[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 92 (Friday, May 13, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25575-25576]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-9562]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[30Day-05-04JU]


Proposed Data Collections Submitted for Public Comment and 
Recommendations

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) publishes a 
list of information collection requests under review by the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) in compliance with the Paperwork Reduction 
Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). To request a copy of these requests, call 
the CDC Reports Clearance Officer at (404) 371-5974 or send an e-mail 
to [email protected]. Send written comments to CDC Desk Officer, Human 
Resources and Housing Branch, New Executive Office Building, Room 
10235, Washington, DC 20503 or by fax to (202) 395-6974. Written 
comments should be received within 30 days of this notice.

Proposed Project

    Factors Impacting Effective Removal of Arsenic by Household Water 
Purification Systems--New--National Center for Environmental Health 
(NCEH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Background and Brief Description

    Epidemiologic evidence strongly links ingestion of water containing 
inorganic arsenic with an increase in bladder cancer and other cancers. 
In Maine, approximately 10% of private domestic wells have arsenic 
concentrations greater than Maine's health standard for water of 10 
[mu]g/L. In wells with high arsenic concentrations, ingestion of water 
can be the dominant source of arsenic exposure. The preferred method 
for treating domestic well water containing elevated levels of arsenic 
is point-of-use water-treatment devices.
    The purpose of the proposed study is to evaluate how the efficacy 
of water-treatment devices is affected by user behaviors such as 
maintenance and selection of appropriate technologies and by variations 
in water chemistry. The requested three year clearance for this study 
will focus on a total of 100 households. Approximately 200 households 
will be recruited and screened to ascertain the 100 eligible 
households. Recruitment is limited to areas of Maine that have high 
concentrations of arsenic in groundwater.
    The results will demonstrate how arsenic removal systems are 
working in the real world. The data will give insight into how 
homeowners are collecting, interpreting and utilizing information on 
water treatment in order to select an arsenic-removal system. The data 
will show how well the chosen systems are removing arsenic, and how 
well they are being maintained. The results will thus identify risk 
factors that contribute to a failing treatment system.
    The study will have a cross-sectional component and a temporal 
component. For the cross-sectional component, total arsenic, inorganic 
arsenic species, and selected geochemical constituents will be 
quantified by the influent and effluent (flowing in and flowing out) of 
filtration devices treating these 100 domestic well-water supplies. The 
study team will administer questionnaires to each participating 
household to collect data on the type of treatment unit used, routine 
operation parameters, and suggested and actual maintenance schedules. 
For the temporal component of the study, the study team will test the 
influent and effluent of the treatment units of 30 participating 
households for total arsenic one time per year. The percentage of 
arsenic removed by the filter will be compared to the study criterion 
selected to indicate that a filter is failing. If the arsenic removal 
level indicates that a treatment unit meets the criterion for failure, 
treatment unit influent and effluent water will be analyzed for 
inorganic arsenic species and geochemical constituents to determine 
whether the chemistry of the water has changed sufficiently to explain 
the failure.
    A follow-up questionnaire will be administered biannually and at 
the time of a system failure to determine when the unit was last 
maintained and if operation and maintenance have changed. CDC/NCEH will 
request a 3-year clearance. There is no cost to participants other than 
their time. The total annual burden hours are 56.

                                       Estimate of Annualized Burden Table
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                                                                     Number of      Avg. burden
                   Respondents                       Number of      responses/     response  (in   Total burden
                                                    respondents     respondent         hrs.)           hours
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Initial recruiting postcard completion..........              67               1            5/60               6
Follow-up telephone call........................              34               1           10/60               6
Initial interview...............................              34               1           30/60              17
Biannual follow-up interview....................              30               2           25/60              25
System failure follow-up interview..............               4               1           25/60               2
                                                 -----------------
    Total.......................................  ..............  ..............  ..............              56
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[[Page 25576]]

    Dated: May 6, 2005.
Joan F. Karr,
Acting Reports Clearance Officer, Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention.
[FR Doc. 05-9562 Filed 5-12-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P