[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 183 (Wednesday, September 21, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58520-58521]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-24219]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

National Institutes of Health


Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Cancer Risk in U.S. 
Radiologic Technologists: Fourth Survey (NCI)

SUMMARY: In compliance with the requirement of Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of

[[Page 58521]]

the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, for opportunity for public comment 
on proposed data collection projects, the National Cancer Institute, 
the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will publish periodic summaries 
of proposed projects to be submitted to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for review and approval.
    Proposed Collection: Title: Cancer Risk in U.S. Radiologic 
Technologists: Fourth Survey (NCI). Type of Information Collection 
Request: Reinstatement with change of a previously approved collection 
(OMB No. 0925-0405, expiration 02/28/2011). Need and Use of Information 
Collection: By conducting a fourth cohort follow-up survey in an 
ongoing cohort study of U.S. Radiologic Technologists (USRT), updated 
information will be collected on cancer and other medical outcomes, 
personal medical radiation procedures, and other risk factors from all 
participants, plus detailed employment data from subgroups of 
participants who performed or assisted with fluoroscopically-guided or 
radioisotope procedures. Researchers at the National Cancer Institute 
and The University of Minnesota have followed a nationwide cohort of 
146,000 radiologic technologists since 1982, of whom 110,000 completed 
at least one of three prior questionnaire surveys and 23,454 are 
deceased. This cohort is unique because estimates of cumulative 
radiation dose to specific organs (e.g. breast) are available and the 
cohort is largely female, offering a rare opportunity to study effects 
of low-dose radiation exposure on breast and thyroid cancers, the two 
most sensitive organ sites for radiation carcinogenesis in women. The 
fourth survey will be administered by mail to approximately 93,000 
living and located cohort members who completed at least one of the 
three previous surveys to collect information on new cancers and other 
disease outcomes, detailed work patterns and practices from 
technologists who worked with radioisotopes and interventional 
radiography procedures, and new or updated risk factors that may 
influence health risks. New occupational and medical radiation exposure 
information will be used to improve radiation dose estimates. The 
annual reporting burden is reported in Table 1. There are no capital 
costs, operating costs and/or maintenance costs to report.

                                                        Table 1--Estimates of Annual Burden Hours
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                                           Average time
               Type of respondent                               Instrument                   Number of     Frequency of    per response     Annual hour
                                                                                            respondents      response         (hours)         burden
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cohort members (overall target group)..........  Fourth Survey CORE Module (Attachment            21,700               1     30/60 (0.5)          10,850
                                                  1A).
Cohort members (subgroup 1 of overall target     Fourth Survey NM Module (Attachment 1B)           7,000               1    20/60 (0.33)           2,333
 group).
Cohort members (subgroup 2 of overall target     Fourth Survey FG Module (Attachment 1C)           6,300               1    10/60 (0.17)           1,050
 group).
Medical office clerks..........................  Medical Validation (Attachment 3)......           2,053               1    15/60 (0.25)             513
                                                                                         ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total......................................  .......................................          37,053  ..............  ..............          14,746
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Request for Comments: Written comments and/or suggestions from the 
public and affected agencies are invited on one or more of the 
following points: (1) Whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functioning of the National 
Cancer Institute, including whether the information will have practical 
utility; (2) 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; (3) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways 
to minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who 
are to respond, including the use of appropriate automated, electronic, 
mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms 
of information technology.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request additional information on 
the proposed collection of information contact: Michele M. Doody, 
Radiation Epidemiology Branch, National Cancer Institute, Executive 
Plaza South, Room 7051, Bethesda, MD 20892-7238, or call non-toll-free 
at 301-594-7203. You may also e-mail your request to 
[email protected].
    Comments Due Date: Comments regarding this information collection 
are best assured of having their full effect if received within 60 days 
of this publication.

    Dated: September 15, 2011.
Vivian Horovitch-Kelley,
NCI Project Clearance Liaison, National Institutes of Health.
[FR Doc. 2011-24219 Filed 9-20-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-P