[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 192 (Wednesday, October 3, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50456-50457]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-24700]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. ICR-1218-0185(2001)]


Cadmium in General Industry Standard; Extension of the Office of 
Management and Budget's (OMB) Approval of the Information-Collection 
(Paperwork) Requirements

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

ACTION: Request for comments.

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SUMMARY: OSHA solicits comments concerning its proposal to decrease the 
total burden-hour estimates for, and to extend OMB approval of, the 
collection-of-information requirements specified by the Cadmium in 
General Industry Standard (29 CFR 1910.1027).\1\ This standard controls 
occupational exposure to cadmium, thereby preventing serious disease 
(e.g., lung cancer, prostate cancer, kidney disease) and death among 
exposed employees.
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    \1\ Based on its assessment of the paperwork requirements 
contained in this standard, the Agency estimates that the total 
burden hours decreased compared to its previous burden-hour 
estimate. Under this notice, OSHA is not proposing to revise these 
paperwork requirements in any substantive manner, only to decrease 
the burden hours imposed by the existing paperwork requirements.

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DATES: Submit written comments on or before December 3, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments to the Docket Office, Docket No. 
ICR-1218-0815(2001), OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-2625, 200 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone (202) 693-
2350. Commenters may transmit written comments of 10 pages or less by 
facsimile to (202) 693-1648.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Todd Owen, Directorate of Policy, 
OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor, Room

[[Page 50457]]

N-3641, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20210; telephone 
(202) 693-2444. A copy of the Agency's Information-Collection Request 
(ICR) supporting the need for the information collections specified in 
the Cadmium in General Industry Standard is available for inspection 
and copying in the Docket Office or by requesting a copy from Todd Owen 
at (202) 693-2444. For electronic copies of the ICR contact OSHA on the 
Internet at http://www.osha.gov/comp-links.html, and select 
``Information Collection Requests.''

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort to reduce 
paperwork and respondent (i.e., employer) burden, conducts a 
preclearance consultation program to provide the public 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 cost) 
is minimal, collection instruments are understandable, and OSHA's 
estimate of the information-collection burden is correct. The 
Occupational Safety and Health Act of the 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 information-collection requirements specified in the Cadmium in 
General Industry Standard (Sec. 1910.1027; ``the Standard'') protect 
employees from the adverse health effects that may result from 
occupational exposure to cadmium. The major information-collection 
requirements in the Standard include conducting employee exposure 
monitoring, notifying employees of their cadmium exposures, 
implementing a written compliance program, implementing medical 
surveillance of employees, providing examining physicians with specific 
information, ensuring that employees receive a copy of their medical-
surveillance results, maintaining employees' exposure-monitoring and 
medical-surveillance records for specific periods, and providing access 
to these records by OSHA, the National Institute of Occupational Safety 
and Health, the employee who is the subject of the records, the 
employee's representative, and other designated parties.

II. Special Issues for Comment

     OSHA has a particular interest in comments on the 
following issues:
     Whether the proposed information-collection requirements 
are necessary for the proper performance of the Agency's functions, 
including whether the information is useful;
     The accuracy of OSHA's estimate of the burden (time and 
cost) 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 or other technological information-
collection and -transmission techniques.

III. Proposed Actions

    OSHA is requesting to decrease the existing burden-hour estimate 
for, and to extend OMB approval of, the collection-of-information 
requirements specified by the Standard. In this regard, the Agency is 
requesting to decrease the current burden-hour estimate from 148,172 
hours to 120,770 hours, a total decrease of 27,402 hours. This decrease 
results mainly from removing the burden hours required for employers to 
conduct respirator fit testing; the Agency now accounts for these 
burden hours under the ICR for the Respiratory Protection Standard 
Sec. 1910.134; OMB control number 1218-0099). OSHA will summarize the 
comments submitted in response to this notice, and will include this 
summary in its request to OMB to extend its approval of these 
information-collection requirements.
    Type of Review: Extension of currently approved information-
collection requirements.
    Title: Cadmium in General industry.
    OMB Number: 1218-0185.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit; not-for-profit 
institutions; Federal Government; State, local, or tribal governments.
    Number of Respondents: 53,161.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion; semi-annually; annually.
    Average Time per Response: Varies from five minutes (.08 hour) for 
several provisions (e.g., maintaining an employee's exposure-monitoring 
or medical-surveillance record, providing information about an employee 
to the physician), to 1.5 hours to review and update a compliance 
program or to administer an employee medical examination.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 120,770 hours.
    Estimated Cost Operation and Maintenance): $6,190,792.

IV. Authority and Signature

    John L. Henshaw, 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), Secretary of Labor's Order No. 3-2000 (65 FR 50017).

    Signed at Washington, DC, on September 27th, 2001.
John L. Henshaw,
Assistant Secretary of Labor.
[FR Doc. 01-24700 Filed 10-2-01; 8:45 am]
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