[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 72 (Monday, April 14, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20068-20070]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-7785]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. OSHA-2008-0004]


Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Chemicals in Laboratories 
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 proposal to extend 
OMB approval of the information collection requirements specified by 
the Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Chemicals in Laboratories 
Standard (Sec.  1910.1450).

DATES: Comments must be submitted (postmarked, sent, or received) by 
June 13, 2008.

ADDRESSES: Electronically: You may submit comments and attachments 
electronically at http://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal. Follow the instructions online for submitting 
comments.
    Facsimile: If your comments, including attachments, are not longer 
than 10 pages, you may fax them to the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-
1648.
    Mail, hand delivery, express mail, messenger, or courier service: 
When using this method, you must submit three copies of your comments 
and attachments to the OSHA Docket Office, OSHA Docket No. OSHA-2008-
0004, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health 
Administration, Room N-2625, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, 
DC 20210. Deliveries (hand, express mail, messenger, and courier 
service) are accepted during the Department of Labor's and Docket 
Office's normal business hours, 8:15 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., ET.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the Agency name and OSHA 
docket number (OSHA-2008-0004) for the Information Collection Request 
(ICR). All comments, including any personal information you provide, 
are placed in the public docket without change, and may be made 
available online at http://www.regulations.gov. For further information 
on submitting comments see the ``Public Participation'' heading in the 
section of this notice titled SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
    Docket: To read or download comments or other material in the 
docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov or the OSHA Docket Office at 
the address above. All documents in the docket (including this Federal 
Register notice) are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index; 
however, some information (e.g., copyrighted material) is not publicly 
available to read or download through the Web site. All submissions, 
including copyrighted material, are available for inspection and 
copying at the OSHA Docket Office. You may also contact Jamaa Hill at 
the address below to obtain a copy of the ICR.

[[Page 20069]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jamaa N. 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:

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 OSH Act) (29 U.S.C. 651 et seq.) authorizes information 
collection by employers as necessary or appropriate for enforcement of 
the OSH Act or for developing information regarding the causes and 
prevention of occupational injuries, illnesses, and accidents (29 
U.S.C. 657). The OSH Act also requires that OSHA obtain such 
information with minimum burden upon employers, especially those 
operating small businesses, and to reduce to the maximum extent 
feasible unnecessary duplication of efforts in obtaining information 
(29 U.S.C. 657).
    The standard entitled ``Occupational Exposure to Hazardous 
Chemicals in Laboratories'' (29 CFR 1910.1450; the ``Standard'') 
applies to laboratories that use hazardous chemicals in accordance with 
the Standard's definitions for ``laboratory use of hazardous 
chemicals'' and ``laboratory scale.'' The Standard requires these 
laboratories to maintain employee exposures at or below the permissible 
exposure limits specified for the hazardous chemicals in 29 CFR part 
1910, subpart Z. They do so by developing a written Chemical Hygiene 
Plan (CHP) that describes: Standard operating procedures for using 
hazardous chemicals; hazard control techniques; equipment reliability 
measures; employee information-and-training programs; conditions under 
which the employer must approve operations, procedures, and activities 
before implementation; and medical consultations and examinations. The 
CHP also designates personnel responsible for implementing the CHP, and 
specifies the procedures used to provide additional protection to 
employees exposed to particularly hazardous chemicals.
    Other information collection requirements of the Standard include: 
Documenting exposure monitoring results; notifying employees in writing 
of these results; presenting specified information and training to 
employees; establishing a medical surveillance program for overexposed 
employees; providing required information to the physician; obtaining 
the physician's written opinion on using proper respiratory equipment 
and establishing, maintaining, transferring, and disclosing exposure 
monitoring and medical records. These collection of information 
requirements, including the CHP, control employee overexposure to 
hazardous laboratory chemicals, thereby preventing serious illnesses 
and death among employees exposed to such chemicals.

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 is proposing to extend the information collection requirements 
contained in the Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Chemicals in 
Laboratories Standard (29 CFR 1910.1450). The Agency is requesting to 
increase its current burden hour total from 270,636 hours to 281,419 
hours for a total increase of 10,783 hours. The adjustment is primarily 
a result of an increase in the number of facilities being monitored 
(from 43,300 to 45,616) and the number of employees covered by the 
Standard (from 1,598,385 to 1,660,408) based on updated data obtained 
from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The 
Agency will summarize the comments submitted in response to this 
notice, and will include this summary in the request to OMB to extend 
the approval of the information collection requirements contained in 
the Standard.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved information 
collection requirement.
    Title: Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Chemicals in 
Laboratories.
    OMB Number: 1218-0131.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profits; not-for-profit 
institutions; Federal government; State, local, or Tribal governments.
    Number of Respondents: 45,616.
    Frequency of Response: Annually; monthly; on occasion.
    Total Responses: 911,446.
    Average Time per Response: Varies from 5 minutes (.08 hour) for a 
variety of requirements (e.g., for an office clerk to develop and post 
exposure monitoring results) to 8 hours for an employer to develop a 
Chemical Hygiene Plan.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 281,419.
    Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $35,978,301.

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

    You may submit comments in response to this document as follows: 
(1) Electronically at http://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal; (2) by facsimile (FAX); or (3) by hard copy. All 
comments, attachments, and other material must identify the Agency name 
and the OSHA docket number for the ICR (Docket No. OSHA-2008-0004). You 
may supplement electronic submissions by uploading document files 
electronically. If you wish to mail additional materials in reference 
to an electronic or facsimile submission, you must submit them to the 
OSHA Docket Office (see the section of this notice titled ADDRESSES). 
The additional materials must clearly identify your electronic comments 
by your name, date, and the docket number so the Agency can attach them 
to your comments.
    Because of security procedures, the use of regular mail may cause a 
significant delay in the receipt of comments. For information about 
security procedures concerning the delivery of materials by hand, 
express delivery, messenger, or courier service, please contact the 
OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-2350 (TTY (877) 889-5627).
    Comments and submissions are posted without change at http://www.regulations.gov. Therefore, OSHA cautions commenters about 
submitting personal information such as social

[[Page 20070]]

security numbers and date of birth. Although all submissions are listed 
in the http://www.regulations.gov index, some information (e.g., 
copyrighted material) is not publicly available to read or download 
through this Web site. All submissions, including copyrighted material, 
are available for inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office. 
Information on using the http://www.regulations.gov Web site to submit 
comments and access the docket is available at the Web site's ``User 
Tips'' link. Contact the OSHA Docket Office for information about 
materials not available through the Web site, and for assistance in 
using the Internet to locate docket submissions.

V. 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 et seq.) and Secretary of Labor's Order No. 5-2007 (72 FR 
31159).

    Signed at Washington, DC, on April 8, 2008.
Edwin G. Foulke, Jr.,
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. E8-7785 Filed 4-11-08; 8:45 am]
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