[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 211 (Wednesday, November 2, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66468-66469]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-21843]


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

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of the Secretary


Submission for OMB Review: Comment Request

October 31, 2005.
    The Department of Labor (DOL) has submitted the following public 
information collection requests (ICRs) to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. chapter 35). A copy of 
each ICR, with applicable supporting documentation, may be obtained by 
contacting Darrin King on 202-693-4129 (this is not a toll-free number) 
or e-mail: [email protected].
    Comments should be sent to Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs, Attn: OMB Desk Officer for the Occupational Safety and Health 
Administration (OSHA), Office of Management and Budget, Room 10235, 
Washington, DC 20503, 202-395-7316 (this is not a toll-free number), 
within 30 days from the date of this publication in the Federal 
Register.
    The OMB is particularly interested in comments which:
     Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility;
     Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the 
burden of the proposed collection of information, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
     Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
     Minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate 
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting 
electronic submission of responses.
    Agency: Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
    Type of Review: Extension of currently approved collection.
    Title: Permit-Required Confined Spaces (29 CFR 1910.146).
    OMB Number: 1218-0203.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Type of Response: Recordkeeping and Third party disclosure.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit; Not-for-profit 
institutions; Federal Government; and State, Local, or Tribal 
Government.
    Number of Respondents: 238,853.
    Number of Annual Responses: 9,124,977.
    Estimated Time Per Response: Varies from 1 minute to maintain a 
certificate to 16 hours to develop a written permit space entry 
program.
    Total Burden Hours: 1,523,763.
    Total Annualized capital/startup costs: $0.
    Total Annual Costs (operating/maintaining systems or purchasing 
services): $.
    Description: 29 CFR 1910.146 specifies a number of collections of 
information requirements. The collections of information are used by 
employers and employees whenever entry is made into permit-required 
confined spaces. The following sections describe who uses the 
information collected under each requirement, as well as how they use 
it. The purpose of the information is to ensure that employers 
systematically evaluate the dangers in permit spaces before entry is 
attempted and to ensure that adequate measures are taken to make the 
spaces safe for entry. In addition, the information is needed to 
determine, during an OSHA inspection by a compliance safety and health 
officer, if employers are in compliance with the Standard.
    Section 1910.146(c)(2) requires the employer to post danger signs 
to inform exposed employees of the existence and location of, and the 
danger posed by, permit spaces.
    Section 1910.146(c)(4) requires the employer to develop and 
implement a written ``permit space program'' if the employer decides 
that its employees will enter permit spaces. The written program is to 
be made available for inspection by employees and their authorized 
representatives. Section 1910.146(d) provides the employer with the 
requirements of a permit-required confined space program (``permit 
space program'') required under this paragraph.
    Section 1910.146(c)(5)(i)(E) requires that the determinations and 
supporting data specified by paragraphs (c)(5)(i)(A), (c)(5)(i)(B), and 
(c)(5)(i)(C) of this section are documented by the employer and are 
made available to each employee who enters a permit space or to that 
employee's authorized representative.
    Under paragraph (c)(5)(ii)(H) of Sec.  1910.146, the employer is 
required to verify that the space is safe for entry and that the pre-
entry measures required by paragraph (c)(5)(ii) of this section have 
been taken, using a written certification that contains the date, the 
location of the space, and the signature of the person providing the 
certification. The certification is to be made before entry and is 
required to be made available to each employee entering the space or to 
that employee's authorized representative.
    Section 1910.146(c)(7)(iii) requires the employer to document the 
basis for determining that all hazards in a permit space have been 
eliminated using a certification that contains the date, the location 
of the space, and the signature of the person making the determination. 
The certification is to be made available to each employee entering the 
space or to that employee's authorized representative.
    Section 1910.146(c)(8)(i) requires that the employer inform the 
contractor that the workplace contains permit spaces and that permit 
space entry is allowed only through compliance with a permit space 
program meeting the requirements of this section. Section 
1910.146(c)(8)(ii) requires that the employer apprise the contractor of 
the elements, including the hazards identified and the host employer's 
experience with the space, that make the space in question a permit 
space. Section 1910.146(c)(8)(iii) requires that the employer apprise 
the contractor of any precautions or procedures that the host employer 
has implemented for the protection of employees in or near permit 
spaces where contractor personnel will be working. Section 
1910.146(c)(8)(v) requires the employer to debrief the contractor at 
the conclusion of the entry operations regarding the permit space 
program followed and regarding any hazards confronted or created in 
permit spaces during entry operations.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ These sections identify usual and customary communications 
between employers, contractors, and employees; therefore, they do 
not impose burden hours or costs on the employer. For example, as a 
matter of business practice, information about hazards and permit-
required confined spaces, etc., would be conveyed to contractors 
during initial discussions of work to be performed.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Section 1910.146(c)(9)(iii) requires that the contractor inform the 
host employer of the permit space program

[[Page 66469]]

that the contractor will follow and of any hazards confronted or 
created in permit spaces, either through a debriefing or during the 
entry operation.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ See footnote 1.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Section 1910.146(d)(5)(vi) requires the employer to immediately 
provide each authorized entrant or that employee's authorized 
representative with the results of any testing conducted in accordance 
with paragraph (d) of this section.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\ See footnote 1.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Section 1910.146(e)(1) requires the employer to document the 
completion of measures required by paragraph (d)(3) by preparing an 
entry permit before employee entry is authorized. Paragraph (f) of 
Sec.  1910.146 specifies the information to be included on the entry 
permit. Paragraph (e)(3) requires that the employer make the completed 
permit available at the time of entry to all authorized entrants by 
posting the permit at the entry portal or by any other equally 
effective means, so that the entrants can confirm that pre-entry 
preparations have been completed. Paragraph (e)(6) requires the 
employer to retain each canceled entry permit for at least one year.
    Section 1910.146(g)(4) requires that the employer certify that the 
training required by paragraphs (g)(1) through (g)(3) \4\ has been 
accomplished by preparing a written certification record.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\ The Agency concludes that the training required under Sec.  
1910.146(g)(1) through (g)(3) and (k)(2)(ii) and (k)(2)(iii) Sec.  
1910.146(k) is written in performance-oriented language and, thus, 
not considered a collection of information under the implementing 
rules and guidelines of PRA-95.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Section 1910.146(k)(1)(iv) requires that the employer inform each 
rescue team or service of the hazards they may confront when called on 
to perform rescue at the site.
    Section 1910.146(k)(2)(ii) requires that the employer train 
affected employees to perform assigned rescue duties. The employer must 
ensure that such employees successfully complete the training required 
to establish proficiency as an authorized entrant, as provided by 
paragraphs (g) and (h) of this section. Section 1910.146(k)(2)(iii) 
requires that the employer train affected employees in basic first-aid 
and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The employer shall ensure that 
at least one member of the rescue team or service holding a current 
certification in first aid and CPR is available.
    Section 1910.146(k)(4) requires that if an injured entrant is 
exposed to a substance for which a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) or 
other similar written information is required to be kept at the 
worksite, that the employer make the MSDS or written information 
available to the medical facility treating the exposed entrant.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \5\ The burden hours and cost for MSDS accessibility is taken 
under OMB Control Number 1218-0072 (the Hazard Communication 
Standard (HCS) ICR).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Section 1910.146(l)(2) requires that employers make all information 
required to be developed by this section available to affected 
employees and their authorized representatives.\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \6\ See footnote 1.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Agency: Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
    Type of Review: Extension of currently approved collection.
    Title: Vehicle-Mounted Elevating and Rotating Work Platforms 
(Aerial Lifts) (29 CFR 1910.67).
    OMB Number: 1218-0230.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Type of Response: Recordkeeping and Third party disclosure.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit; Not-for-profit 
institutions; Federal Government; and State, Local, or Tribal 
Government.
    Number of Respondents: 1,000.
    Number of Annual Responses: 1,014.
    Estimated Time Per Response: Varies from 1 minute to maintain the 
manufacturer's certification record to 2 minutes to disclose it to an 
OSHA Compliance Officer.
    Total Burden Hours: 21.
    Total Annualized capital/startup costs: $0.
    Total Annual Costs (operating/maintaining systems or purchasing 
services): $0.
    Description: OSHA's Vehicle-Mounted Elevating and Rotating Work 
Platforms Standard (29 CFR 1910.67) (the ``Standard'') specifies one 
paperwork requirement.
    Manufacturer's Certification of Modification (paragraph (b)(2)). 
The Standard requires that when aerial lifts are ``field modified'' for 
uses other than those intended by the manufacturer, the manufacturer or 
other equivalent entity, such as a nationally recognized testing 
laboratory, must certify in writing that the modification is in 
conformity with all applicable provisions of ANSI A92.2-1969 and the 
OSHA Standard and that the modified aerial lift is at least as safe as 
the equipment was before modification. Employers are to maintain the 
certification record and make it available to OSHA compliance officers. 
This record provides assurance to employers, employees, and compliance 
officers that the aerial lift is safe for use, thereby preventing 
failure while employees are being elevated. The certification record 
also provides the most efficient means for the compliance officers to 
determine that an employer is complying with the Standard.

Ira L. Mills,
Departmental Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 05-21843 Filed 11-1-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-26-P