[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 203 (Thursday, October 21, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56796-56797]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-27193]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
[30DAY-00-04]


Agency Forms Undergoing Paperwork Reduction Act Review

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) publishes a 
list of information collection requests under review by the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) in compliance with the Paperwork Reduction 
Act (44 U.S.C. chapter 35). To request a copy of these requests, call 
the CDC Reports Clearance Officer at (404) 639-7090. Send written 
comments to CDC, Desk Officer; Human Resources and Housing Branch, New 
Executive Office Building, Room 10235; Washington, DC 20503. Written 
comments should be received within 30 days of this notice.

Proposed Project

    Gene-Environment Interactions in Beryllium Sensitization and 
Disease Among Current and Former Beryllium Industry Workers--NEW--
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). 
Beryllium is a light weight metal with wide application in modern 
technology. The size of the U.S.A. Workforce at risk of beryllium 
exposure is estimated at approximately 30,000, with exposed workers in 
primary production, nuclear power and weapons, aerospace, scrap metal 
reclaiming, specialty ceramics, and electronics industries. Demand for 
beryllium is growing worldwide, which means that increasing numbers of 
workers are likely to be exposed. An acute pneumonitis due to 
occupational exposure to beryllium was common in the 1940s and 1950s, 
but has virtually disappeared with improvements in work-site control 
measures. Even with the improved controls, as many as 5% of currently-
exposed workers will develop chronic beryllium disease (CBD).
    CBD is a chronic granulomatous lung disease mediated through a 
poorly understood immunologic mechanism in workers who become 
sensitized. Sensitization can be detected using a blood test, that is 
used by the industry as a screening tool. The screening test for 
sensitization was first reported in 1989, but many questions remain 
about the natural history of sensitization and disease, as well as 
exposure risk factors. Sensitized workers, identified through workplace 
screening programs, undergo clinical diagnostic tests to determine 
whether they have CBD. The proportion of sensitized workers who have 
beryllium disease at initial clinical evaluation has varied form 41-
100% in different workplaces. Sensitized workers often develop CBD with 
follow-up, but whether all sensitized workers will eventually develop 
beryllium disease is unknown. Early diagnosis at the subclinical stage 
and careful follow-up seems prudent in that CBD usually responds to 
corticosteroid treatment. However, the efficacy of screening in 
preventing adverse outcomes of the disease has not yet been evaluated. 
While recent research has suggested that a genetic determinant of the 
immune response could be a susceptibility factor, this has not been 
well characterized.
    The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) 
wants to determine how beryllium workers and former workers develop 
beryllium disease and how to prevent it. Through the proposed study, 
NIOSH has the opportunity to contribute to the scientific understanding 
of this disease in the context of environmental and genetic etiologic 
factors. The goals of this investigation are to: (1) determine the 
incidence of beryllium sensitization or disease over a 6-year period; 
(2) seek an association with exposure measurements; (3) identify a 
genetic determinant of susceptibility to CBD; and (4) characterize that 
genetic determinant to ascertain if it is associated with clinical 
impairment or progression of disease. Through a greater understanding 
of the environmental and genetic risk factors associated with the onset 
and progression of CBD, NIOSH will be able to develop strategies for 
both primary and secondary prevention applicable to beryllium-exposed 
workers. The total annual burden hours are 250.

[[Page 56797]]



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                                                                                                    Hours per
                         Respondents                              Number of      Responses  per   response  (in
                                                                 respondents       respondent         hrs.)
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Former Workers...............................................         s60,175                1              0.5
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    Dated: October 13, 1999.
Nancy Cheal,
Acting Associate Director for Policy, Planning, and Evaluation, Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
[FR Doc. 99-27193 Filed 10-20-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-M