[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 170 (Thursday, September 2, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Page 48181]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-22863]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
[INFO-99-31]


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 Seleda Perryman, CDC 
Assistant Reports Clearance Officer, 1600 Clifton Road, MS-D24, 
Atlanta, GA 30333. Written comments should be received within 60 days 
of this notice.

Proposed Project

    Assessment of Exposure to Arsenic through Household Water--New--
National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH). Arsenic is a naturally 
occurring element present in food and water as both inorganic and 
organic complexes. Epidemiologic evidence shows a strong link between 
ingestion of water containing inorganic arsenic and an increase in a 
wide variety of cancers (e.g., bladder cancer). Consumption of 
contaminated food is the major source of arsenic exposure for the 
majority of United States citizens. There are some areas of the United 
States where elevated levels of arsenic in water occur with appreciable 
frequency. In such areas, ingestion of water can be the dominant source 
of arsenic exposure. Currently, the preferred method of treatment of 
private, domestic well water containing elevated levels of arsenic is 
point-of-use (POU) devices. The acceptability of bottled water and POU 
treatment systems as effective means of managing arsenic exposure is 
based on the assumption that other water exposures such as bathing, 
brushing of teeth, cooking, and occasional water consumption from other 
taps contribute relatively minor amounts to a person's total daily 
intake of arsenic.
    We propose to conduct a study to methodically test the validity of 
the commonly-made assumption that secondary exposures such as bathing 
will not result in a significant increase in arsenic intake over 
background dietary levels. Specifically, we are interested in assessing 
urine arsenic levels among individuals where ingestion of arsenic-
containing water is controlled by either POU treatment or use of 
bottled water, combined with use of short-term diaries to record diet, 
water consumption, and bathing frequency. The total cost to recipients 
is $0.00.

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                                                                     Number of      Avg. burden
                   Respondents                       Number of      responses/     response (in    Total burden
                                                    Respondents     respondent         hrs.)         (in hrs.)
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Recruiting telephone interview..................             580               1           15/60             145
Survey interview (in person)....................             520               1           30/60             260
Biologic specimen collection....................             520               1           10/60              88
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    Total.......................................  ..............  ..............  ..............             493
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    Dated: August 27, 1999.
Nancy Cheal,
Acting Associate Director for Policy, Planning and Evaluation, Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
[FR Doc. 99-22863 Filed 9-1-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P