[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 137 (Thursday, July 17, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42429-42430]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-18108]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. ICR-1218-0183(2003)]


Standard on 4,4'-Methylenedianiline Construction (29 CFR 
1926.60); Extension of the Office of Management and Budget's Approval 
of Information Collection (Paperwork) Requirements

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

ACTION: Request for comment.

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SUMMARY: OSHA requests comment concerning its proposed extension of the 
information-collection requirements specified by the Standard on 4,4'-
Methylenedianiline Construction (29 CFR 1926.60). The standard protects 
employees from the adverse health effects that may result from 
occupational exposure to MDA, including cancer, and liver and skin 
disease.

DATES: Comments must be submitted by the following dates:
    Hard Copy: Your comments must be submitted (postmarked or received) 
by September 15, 2003.
    Facsimile and electronic transmission: Your comments must be sent 
by Septembr 15, 2003.

ADDRESSES: 

I. Submission of Comments

    Regular mail, express delivery, hand-delivery, and messenger 
service: Submit your comments and attachments to the OSHA Docket 
Office, Docket No. ICR-1218-0183(2003), Room N-2625, U.S. Department of 
Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210. OSHA Docket 
Office and Department of Labor hours of operation are 8:15 a.m. to 4:45 
p.m., EST.
    Facsimile: If your comments, including any attachments, are 10 
pages or fewer, you may fax them to the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 
693-1648. You must include the docket number ICR 1218-0183(2003), in 
your comments.
    Electronic: You may submit comments, but not attachments, through 
the Internet at http://ecomments.osha.gov.

II. Obtaining Copies of the Supporting Statement for the Information 
Collection Request

    The Supporting Statement for the Information Collection Request is 
available for downloading from OSHA's Web site at www.osha.gov. The 
supporting statement is available for inspection and copying in the 
OSHA

[[Page 42430]]

Docket Office, at the address listed above. A printed copy of the 
supporting statement can be obtained by contacting Todd Owen at (202) 
693-2222.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Todd Owen, Directorate of Standards 
and Guidance, OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-3609, 200 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone (202) 693-
2222.

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 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). This program ensures that 
information is in the desired format, reporting burden (time and costs) 
is minimized, collection instruments are understandable, 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 information-collection requirements specified in the 4',4'-
Methylenedianiline Standard for Construction (the ``MDA Standard'') 
protect employees from the adverse health effects that may result from 
their exposure to MDA, including cancer, and liver and skin disease. 
The major paperwork requirements specify that employers must perform 
initial, periodic, and additional exposure monitoring; within 15 days 
after receiving exposure-monitoring results, notify each employee in 
writing of their results; and routinely inspect the hands, face, and 
forearms of each employee potentially exposed to MDA for signs of 
dermal exposure to MDA. Employers must also: Establish a written 
compliance program; institute a respiratory-protection program in 
accordance with 29 CFR 1910.134 (OSHA's Respiratory Protection 
Standard); and develop a written emergency plan for any construction 
operation that could have an emergency (i.e., an unexpected and 
potentially hazardous release of MDA).
    Employers are to label any material or products containing MDA, 
including containers used to store MDA-contaminated protective clothing 
and equipment. They also must inform personnel who launder MDA-
contaminated clothing of the requirement to prevent release of MDA, 
while personnel who launder or clean MDA-contaminated protective 
clothing or equipment must receive information about the potentially 
harmful effects of MDA. In addition, employers are to post warning 
signs at entrances or accessways to regulated areas, as well as train 
employees exposed to MDA at the time of their initial assignment, and 
at least annually thereafter.
    Other paperwork provisions of the MDA Standard require employers to 
provide employees with medical examinations, including initial, 
periodic, emergency and follow-up examinations. As part of the medical-
surveillance program, employers must ensure that the examining 
physician receives specific written information, and that they obtain 
from the physician a written opinion regarding the employee's medical 
results and exposure limitations.
    The MDA Standard also specifies that employers are to establish and 
maintain exposure-monitoring and medical-surveillance records for each 
employee who is subject to these respective requirements, make any 
required record available to OSHA compliance officers and the National 
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) for examination 
and copying, and provide exposure-monitoring and medical-surveillance 
records to employees and their designated representatives. Finally, 
employers who cease to do business within the period specified for 
retaining exposure-monitoring and medical-surveillance records, and who 
have no successor employer, must notify NIOSH at least 90 days before 
disposing of the records and transmit the records to NIOSH if so 
requested.

II. Special Issues for Comment

    OSHA has a particular interest in comments on the following issues:
    [sbull] Whether the proposed information-collection requirements 
are necessary for the proper performance of the Agency's functions to 
protect workers, including whether the information is useful;
    [sbull] The accuracy of OSHA's estimate of the burden (time and 
costs) of the information-collection requirements, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
    [sbull] The quality, utility, and clarity of the information 
collected; and
    [sbull] 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 proposes to extend the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) 
approval of the collection-of-information requirements specified by the 
Standards on 4,4'-Methylenedianiline Construction (29 CFR 1926.60). The 
Agency will summarize the comments submitted in response to this 
notice, and will include this summary in its request to OMB to extend 
in the approval of these information-collection requirements.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved information-
collection requirement.
    Title: Standard on 4,4'-Methylenedianiline Construction (29 CFR 
1926.60).
    OMB Number: 1218-0183.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit, not-for-profit 
institutions; Federal government; State, local, or tribal Governments.
    Number of Respondents: 66.
    Frequency of Recordkeeping: On occasion.
    Average Time per Response: Varies from one minute (.08 hour) to 
provide information to the physician and 2 hours for initial 
monitoring.
    Total Annual Hours Requested: 1,609.
    Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $80,437.

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), and Secretary of Labor's Order No. 5-2002 (67 FR 65008).

    Signed at Washington, DC, on July 14, 2003.
John L. Henshaw,
Assistant Secretary of Labor.
[FR Doc. 03-18108 Filed 7-16-03; 8:45 am]
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