[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 23 (Tuesday, February 4, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5233-5235]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-2681]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
[INFO-97-02]


Proposed Data Collections Submitted for Public Comment and 
Recommendations

    In compliance with the requirement of Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 for opportunity for public comment on 
proposed data collection projects, the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention (CDC) will publish periodic summaries of proposed projects. 
To request more information on the proposed projects or to obtain a 
copy of the data collection plans and instruments, call the CDC Reports 
Clearance Officer on (404) 639-7090.
    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information shall have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways 
to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, 
including through the use of automated collection techniques for other 
forms of information technology. Send comments to Wilma Johnson, CDC 
Reports Clearance Officer, 1600 Clifton Road, MS-D24, Atlanta, GA 
30333. Written comments should be received within 60 days of this 
notice.

Proposed Projects

    1. Employee Vital Status Letter (0920-0035)--Extension--The 
employee vital status letter is an update of a letter originally 
approved by OMB in 1977 and last approved in 1994. The vital status 
letter is used for a type of study known as ``retrospective 
mortality.'' The retrospective mortality study involves the 
identification of a study population of present and former workers who 
were exposed to a toxic substance in the workplace that is suspected of 
causing a long term adverse health effect to the exposed workers. The 
adverse health effects may be identified by observing the cause of 
specific mortality in the study population and comparing that to the 
expected mortality. The study populations are identified through 
employment records of past and present workers in given industries 
where the suspected toxins are found. In order to identify these 
deaths, it is necessary to determine the vital status (i.e., whether 
the individual is alive or deceased) of all members of the study 
population as of a given cut-off date and then obtain the medical 
certification of cause of death on all deceased members. This letter is 
sent to study cohort members as a last resort. If the vital status of 
an individual cannot be determined from a number of available data 
sources (such as the National Death Index and the Social Security 
Administration), the letter is sent to determine if the respondent is 
deceased or alive--if deceased, the data and place of death is 
requested from next of kin. The total cost to respondents for the three 
year period is $1,890.

[[Page 5234]]



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                                                                              No. of    Avg. burden/    Total   
                         Respondents                             No. of     responses/    response    burden (in
                                                              respondents   respondent   (in hrs.)      hrs.)   
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Workers.....................................................          756            1         .166          126
                                                             ---------------------------------------------------
      Total.................................................  ...........  ...........  ...........          126
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    2. Airways Disease in Miners--(0920-0349)--Extension--A 
relationship between coal mining exposure and lung function loss has 
been demonstrated. Both smoking and coal mine dust exposure are 
associated with clinically important respiratory dysfunction. Their 
separate contributions to obstructive airway disease in coal miners 
appear to be additive. However, much of the apparent variation in the 
health risks of coal mine dust exposure remains unexplained. Miners 
exposed to similar levels of coal mine dust demonstrate large 
variations in lung function loss. Intrinsic susceptibility to the dust 
or some environmental factor not yet identified must be sought to 
explain why some individuals suffer severe lung damage and others 
experience stable or age related changes in lung function in responses 
to inhalation of respirable dust.
    The spectrum of respiratory disease in coal miners is certainly 
broad. Pneumoconiosis is widely accepted as specific to mine dust 
exposure. It has been observed that emphysema is more common and severe 
in coal miners than non-miners. Symptoms of chronic bronchitis are 
common in miners and the risk of their development has been related to 
exposure to the mine environment. Over 50% of non-smoking coal miners 
with identifiable airflow obstruction may have asthma. Questions that 
remain include: What are the predictable factors which relate 
variations in airflow obstruction in miners to measured respirable coal 
mine dust exposure? What are the specific processes responsible for 
lung function losses in miners?
    The goals of this investigation are to: 1) Improve our 
understanding of the processes and mechanisms involved in the 
development of pulmonary diseases and accelerated lung function losses 
in underground coal miners and other dust exposed workers, and to 
further define the consequences of inhalation of coal mine and other 
dusts; and 2) Identify potential risk factors in the development of 
excessive respiratory function loss as a basis for interventions to 
reduce morbidity and mortality associated with respirable dust in the 
work place.
    The data collected in this study will be used to provide a basis 
for improving the understanding of pulmonary disease processes in dust 
exposed workers, and as a basis for intervention strategies to reduce 
morbidity in the coal mining and possibly other industries.
    The total cost to respondents is $0.00.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                             No. of    Avg. burden/     Total   
                        Respondents                             No of      responses/  response (in   burden (in
                                                             respondents   respondent      hrs.)        hrs.)   
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Physicians.................................................           40            1          0.17            7
Volunteers.................................................           36            1          7.0           252
                                                            ----------------------------------------------------
    Total..................................................  ...........  ...........  ............          259
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    3. Former Waste-To-Energy Facility, Columbus, Ohio: Dioxin and 
Cadmium Exposure Study--New--The Agency for Toxic Substances and 
Disease Registry is announcing the request for a three year OMB 
approval for a new information collection entitled: ``Former Waste-To-
Energy Facility, Columbus, Ohio: Dioxin and Cadmium Exposure Study.'' 
The purpose of this proposed study is to determine whether blood serum 
dioxin and urine cadmium levels of an adult population residing near 
the Waste-To-Energy Facility are elevated compared to an adult 
population not residing near the Waste-To-Energy Facility. A 
scientifically valid exposure assessment is crucial in determining 
whether the health of exposed populations may have been adversely 
impacted.
    The two study groups, target population and comparison population, 
will be selected using environmental data, census data, systematic 
sampling method, and eligibility criteria. The statistical analysis 
will include the comparison of serum dioxin and urine cadmium average 
concentration levels for target and comparison populations while 
adjusting for factors that affect the concentration levels. This 
study's average concentration will be compared to the levels of other 
similar health studies. Other than their time, there will be no cost to 
the respondents.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                          Average               
                                                                No. of       No. of       burden/       Total   
                        Respondents                          respondents  respondents/    response    burden (in
                                                                           respondents   (in hrs.)      hrs.)   
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Systematic Phone Census Survey.............................         2000             1          .10          200
Verify Participant Eligibility.............................          800             1          .15          120
Medical Questionnaire......................................          440             1          .15           66
Specimen Collection........................................          440             1          .25          110
                                                            ----------------------------------------------------
      Total................................................  ...........  ............  ...........          496
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


[[Page 5235]]

    3. Former Waste-To-Energy Facility, Columbus, Ohio: Dioxin and 
Cadmium Exposure Study--New--The Agency for Toxic Substances and 
Disease Registry is announcing the request for a three year OMB 
approval for a new information collection entitled: ``Former Waste-To-
Energy Facility, Columbus, Ohio: Dioxin and Cadmium Exposure Study.'' 
The purpose of this proposed study is to determine whether blood serum 
dioxin and urine cadmium levels of an adult population residing near 
the Waste-To-Energy Facility are elevated compared to an adult 
population not residing the Waste-To-Energy Facility. A scientifically 
valid exposure assessment is crucial in determining whether the health 
of exposed populations may have been adversely impacted.
    The two study groups, target population and comparison population, 
will be selected using environmental data, census data, systematic 
sampling method, and eligibility criteria. The statistical analysis 
will include the comparison of serum dioxin and urine cadmium average 
concentration levels for target and comparison populations while 
adjusting for factors that affect the concentration levels. This 
study's average concentration will be compared to the levels of other 
similar health studies. Other than their time, there will be no cost to 
the respondents.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                          Average               
                                                                 No. of       No. of      burden/       Total   
                         Respondents                          respondents   responses/   responses    burden (in
                                                                           respondents   (in hrs.)      hrs.)   
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Systematic Phone Census Survey..............................         2000            1          .10        200.0
Verify Participant Eligibility..............................          800            1          .15        120.0
Medical Questionnaire.......................................          440            1          .15         66.0
Specimen Collection.........................................          440            1          .25        110.0
                                                             ---------------------------------------------------
      Total.................................................  ...........  ...........  ...........        496.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    4. Risk And Protective Factors of Intimate Partner Violence 
Survey--New--The purpose of the project is to identify early warning 
signs and protective factors in intimate violence prevention by 
conducting a random-digit-dial national survey. Findings from a 
preliminary focus group study reveal that: (1) There may exist a 
pattern of early warning signs that women can use to avoid intimate 
partner violence, (2) certain individual and societal characteristics 
(which we call risk and protective factors), such as family history of 
abuse or the support of friends or institutions, may increase or reduce 
the risk of violence in women's lives, (3) these risk and protective 
factors may influence women's ability to detect early warning signs for 
physical violence perpetrated by an intimate partner, and (4) there may 
be differences between African-American women and Caucasian women 
regarding helping relationships and services utilized by abused women.
    The survey will include a stratification methodology to include six 
specific categories of women across the United States who are over 18 
years of age. The six categories of women are African-American and 
Caucasian women who: (1) have never been in a violent relationship, (2) 
are currently in a violent relationship, and (3) have previously been 
in a violent relationship, but have been living free of violence for at 
least one year. The survey will gather data from approximately 1,800 
women using an interview protocol which was developed and pilot tested 
in conjunction with the focus group study and has been defined by 
experts and CDC program staff. The total cost to respondents is 
$1,979.84, which is based on a median wage of women over 16 in the 
United States (includes non-working and part-time employed women) of 
$3.99 per hour [source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1997]

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                             No. of    Avg. burden/     Total   
                        Respondents                             No. of     responses/  response (in   burden (in
                                                             respondents   respondent      hrs.)        hrs.)   
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Never Abused in a Relationship.............................  ...........  ...........        10      ...........
    African Am.............................................          300            1          .167           50
    Caucasian..............................................          300            1          .167           50
Currently in Abusive Relationship..........................  ...........  ...........        20      ...........
    African Am.............................................          300            1          .33            99
    Caucasian..............................................          300            1          .33            99
Formerly in Abusive Relationship...........................  ...........  ...........        20      ...........
    African Am.............................................          300            1          .33            99
    Caucasian..............................................          300            1          .33            99
                                                            ----------------------------------------------------
      Total................................................  ...........  ...........  ............          496
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Dated: January 29, 1997.
Wilma G. Johnson,
Acting Associate Director for Policy Planning And Evaluation, Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
[FR Doc. 97-2681 Filed 2-3-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-M