[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 114 (Wednesday, June 15, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34799-34801]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-11811]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. ICR-1218-0126(2005)]


Acrylonitrile Standard; Extension of the Office of Management and 
Budget's (OMB) Approval of Information Collection (Paperwork) 
Requirements

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

ACTION: Request for public comment.

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SUMMARY: OSHA solicits public comment concerning its request for an 
extension of the information collection requirements contained in the 
Acrylonitrile Standard (the ``AN'' Standard) (29 CFR 1910.1045).

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DATES: Comments must be submitted by the following dates:
    Hard copy: Your comments must be submitted (postmarked or received) 
by August 15, 2005.
    Facsimile and electronic transmission: Your comments must be 
received by August 15, 2005.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by OSHA Docket No. ICR-
1218-0126(2005), by any of the following methods:
    Regular mail, express delivery, hand delivery, and messenger 
service: Submit your comments and attachments to the OSHA Docket 
Office, Room N-2625, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, 
NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone (202) 693-2350 (OSHA's TTY number 
is (877) 889-5627). OSHA Docket Office and Department of Labor hours 
are 8:15 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., ET.
    Facsimile: If your comments are 10 pages or fewer in length, 
including attachments, you may fax them to the OSHA Docket Office at 
(202) 693-1648.
    Electronic: You may submit comments through the Internet at http://ecomments.osha.gov. Follow instructions on the OSHA Web page for 
submitting comments.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read or download comments or 
background materials, such as the complete Information Collection 
Request (ICR) (containing the Supporting Statement, OMB-83-I Form, and 
attachments), go to OSHA's Web page at http://www.OSHA.gov. In 
addition, the ICR, comments and submissions are available for 
inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office at the address above. 
You may also contact Todd Owen at the address below to obtain a copy of 
the ICR. For additional information on submitting comments, please see 
the ``Public Participation'' heading in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION 
section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Todd Owen, Directorate of Standards 
and Guidance, OSHA, 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 (PRA-95) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).
    This program ensures that information is in the desired format, 
reporting burden (time and costs) is minimal, collection instruments 
are clearly understood, and OSHA's estimate of the information 
collection burden is accurate. The Occupational Safety and Health Act 
of 1970 (the Act) (29 U.S.C. 651 et seq.) 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).
    On January 5, 2005, OSHA published the Standards Improvement 
Project--Phase II, Final rule (70 FR 1112). The final rule removed and 
revised provisions of standards that were outdated, duplicative, 
unnecessary, or inconsistent and clarified or simplified regulatory 
language. The final rule contained several revisions to collections of 
information contained in the AN Standard.\1\ These revisions included: 
Reducing the frequency of exposure monitoring and updating compliance 
plans; allowing employers the option to post employee exposure-
monitoring results instead of requiring individual notification; and 
eliminating the need for employers to report emergencies to OSHA and to 
notify OSHA when establishing a regulated area. Those changes reduced 
paperwork burden hours while maintaining worker protection and 
improving consistency among standards.
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    \1\ The Office of Management and Budget approved the reduction 
of 1,511 burden hours after reviewing the Information Collection 
Request for the Standards Improvement Project--Phase II Notice of 
Proposed Rulemaking, published October 31, 2002 (67 FR 66494). On 
January 5, 2005, when the final rule was published (70 FR 1112) 
documentation was submitted to OMB revising the reduction of 1,511 
hours to 1,196 hours to reflect the increase in time to conduct 
exposure monitoring.
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    The information collection requirements specified in the AN 
Standard protect employees from the adverse health effects that may 
result from their exposure to AN. The major information collection 
requirements of the AN Standard include notifying employees of their AN 
exposures, implementing a written compliance program, providing 
examining physicians with specific information, ensuring that employees 
receive a copy of their medical examination results, maintaining 
employee's exposure-monitoring and medical records for specific 
periods, and providing access to these records by OSHA, the National 
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the affected employees, 
and designated representatives.

II. Special Issues for Comment

    OSHA has a particular interest in comments on the following issues:
     Whether the proposed information collection requirements 
are necessary for the proper performance of the Agency's functions, 
including whether the information is useful;
     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;
     The quality, utility, and clarity of the information 
collected; and
     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 these collections of information (paperwork) requirements 
necessitated by the AN standard (29 CFR 1910.1045). The Agency will 
include this summary in its request to OMB to extend the approval of 
these collections of information requirements.
    Type of Review: Extension of currently approved information 
collection requirements.
    Title: Acrylonitrile Standard.
    OMB Number 1218-0126.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profits; Federal government; 
State, local or tribal government.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Average Time Per Response: Varies from 5 minutes (.08 hour) to 
provide information to the examining physician to 1.5 hour to conduct 
medical examinations.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 3,237.
    Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $173,652.

IV. Public Participation--Submission of Comments on This Notice and 
Internet Access to Comments and Submissions

    You may submit comments and supporting materials in response to 
this notice by (1) hard-copy, (2) FAX transmission (facsimile), or (3) 
electronically through the OSHA Web page. Because of security-related 
problems, there may be a significant delay in the receipt of comments 
by regular mail. Please contact the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-
2350 (TTY (877) 889-5627) for information about security procedures 
concerning the delivery of submissions by express delivery, hand 
delivery and courier service.

[[Page 34801]]

    All comments, submissions and background documents are available 
for inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office at the above 
address. Comments and submissions posted on OSHA's Web page are 
available at http://www.OSHA.gov. Contact the OSHA Docket Office for 
information about materials not available through the OSHA Web page and 
for assistance using the Web page to locate docket submissions.
    Electronic copies of this Federal Register notice as well as other 
relevant documents are available on OSHA's Web page. Since all 
submissions become public, private information such as social security 
numbers should not be submitted.

V. Authority and Signature

    Jonathan L. Snare, Acting 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 et seq.), and Secretary of Labor's Order No. 5-
2002 (67 FR 65008).

    Dated: Signed at Washington, DC, on June 8, 2005.
Jonathan L. Snare,
Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor
[FR Doc. 05-11811 Filed 6-14-05; 8:45 am]
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