[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 145 (Tuesday, July 29, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44539-44540]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-19201]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


Study Protocol To Develop a Database for Identification and 
Assessment of Engineering Control of Noise From Powered Hand Tools Used 
in the Construction Industry

AGENCY: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of Health 
and Human Services (DHHS).

ACTION: Notice of request for comments and information on study 
protocol to develop a database for identification and assessment of 
engineering control of noise from powered hand tools used in the 
construction industry.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: NIOSH invites written comments from the public on the research 
study protocol describing the proposed project. Copies of the study 
protocol document may be obtained by contacting the individual 
referenced below. The document may also be obtained in .pdf format at 
the following Web site: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/ext-supp-mat/powertools/powertools.html. To view the document in .pdf format, you 
must have the Adobe Acrobat Reader Program. It is available free of 
charge at http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/main.html.

DATES: Comments concerning this notice must be received on or before 
September 29, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be transmitted either electronically to 
[email protected], by facsimile to 513/533-8139, or by regular mail or 
hand delivery to Mr. Charles Hayden, NIOSH Engineering Noise Control 
Project, Robert A. Taft Laboratories, M/S C-27, 4676 Columbia Parkway, 
Cincinnati, Ohio 45226. E-mail attachments should be formatted as 
WordPerfect 7/8/9 or Microsoft Word.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charles Hayden, Robert A. Taft 
Laboratories, M/S C-27, 4676 Columbia Parkway, Cincinnati, Ohio 45226, 
513/533-8152.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This project will develop a noise control

[[Page 44540]]

technology database consisting of powered hand tools used in the 
construction industry with respective sound power levels and workers' 
8-hour time-weighted average noise exposure level. The sound power 
level and workers' exposure level data will be acquired in a hemi-
anechoic laboratory by NIOSH researchers. The database will facilitate 
the use of engineering noise controls by gathering precise information 
on the effectiveness of existing control technology. The principal 
product of the study and the primary method of information 
dissemination will be the searchable web-site database of powered hand 
tools used in the construction industry with respective operational 
specifications, sound power levels, and workers' exposure level. This 
database and specific information on noise control applications also 
will be disseminated through practical guidelines, handbooks, and case 
study reports to aid safety and health professionals, noise control 
engineers, equipment and noise-control systems' manufacturers, and 
trade associations in applying effective noise control technologies.
    Comments are invited on:
    1. Whether the proposed database will be useful for its planned 
purposes;
    2. Ways to enhance the quality, utility, clarity, and dissemination 
of the information to be collected;
    3. Whether the study population is properly targeted and whether 
access to the study population is feasible; and
    4. Whether the makes and models of powered hand tools with 
respective sound power level data or simply generic terms should be 
reported in the sound power level database.
    The Director, Management Analysis and Services Office, has been 
delegated the authority to sign Federal Register notices pertaining to 
announcements of meetings and other committee management activities, 
for both CDC and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.

    Dated: July 23, 2003.
Alvin Hall,
Director, Management Analysis and Services Office, Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 03-19201 Filed 7-28-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-19-P