[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 224 (Monday, November 23, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61175-61176]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-28031]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. OSHA-2009-0028]


Personal Protective Equipment Standard for General Industry; 
Extension of the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) Approval of 
the Information Collection (Paperwork) Requirements

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

ACTION: Request for public comment.

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SUMMARY: OSHA solicits comments concerning its proposal to extend the 
Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval of the information 
collection requirements contained in the Personal Protective Equipment 
(PPE) Standard for General Industry (29 CFR part 1910, subpart I).

DATES: Comments must be submitted (postmarked, sent, or received) by 
January 22, 2010.

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, Docket No. OSHA-2009-0028, 
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., e.t.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the Agency name and OSHA 
docket number for the ICR (OSHA-2009-0028). 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 contact Theda Kenney at the 
address below to obtain a copy of the Information Collection Request 
(ICR).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Theda Kenney 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 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).
    Subpart I specifies several paperwork requirements. The following 
describes the information collection requirements in subpart I and 
addresses who will use the information.

Hazard Assessment and Verification (Sec.  1910.132(d))

    Paragraph (d)(1) requires employers to perform a hazard assessment 
of the workplace to determine if hazards are present, or likely to be 
present, that make the use of PPE necessary. Where such hazards are 
present, employers must communicate PPE selection decisions to each 
affected worker (paragraph (d)(1)(ii)).

[[Page 61176]]

    Paragraph (d)(2) requires employers to certify in writing that they 
have performed the hazard assessment. The certification must include 
the date and the person certifying that the hazard assessment was 
conducted, and the identification of the workplace evaluated (area or 
location).
    The hazard assessment assures that potential workplace hazards 
necessitating PPE use have been identified and the PPE selected is 
appropriate for those hazards and the affected workers. The required 
certification of the hazard assessment verifies that the required 
hazard assessment was conducted.

Training and Verification (Sec.  1910.132(f))

    Section 1910.132(f) requires that employers provide training for 
each worker who is required to wear PPE. Paragraph (f)(3) requires that 
employers also provide retraining when there is reason to believe that 
any previously trained worker does not have the understanding and skill 
to use PPE properly. Circumstances where such retraining is required 
include changes in the workplace that render prior training obsolete, 
changes in the types of PPE used, and inadequacies in the worker's 
knowledge or use of PPE that indicate the worker had not retained the 
requisite understanding and skill.
    Paragraph (f)(4) requires that employers certify that workers have 
received and understood the PPE training required in Sec.  1910.132(f). 
The training certification must include the name of the worker(s) 
trained, the date(s) of training, and the subject of the certification 
(i.e., a statement identifying the document as a certification of 
training in the use of PPE).
    The training certification verifies that workers have received the 
necessary training and know how to properly use PPE. OSHA compliance 
officers may require employers to disclose the certification records 
during an Agency inspection.
    The standards on PPE protection for the eyes and face (29 CFR 
1910.133), head (29 CFR 1910.135, feet (29 CFR 1910.136)), and hands 
(29 CFR 1910.138) do not contain any separate information collection 
requirements.

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 requesting that OMB extend its approval of the information 
collection requirements contained in the Personal Protective Equipment 
Standard for General Industry (29 CFR part 1910, subpart I). OSHA is 
proposing to decrease the burden hours in the currently approved 
information collection request from 3,953,759 to 3,552,171 (a total 
decrease of 401,588 hours). This decrease is due to the reduction in 
the percentage of establishments with 20 or more workers affected by 
the Standard.
    The Agency will summarize the comments submitted in response to 
this notice and will include this summary in the request to OMB.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Title: Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for General Industry (29 
CFR part 1910, subpart I).
    OMB Number: 1218-0205.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profits; Federal Government; 
State, Local, or Tribal Government.
    Number of Respondents: 3,500,000.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion.
    Average Time per Response: Varies from one minute (.02 hour) to 
maintain a training certification record to 29 hours to perform a 
hazard assessment.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 3,552,171.
    Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $0.

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-2009-0028). 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 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

    Jordan Barab, 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. 5-2007 (72 FR 
31160).

    Signed at Washington, DC, this 18th day of November 2009.
Jordan Barab,
 Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and 
Health.
[FR Doc. E9-28031 Filed 11-20-09; 8:45 am]
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