paragraph (f)(3) requires employers to develop this written plan and
provide it upon request for examination and copying to OSHA. These
plans must be updated annually.
(C) Medical Surveillance (Sec. 1910.1017(k))
Paragraph (k) requires employers to develop a medical surveillance
program for employees exposed to VC in excess of the action level.
Examinations must be provided in accordance with this paragraph at
least annually. Employers must also obtain, and provide to each
employee, a copy of a physician's statement regarding the employee's
suitability for continued exposure to VC, including use of protective
equipment and respirators if appropriate.
(D) Recordkeeping (Sec. 1910.1017(m))
Employers must maintain employee exposure and medical records. The
VC standard requires that employers make available monitoring,
measuring, and medical records at the request of the Assistant
Secretary (usually an OSHA compliance officer).
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 proposes to extend the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB)
approval of the collections of information (paperwork) requirements
necessitated by the Standard on Vinyl Chloride (29 CFR 1910.1017). The
Agency will summarize the comments submitted in response to this notice
and include this summary in its request to OMB to extend the approval
of these collections of information requirements contained in the
standards.
Type of Review: Extension of currently approved information
collection requirements.
Title: Vinyl Chloride (29 CFR 1910.1017).
OMB Number: 1218-0010.
Affected Public: Business or other for-profits; Federal Government;
State, local or tribal government.
Frequency: On occasion.
Average Time Per Response: Varies from 5 minutes (.08 hour) for
employers to maintain records to 12 hours for employers to update their
compliance plans.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 1,758.
Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $113,862.
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 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
Jonathan L. Snare, Acting 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 in Washington, DC, on June 3, 2005.
Jonathan L. Snare,
Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor.
[FR Doc. 05-11579 Filed 6-9-05; 8:45 am]
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