[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 32 (Friday, February 15, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8876-8877]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-2836]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[60Day-08-0337]


Proposed Data Collections Submitted for Public Comment and 
Recommendations

    In compliance with the requirement of Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 for opportunity for public comment on 
proposed data collection projects, the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention (CDC) will publish periodic summaries of proposed projects. 
To request more information on the proposed projects or to obtain a 
copy of the data collection plans and instruments, call 404-639-5960, 
send comments to Maryam I. Daneshvar, CDC Acting Reports Clearance 
Officer, 1600 Clifton Road, MS-D74, Atlanta, GA 30333 or send an e-mail 
to [email protected].
    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information shall have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways 
to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, 
including through the use of automated collection techniques or other 
forms of information technology. Written comments should be received 
within 60 days of this notice.

Proposed Project

    National Blood Lead Surveillance System (OMB No. 0920-0337)--
Revision--National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH), Coordinating 
Center for Environmental Health and Injury Prevention (CCEHIP), Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Background and Brief Description

    The National Blood Lead Surveillance System (NBLSS) would like to 
continue its effort to collect information related to lead exposure 
among children less than six years old. The overarching goal of this 
system is to establish Childhood Lead Surveillance Systems at the state 
and national levels. This is a revision request in addition to a 3-year 
revision with an increase in the burden hours and inclusion of the 
adult blood lead surveillance system. As part of this effort we would 
like to revise this application to include 3 additional State and local 
Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Programs (CLPPP) who report to the 
NBLSS. These three programs were added to help provide a more 
comprehensive picture of childhood lead poisoning in the United States.
    The objectives for developing this system are three-fold. First, we 
would like to use surveillance data to estimate the extent of elevated 
blood-lead levels (BLLs) among children less than 6 years old. This is 
important because it will allow us to systematically track the 
management and follow-up of those children found to be poisoned with 
lead.
    Our next objective for the development of this system is to examine 
potential sources of lead exposure. Although we've been successful in 
eliminating atmospheric lead with the use of unleaded gasoline and have 
continued to make strides in the elimination of household sources of 
lead commonly found in paint and dust, recent events have highlighted 
other potentially hidden sources of lead. This system will allow us to 
track the burden of such hidden sources and will help us eliminate such 
threats with the establishment of laws aimed at preventing the 
importation of such goods into our nation. The establishment of such 
laws will of course be a joint effort between several federal agencies; 
however, this surveillance system will help facilitate our efforts.
    The final objective of this system is to facilitate the allocation 
of resources for lead poison prevention activities. The allocation of 
federal resources to State surveillance systems are based on reports of 
blood-lead tests from laboratories. Ideally, laboratories report 
results of all lead tests to the state health department. State health 
departments

[[Page 8877]]

then send reports to CDC using de-identified data. It is from these 
reports that CDC is able to determine funding levels.
    In addition to reporting child blood lead levels, many laboratories 
also report adult blood lead levels. Thus, this OMB request would also 
like to include the Adult Blood Lead Epidemiology and Surveillance 
Program (ABLES). The ABLES Program is a state-based surveillance system 
under which participating States provide information to CDC's National 
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) on laboratory 
reported blood lead levels among adults. For all adults (16 and older) 
the State will provide data on all laboratory reports when the adult's 
blood lead level is equal to or greater than 25 mcg/dl. These data are 
to be consolidated into a single data submission by task time periods.
    The ABLES program ultimately aims to collect the complete list of 
variables for all blood lead tests, including blood lead levels less 
than 25 mcg/dl, and urges all States to progressively supply this 
information as it becomes available. All data submissions must be 
delivered in the supplied format providing a field for 20 variables, 
even if some variables have no data available at the time.
    The use of both Childhood Lead Surveillance System and the ABLES 
Program will allow us to systematically track pockets of exposure to 
lead. It will also allow us to fully understand exposure potential and 
ways in which to prevent future sources of lead poisoning. Both systems 
are invaluable and will no doubt help us as we continue our stride in 
the elimination of lead poisoning in our nation.
    There is no cost to respondents other than their time.

                                        Estimated Annualized Burden Table
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                                                                     Number of    Average burden
                   Respondents                       Number of     response per    per response    Total burden
                                                    respondents     respondent       (in hrs.)         hours
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State and Local Health Departments for Child                  42               4               2             336
 Surveillance...................................
State and Local Health Departments for Adult                  40               4               2             320
 Surveillance...................................
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................  ..............  ..............  ..............             656
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    Dated: February 6, 2008.
Maryam I. Daneshvar,
Acting Reports Clearance Officer, Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention.
[FR Doc. E8-2836 Filed 2-14-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P