[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 46 (Wednesday, March 8, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12230-12231]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-5625]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-6547-8]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request; Health Effects of Particulate Matter and Co-
Pollutant Exposures Near the El Paso/Juarez Border Crossings

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 
et seq.), this document announces that the following Information 
Collection Request (ICR) has been forwarded to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for review and approval: Health Effects of Particulate 
Matter and Co-pollutant Exposures Near the El Paso/Juarez Border 
Crossings; EPA ICR Number: 1940.01. The ICR describes the nature of the 
information collection and its expected burden and cost; where 
appropriate, it includes the actual data collection instrument.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before April 7, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For a copy of the ICR contact Sandy 
Farmer at EPA by phone at (202) 260-2740, by email at 
[email protected], or download a copy of the ICR off the Internet at 
http://www.epa.gov/icr and refer to EPA ICR No. 1940.01. For technical 
information about the collection contact Dr. Melissa Gonzales, (919) 
966-7549, FAX: (919) 966-7584, E-mail: [email protected], or by 
mailing a request to Dr. Melissa Gonzales, US EPA (MD 58-A), Research 
Triangle Park, NC, 27711.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title: Health Effects of Particulate Matter 
and Co-pollutant Exposures Near the El Paso/Juarez Border Crossings 
(EPA ICR No. 1940.01). This is a new collection.
    Abstract: The proposed study will be conducted by the Epidemiology 
and Biomarkers Branch, Human Studies Division, National Health and 
Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Office of Research and 
Development, US EPA. The purpose of this study is to examine the 
respiratory health effects in school children due to motor vehicle-
related air pollutants. Further knowledge regarding the respiratory 
health effects of airborne particulate matter is required to reduce 
scientific uncertainties in the development of an Air Quality Criteria 
for Particulate Matter under the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7403(d)).
    The El Paso, Texas metropolitan area was selected for study because 
of high traffic volume and meteorological conditions. Heavily traveled 
interstate freeways run through the city, and over 18 million vehicles 
annually cross the international border between El Paso and Ciudad 
Juarez, Mexico. Wintertime temperature inversions routinely trap 
vehicle emissions close to the ground leading to violations of the 
National Ambient Air Quality Standards.
    The parents of all children enrolled in the third and fourth grades 
of the El Paso Independent School District will receive an eight-page 
respiratory health questionnaire in both English and Spanish along with 
a written request for permission for their children to participate in a 
lung function examination at their school. Study participation is 
entirely voluntary. The questionnaire conforms to the American Thoracic 
Society standards and consists of questions specific to the child such 
as general demographic information, childhood respiratory illness, 
history of asthma, and current respiratory health conditions. There 
also are questions regarding household characteristics and family 
history of smoking, asthma, and respiratory illnesses. Each parent will 
be asked to complete the questionnaire, seal the completed form in the 
envelope provided, and send the envelope back to the teacher with the 
child.
    In the subsequent school year, ambient air pollutants will be 
measured

[[Page 12231]]

at twenty-two elementary schools in El Paso selected to represent areas 
close to and far away from the city center, and the border crossings as 
well as those areas in between. At these schools, those children who 
received parental permission on a returned questionnaire will attempt 
to perform a lung function examination. The examination, conducted 
according to American Thoracic Society guidelines, consists of blowing 
three to eight times into a tube connected to a spirometer and is no 
more stressful than blowing out a candle. A new, sterile, disposable 
mouthpiece will be used for each child. A field technician will record 
each child's height and weight, and coach the child to perform the 
breathing test. The examinations will be conducted in the child's 
elementary school during normal school hours with a school nurse on 
site.
    The information collected in this study will be used by scientists 
within EPA's Office of Research and Development. The data will be used 
to: (i) provide a better understanding of the association between 
exposures to particulate matter and co-pollutants and respiratory 
illness in children; (ii) assess the classification of children's 
exposure using data from the study questionnaire, direct air pollutant 
measurements and exposure models for refining exposure estimation 
methods in air pollution health studies; (iii) identify key exposure 
factors for school age children to air pollutants; (iv) assess the 
prevalences of pulmonary illness, including reduced lung function, in 
school children living in a metropolitan area along the US-Mexico 
border. The information will appear in the form of EPA reports, journal 
articles, and will also be made publicly available.
    An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required 
to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a 
currently valid OMB control number. The OMB control numbers for EPA's 
regulations are listed in 40 CFR part 9 and 48 CFR Chapter 15. The 
Federal Register document required under 5 CFR 1320.8(d), soliciting 
comments on this collection of information was published on December 
13, 1999 (64 FR 69528); no comments were received.
    Burden Statement: The annual public reporting burden for this 
collection of information is estimated to average 0.40 hours for each 
questionnaire response and 0.35 hours for each lung function 
examination. There are no direct respondent costs for this data 
collection. There is no annual recordkeeping burden for this ICR. 
Burden means the total time, effort, or financial resources expended by 
persons to generate, maintain, retain, or disclose or provide 
information to or for a Federal agency. This includes the time needed 
to review instructions; develop, acquire, install, and utilize 
technology and systems for the purposes of collecting, validating, and 
verifying information, processing and maintaining information, and 
disclosing and providing information; adjust the existing ways to 
comply with any previously applicable instructions and requirements; 
train personnel to be able to respond to a collection of information; 
search data sources; complete and review the collection of information; 
and transmit or otherwise disclose the information.
    Respondents/Affected Entities: School officials, parents and 
children in the El Paso Independent School District.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 13,400.
    Frequency of Response: Once.
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 5,145 hours.
    Estimated Total Annualized Cost Burden (non-labor costs): $0.
    Send comments on the Agency's need for this information, the 
accuracy of the provided burden estimates, and any suggested methods 
for minimizing respondent burden, including through the use of 
automated collection techniques to the following addresses. Please 
refer to EPA ICR No. 1940.01 in any correspondence.

Ms. Sandy Farmer, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of 
Environmental Information, Collection Strategies Division (2822), 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20460; and
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and 
Budget, Attention: Desk Officer for EPA, 725 17th Street, NW, 
Washington, DC 20503.

    Dated: March 2, 2000.
Oscar Morales,
Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. 00-5625 Filed 3-7-00; 8:45 am]
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