[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 109 (Monday, June 7, 2004)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 31777-31778]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-12759]


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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 Stakeholders 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. These planned 
meetings will continue OSHA's information collection efforts and will 
add to the information obtained in the stakeholder meetings conducted 
in Chicago, Illinois on March 24 and 25, 2004. In this meeting, 
stakeholders suggested that OSHA consider the advantages of addressing 
high noise exposure on a task by task basis. The Agency invites the 
public to address issues regarding a task-based approach to 
implementing hearing conservation programs, including exposure 
assessment and the use of hearing protection devices, to reduce worker 
exposures to noise in the construction industry.

DATES: Stakeholder meetings. Stakeholder meetings will be held on July 
21st and 22nd, 2004 at the Hyatt Dulles Hotel, 2300 Dulles Corner 
Boulevard, Herndon, Virginia (telephone 703-713-1234, fax 703-713-
3410). 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 July 6, 2004. Also, 
stakeholders who wish to make a presentation of task-specific exposure 
data, of no longer than 10-minutes, must notify OSHA by July 6th. Each 
half day session will have the same agenda and format. Stakeholders are 
encouraged to attend only one half-day meeting.

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, 
presenter, or an observer.
    Electronic: OSHA encourages you to submit your notice of intent to 
attend a stakeholder meeting via e-mail to [email protected].
    Facsimile: You may fax your notice of intent to attend a 
stakeholder meeting to Christie Garner at (202) 693-1678.
    Mail: You may also notify OSHA of your intent to attend 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 Standards and Guidance, 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, 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 protection that could be used to prevent 
such loss in the future (67 FR 50610). The Agency has reviewed the 
forty-seven comments received in response to the ANPR and other 
available information.
    OSHA held stakeholder meetings in Chicago, Illinois on March 24 and 
25, 2004. In that meeting stakeholders discussed an approach to 
implementing hearing conservation programs based on the knowledge of 
exposure levels in common construction tasks. They noted that such an 
approach would simplify putting hearing conservation programs into 
practice. The stakeholders sought a simple and flexible system that 
would require minimal exposure monitoring and expertise by construction 
employers.

Stakeholder Meetings

    OSHA requests the public to address the following issues regarding 
task-based approaches to hearing conservation programs:
     What are the common tasks in construction where 
significant noise exposures occur? Can such tasks be characterized by 
job title, type of construction, activity, type of equipment used, or 
other characteristics?
     Are data available for most tasks sufficient to 
characterize:
    [ctrcir] Anticipated exposures,
    [ctrcir] Duration,
    [ctrcir] Noise perimeter zones,
    [ctrcir] Current use of hearing protection?
     What are the critical data elements needed to sufficiently 
characterize typical tasks in construction?
    The stakeholder meetings will be an opportunity for informal 
discussion and will allow for the exchange of data, ideas, and points 
of view. The first two

[[Page 31778]]

hours of each meeting will be an informal discussion of the above 
issues. The remainder of the meeting will be devoted to 10-minute 
presentations by stakeholders who wish to present exposure data related 
to specific construction tasks. Participants are not expected to 
prepare and present formal testimony. The Agency is interested in 
reviewing exposure data and 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 28th day of May, 2004.
John L. Henshaw,
Assistant Secretary of Labor.
[FR Doc. 04-12759 Filed 6-4-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-26-M