[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 203 (Thursday, October 21, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Page 56812]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-27522]



[[Page 56812]]

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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration
[Docket No. ICR-1218-0215(2000)]


Personal Protective Equipment for Shipyard Employment; Extension 
of the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) Approval of an 
Information Collection (Paperwork) Request

AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA); Labor.

ACTION: Notice of an opportunity for public comment.

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SUMMARY: OSHA solicits comments concerning the proposed extension by 
OMB of the information collection requirements contained in the 
standard on Personal Protective Equipment for Shipyard Employment 
(PPE), 29 CFR 1915.152(b)(4) and (e)(4).

Request for Comment

    The Agency seeks comments on the following issues:
     Whether the information collection requirements are 
necessary for the proper performance of the Agency's functions, 
including whether the information is useful;
     The accuracy of the Agency'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, electronic, mechanical, and other 
technological information and transmission collection techniques.

DATES: Submit written comments on or before December 20, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments to the Docket Office, Docket No. 
ICR-1218-0215(2000), Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 
U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-2625, 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., 
Washington, DC 20210; telephone: (202) 693-2350. Commenters may 
transmit written comments of 10 pages or less in length by facsimile to 
(202) 693-1648.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Theda Kenney, Directorate of Safety 
Standards Programs, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. 
Department of Labor, Room N-3605, 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., 
Washington, DC 20210; telephone: (202) 693-2222. A copy of the Agency's 
Information Collection Request (ICR) supporting the need for the 
information collection requirements contained in the standard on 
Personal Protective Equipment for Shipyard Employment (29 CFR 1915.152) 
is available for inspection and copying in the Docket Office, or mailed 
on request by telephoning Theda Kenney at (202) 693-2222 or Barbara 
Bielaski at (202) 693-2444. For electronic copies of the ICR, contact 
OSHA on the Internet at 
http://www.osha.gov/comp-links.html, and click on ``Information 
Collection Requests.''

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    The Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort to reduce 
paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a preclearance consultation 
program to provide the general public and Federal agencies 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)). 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 correct.
    The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (the Act) 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.) The PPE for Shipyard Employment standard 
requires that all affected employers conduct a hazard assessment and 
make a determination regarding their need for PPE. This is a one-time 
obligation unless conditions in the workplace change in such a way that 
new or different hazards arise, thereby necessitating an updated or 
revised hazard assessment. The employer must verify performance of the 
required occupational hazard assessment through a document that 
contains the following information: Occupation, the date(s) of the 
hazard assessment, and the name of the person performing the hazard 
assessment. The employer must also verify that each affected employee 
received the required training through a document that contains the 
following information: Name of each employee trained, the date(s) of 
training, and type of training the employee received.
    The information collection requirements (documentations) verify 
that employers are in compliance with the standard. OSHA compliance 
officers will require employers to disclose the required documentation 
at the time of an inspection.

II. Proposed Actions

    OSHA estimates that employers will expand 707 burden hours to 
comply with the information collection requirements in 29 CFR 
1915.152(b)(4) and (e)(4). This is a decrease of OSHA's earlier 
estimate of 1,540 burden hours to comply with the information 
collection requirements in the above provisions.
    OSHA will summarize the comments submitted in response to this 
notice, and will include this summary in the request to OMB to extend 
the approval of the information collection requirements contained in 
the above standard.
    Type of Review: Extension of currently approved information 
collection requirement.
    Agency: Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
    Title: Personal Protective Equipment for Shipyard Employment (29 
CFR 1915.152).
    OMB Number: 1218-0215.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit; not-for-profit 
institutions; Federal government; state, local or tribal government.
    Number of Respondents: 8,000.
    Frequency: Varies (on occasion, annually).
    Average Time per Response: Varies from five minutes (0.08 hour) to 
3 hours.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 707.

III. Authority and Signature

    Charles N. Jeffress, 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) and Secretary of Labor's Order No. 6-96 (62 FR 111).

    Signed at Washington, DC, this 14th day of October 1999.
Charles N. Jeffress,
Assistant Secretary of Labor.
[FR Doc. 99-27522 Filed 10-20-99; 8:45 am]
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