[Federal Register: July 8, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 131)]
[Notices]
[Page 39050-39051]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr08jy08-111]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
[Docket No. OSHA-2008-0021]
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 proposal to extend
OMB approval of the information collection requirements specified in
the Standard on Vinyl Chloride (29 CFR 1910.1017).
DATES: Comments must be submitted (postmarked, sent, or received) by
September 8, 2008.
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 three copies of your comments
and attachments to the OSHA Docket Office, Docket No. OSHA-2008-0021,
U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health
Administration, 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 for the ICR (OSHA-2008-0021). 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 through the Web site. All submissions,
including copyrighted material, are available for inspection and
copying at the OSHA Docket Office. You may also 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:
I. Background
The Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort to reduce
paperwork and respondent (i.e., employer) burden,
[[Page 39051]]
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, 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 specifies a number of paperwork requirements. The
following is a brief description of the collection of information
requirements contained in the Vinyl Chloride (VC) Standard.
(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 perform
additional monitoring 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 whose engineering and work
practice controls cannot sufficiently 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 to OSHA for examination and copying. 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 is requesting that OMB extend its approval of the collection
of information requirements contained in the Standard on Vinyl Chloride
(29 CFR 1910.1017). The Agency is requesting to reduce its current
burden hour estimate associated with the Standard from 1,758 hours to
712 hours for a total reduction of 1,046 hours. This decrease (based on
new data obtained by the Agency) is a result of reducing the number of
VC and PVC establishments from 77 to 32 establishments. The Agency will
include this summary in its request to OMB to extend the approval of
these collection of information requirements.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
Title: Vinyl Chloride (29 CFR 1910.1017).
OMB Number: 1218-0010.
Affected Public: Business or other for-profits.
Number of Respondents: 32.
Total Responses: 1,108.
Frequency: On occasion.
Estimated Time per Response: Varies from 5 minutes (.08 hour) for
employers to maintain records to 12 hours for employers to update their
compliance plans.
Total Burden Hours: 1,758.
Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $48,928.
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 Webpage. 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 Webpage are
available at http://www.OSHA.gov. Contact the OSHA Docket Office for
information about materials not available through the OSHA Webpage and
for assistance using the Webpage to locate docket submissions.
Electronic copies of this Federal Register notice as well as other
relevant documents are available on OSHA's Webpage. 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. 5-2007 (72 FR
31159).
Signed at Washington, DC, on July 1, 2008.
Edwin G. Foulke, Jr.,
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. E8-15393 Filed 7-7-08; 8:45 am]
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