[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 36 (Tuesday, February 24, 2004)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 8352-8353]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-3857]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

29 CFR Part 1926

[Docket No. H011G]
RIN No. 1218-AB89


Announcement of Stakeholder Meetings for Hearing Conservation 
Program for Construction Workers

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

ACTION: Scheduling of stakeholder meetings.

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SUMMARY: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is 
inviting the public to participate in informal stakeholder meetings on 
a Hearing Conservation Program for Construction Workers. The Agency 
invites the public to address the following subjects: Noise exposure 
monitoring, audiometric testing, and portability of records for workers 
in the construction industry with significant noise exposures.

DATES: Stakeholder meetings. Stakeholder meetings will be held on March 
24th and 25th, 2004 in Chicago, Illinois, at Embassy Suites Hotel--
Rosemont, 5500 North River Road, Rosemont, Illinois 60018 (telephone 
847-678-4000, fax 847-928-7659). Both meetings will begin at 8:30 a.m. 
and end at 12:30 p.m. Interested parties are requested to notify OSHA 
of their intent to participate in one of the stakeholder meetings by 
March 8, 2004. Each half day session will have the same agenda and 
format. Stakeholders are encouraged to attend only one half-day 
meeting. OSHA plans to schedule an additional meeting in the 
Washington, DC area at a later date.

ADDRESSES: If you wish to participate in a stakeholder meeting you must 
notify OSHA by e-mail, facsimile, or mail, as set forth below, giving 
your name, affiliation, contact information, the stakeholder session 
you plan to attend, and whether you wish to be an active participant or 
an observer.
    Electronic: OSHA encourages you to submit your notice of intent to 
participate in a stakeholder meeting via e-mail to 
[email protected].
    Facsimile: You may fax your notice of intent to participate in a 
stakeholder meeting to Christie Garner at (202) 693-1678.
    Mail: You may also notify OSHA of your intent to participate in a 
stakeholder meeting, by mail, to Christie Garner, Directorate of 
Standards and Guidance, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 
U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-3718, 200 Constitution Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC 20210.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Seymour, Office of Physical 
Hazards, Directorate of Health Standards, Occupational Safety and 
Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-3718, 200 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington DC 20210, telephone (202) 693-
1950.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:  OSHA issued a section 6(b)(5) health 
standard mandating a comprehensive hearing conservation program for 
noise-exposed workers in general industry in 1983. However, no rule was 
promulgated to cover workers in the construction industry. Studies show 
that as many as 750,000 construction workers are currently exposed to 
noise levels of 85 dBA or greater at work. The largest number of worker 
exposures to excessive noise occurs during road construction, 
carpentry, and concrete work. International experience and data show 
that hearing conservation programs in the construction industry can be 
effective in reducing occupational hearing loss.
    On August 5, 2002, the OSHA published an Advance Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking (ANPR) addressing noise-induced hearing loss among workers 
in the construction industry, current practices to reduce this loss, 
and additional approaches and protections that could be used to prevent 
such loss in the future (67 FR 50610). The Agency has reviewed the 
forty-seven comment received in response to the ANPR and other 
available information. The stakeholder meetings announced here are a 
continuation of the information gathering process.

Stakeholder Meetings

    OSHA requests the public to address the following issues.
     Exposure Monitoring: OSHA seeks further 
information from stakeholders' experiences on the most effective 
approach to evaluating noise exposures in construction;
     Audiometric Testing: OSHA seeks practical 
approaches to providing audiometric testing in construction, where a 
significant portion of the workforce is transient; and
     Portability of Records: OSHA seeks ideas and 
approaches on how to create long-term audiometric records for short-
term employees, and solicits ideas on how to decrease the difficulty of

[[Page 8353]]

maintaining historic records, transferring audiometric test results 
between employers, and ensuring privacy.
    The stakeholder meetings will be an opportunity for informal 
discussion and will allow for the exchange of ideas and points of view; 
participants are not expected to prepare and present formal testimony. 
The Agency is interested in hearing first hand from employers and 
employees in the construction industry their ideas of what can be done 
to reduce the noise exposures and hearing loss of workers within this 
industry.

    Authority: This notice was prepared under the direction of John 
L. Henshaw, Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health. 
It is issued under sections 4 and 8 of the Occupational Safety and 
Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 653, 655, 657).

    Issued at Washington, DC, this 18th day of February, 2004.
John L. Henshaw,
Assistant Secretary of Labor.
[FR Doc. 04-3857 Filed 2-23-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-26-M