[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 158 (Wednesday, August 16, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47253-47255]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-6946]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. ICR-1218-0183(2006)]


Standard on 4,4'-Methylenedianiline in Construction; Extension of 
the Office of Management and Budget's Approval of Information 
Collection (Paperwork) Requirements

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

ACTION: Request for comment.

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[[Page 47254]]

SUMMARY: OSHA requests comment concerning its proposed extension of the 
information collection requirements specified by the Standard on 4,4'-
Methylenedianiline (MDA) in Construction (29 CFR 1926.60). The Standard 
protects employees from the adverse health effects that may result from 
occupational exposure to MDA, including cancer, and liver and skin 
disease.

DATES: Comments must be submitted by the following dates:
    Hard Copy: Your comment must be submitted (postmarked or received) 
by October 16, 2006.
    Facsimile and electronic transmission: Your comments must be 
received by October 16, 2006.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by OSHA Docket No. ICR-
1218-0183(2006), by any of the following methods:

I. Submission of Comments

    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., e.t.
    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.
    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'' section in SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jamaa Hill or Todd Owen, Directorate 
of Standards and Guidance, OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-3609, 
200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone (202) 
693-2222.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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 (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 correct. The 
Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (the Act) 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).
    The information collection requirements specified in he 4,4'-
Methylenedianiline Standard for Construction (the ``MDA Standard'') 
protect employees from the adverse health effects that may result from 
their exposure to MDA, including cancer, and liver and skin disease. 
The major paperwork requirements specify that employers must perform 
initial, periodic, and additional exposure monitoring; notify each 
employee in writing of their results as soon as possible, but no longer 
than 5 days after receiving exposure-monitoring results; and routinely 
inspect the hands, face, and forearms of each employee potentially 
exposed to MDA for signs of dermal exposure to MDA. Employers must 
also: Establish a written compliance program; institute a respiratory 
protection program in accordance with 29 CFR 1910.134 (OSHA's 
Respiratory Protection Standard); and develop a written emergency plan 
for any construction operation that could have an emergency (i.e., an 
unexpected and potentially hazardous release of MDA).
    Employers are to label any material or products containing MDA, 
including containers used to store MDA-contaminated protective clothing 
and equipment. They also must inform personnel who launder MDA-
contaminated clothing of the requirement to prevent release of MDA, 
while personnel who launder or clean MDA-contaminated protective 
clothing or equipment must receive information about the potentially 
harmful effects of MDA. In addition, employers are to post warning 
signs at entrances or access ways to regulated areas, as well as train 
employees who may be exposed to MDA both at the time of their initial 
assignment and at least annually thereafter.
    Other paperwork provisions of the MDA Standard require employers to 
provide employees with medical examinations, including initial, 
periodic, emergency, and follow-up examinations. As part of the medical 
surveillance program, employers must ensure that the examining 
physician receives specific written information, and that they obtain 
from the physician a written opinion regarding the employee's medical 
results and exposure limitations.
    The MDA Standard also specifies that employers are to establish and 
maintain exposure-monitoring and medical surveillance records for each 
employee who is subject to these respective requirements, make any 
required record available to OSHA compliance officers and the National 
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) for examination 
and copying, and provide exposure-monitoring and medical surveillance 
records to employees and their designated representatives. Finally, 
employers who cease to do business within the period specified for 
retaining exposure-monitoring and medical surveillance records, and who 
have no successor employer, must notify NIOSH at least 90 days before 
disposing of the records and transmit the records to NIOSH if so 
requested.

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 to 
protect employees, 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 the collection of information requirements specified by the 
Standard

[[Page 47255]]

on 4,4'-Methylenedianiline in Construction (29 CFR 1926.60), and to 
decrease the total burden hour estimates by two hours. The Agency will 
summarize the comments submitted in response to this notice, and will 
include this summary in its request to OMB to extend the approval of 
these information collection requirements.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently-approved information 
collection requirement.
    Title: 4,4'-Methylenedianiline Standard for Construction (29 CFR 
1926.60).
    OMB Number: 1218-0183.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit; not-for-profit 
institutions; Federal Government; State, Local, or Tribal Governments.
    Number of Respondents: 66.
    Frequency of Recordkeeping: On occasion; quarterly; semi-annually; 
annually.
    Average Time per Response: Varies from five minutes (.08 hour) to 
provide information to the physician to 2 hours for initial monitoring.
    Total Annual Hours Requested: 1,607.
    Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $80,412.

IV. Authority and Signature

    Edwin G. Foulke, Jr., 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) and Secretary of Labor's Order No. 5-2002 (67 FR 65008).

    Signed at Washington, DC, on August 9, 2006.
Edwin G. Foulke, Jr.,
Assistant Secretary of Labor.
[FR Doc. 06-6946 Filed 8-15-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-26-M