[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 67 (Wednesday, April 8, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18844-18846]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-08026]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[60Day-15-15XT;Docket No. CDC-2015-0017]


Proposed Data Collection Submitted for Public Comment and 
Recommendations

AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of 
Health and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION: Notice with comment period.

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SUMMARY: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as part 
of its continuing efforts to reduce public burden and maximize the 
utility of government information, invites the general public and other 
Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or 
continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995. This notice invites comment on Enhancing Mine 
Workers' Abilities to Identify Hazards at Sand, Stone, and Gravel (SSG) 
Mines. The objective of this project is to characterize SSG mine 
workers ability to recognize worksite hazards, to understand how this 
ability relates to perceived and measured risk as well as to other 
factors internal and external to the SSG mine worker.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before June 8, 2015.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CDC-2015-
0017 by any of the following methods:
    Federal eRulemaking Portal: Regulation.gov. Follow the instructions 
for submitting comments.
    Mail: Leroy A. Richardson, Information Collection Review Office, 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road NE., MS-
D74, Atlanta, Georgia 30329.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 
and Docket Number. All relevant comments received will be posted 
without change to Regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided. For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to Regulations.gov.
    Please note: All public comment should be submitted through the 
Federal eRulemaking portal (Regulations.gov) or by U.S. mail to the 
address listed above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request more information on the 
proposed project or to obtain a copy of the information collection plan 
and instruments, contact the Information Collection Review Office, 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road NE., MS-
D74, Atlanta, Georgia 30329; phone: 404-639-7570; Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), Federal agencies must obtain approval from 
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for each collection of 
information they conduct or sponsor. In addition, the PRA also requires 
Federal agencies to provide a 60-day notice in the Federal Register 
concerning each proposed collection of information, including each new 
proposed collection, each proposed extension of existing collection of 
information, and each reinstatement of previously approved information 
collection before submitting the collection to OMB for approval. To 
comply with this requirement, we are publishing this notice of a 
proposed data collection as described below.
    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; (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; and (e) estimates of capital

[[Page 18845]]

or start-up costs and costs of operation, maintenance, and purchase of 
services to provide information. Burden means the total time, effort, 
or financial resources expended by persons to generate, maintain, 
retain, disclose or provide information to or for a Federal agency. 
This includes the time needed to review instructions; to develop, 
acquire, install and utilize technology and systems for the purpose of 
collecting, validating and verifying information, processing and 
maintaining information, and disclosing and providing information; to 
train personnel and to be able to respond to a collection of 
information, to search data sources, to complete and review the 
collection of information; and to transmit or otherwise disclose the 
information.

Proposed Project

    Enhancing Mine Workers' Abilities to Identify Hazards at Sand, 
Stone, and Gravel Mines--New--National Institute for Occupational 
Safety and Health (NIOSH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
(CDC).

Background and Brief Description

    NIOSH, under Pub. L. 91-173 as amended by Pub. L. 95-164 (Federal 
Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977), and Pub. L. 109-236 (Mine 
Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2006) has the 
responsibility to conduct research to improve working conditions and to 
prevent accidents and occupational diseases in underground coal and 
metal/nonmetal mines in the U.S.
    Hazard recognition is only the first step to a safe work 
environment. A miner must be able to identify a hazard, recognize the 
risk associated with the hazard, and then make a decision of how to 
mitigate the risk and perform the task safely. Risk is defined as the 
combination of the likelihood an event will occur and the adverse 
consequences of that event (Brown & Groeger, 1988). Risk perception, 
the recognition of the risk inherent in a situation, influences 
decision making with regards to job safety (Hunter, 2002). Being able 
to recognize worksite hazards and then accurately perceive the 
associated risk are critical skills that lead to the work behavior 
decision-making process that is used to eliminate or reduce mining 
hazards related to operations and maintenance of machinery, operation 
of powered haulage, material handling, etc. that can result in injury 
or death.
    Hazard recognition is integral to risk perception, situational 
awareness, and decision making--that is, if the mine worker is unable 
to recognize worksite hazards, then steps cannot be taken to eliminate 
or mitigate them. Thus, the mine worker must first be able to recognize 
that a hazard is present in the environment and then understand the 
risk the hazard poses to their safety and health in order to make the 
best decision possible about how to deal with the hazard. Hazard 
recognition is a necessary skill for all mine workers; therefore, a 
better understanding of the hazard recognition process within the 
mining environment is a critical need that this research will fulfill 
for the industry.
    Given the aforementioned, the objective of the project is to 
characterize SSG mine workers' ability to recognize worksite hazards, 
to understand how this ability relates to perceived and measured risk 
as well as to other factors internal and external to the SSG mine 
worker.
    In order to determine how SSG mine workers' recognize and 
understand the risk associated with mine site hazards, NIOSH will 
conduct a laboratory-based experimental research study. Throughout the 
laboratory study, participants will wear a light weight eye-tracking 
system. Eye-movements will be collected throughout the task so that 
search patterns can be mapped during analysis to determine differences 
based on level of experience. NIOSH will also collect identification 
accuracy data to determine whether level of experience affects the 
number of hazards identified.
    NIOSH will collect additional measures related to perceived risk 
and risk tolerance. Researchers will assess perceived risk using a Risk 
Assessment measure which has three parts: (1) An overall evaluation of 
risk level; (2) an evaluation of accident severity; and (3) an 
evaluation of risk probability. This will be done for each hazard 
included in the study.
    Researchers will assess Risk Tolerance in two ways: (1) Through the 
use of the Risk Propensity Scale (Meertens & Lion, 2008) and (2) 
through the use of Risk Tolerance Workplace Scenarios (Lehmann, Haight, 
& Michael, 2009). NIOSH will also collect qualitative data through the 
use of open-ended interview questions.
    NIOSH will collect data from SSG mine workers, SSG safety 
professionals, and students knowledgeable of safety and health issues 
at SSG mine sites but who have limited work experience on a mine site. 
The purposes of collecting data from these three groups of participants 
are to identify differences in hazard recognition abilities and 
determine how these abilities change--and whether they change--with 
level of experience and amount of experience with hazards at SSG mine 
sites.
    The total estimated burden hours are 160. There are no costs to 
respondents other than their time.

                                        Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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                                                                      Number        Avg. burden
      Type of respondents           Form name        Number of     responses per   per response    Total burden
                                                    respondents     respondent       (in hrs.)       (in hrs.)
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Mine Employee.................  Prescreening                  45               1           15/60              11
                                 Questionnaire.
Safety Professional...........  Prescreening                  20               1           15/60               5
                                 Questionnaire.
Student.......................  Prescreening                  20               1           15/60               5
                                 Questionnaire.
Mine Employee.................  Informed Consent              30               1            6/60               3
Safety Professional...........  Informed Consent              15               1            6/60               2
Student.......................  Informed Consent              15               1            6/60               2
Mine Employee.................  Demographic                   30               1            6/60               3
                                 Questionnaire.
Safety Professional...........  Demographic                   15               1            6/60               2
                                 Questionnaire.
Student.......................  Demographic                   15               1            6/60               2
                                 Questionnaire.
Mine Employee.................  Experimental                  30               1           60/60              30
                                 Task.
Safety Professional...........  Experimental                  15               1               1              15
                                 Task.
Student.......................  Experimental                  15               1               1              15
                                 Task.
Mine Employee.................  Risk Assessment               30               1           20/60              10
                                 Measure.
Safety Professional...........  Risk Assessment               15               1           20/60               5
                                 Measure.
Student.......................  Risk Assessment               15               1           20/60               5
                                 Measure.

[[Page 18846]]

 
Mine Employee.................  Risk Propensity               30               1            6/60               3
                                 Scale.
Safety Professional...........  Risk Propensity               15               1            6/60               2
                                 Scale.
Student.......................  Risk Propensity               15               1            6/60               2
                                 Scale.
Mine Employee.................  Mine Specific                 30               1            6/60               3
                                 Risk Tolerance
                                 Measure.
Safety Professional...........  Mine Specific                 15               1            6/60               2
                                 Risk Tolerance
                                 Measure.
Student.......................  Mine Specific                 15               1            6/60               2
                                 Risk Tolerance
                                 Measure.
Mine Employee.................  Open Ended                    30               1           30/60              15
                                 Questions.
Safety Professional...........  Open Ended                    15               1           30/60               8
                                 Questions.
Student.......................  Open Ended                    15               1           30/60               8
                                 Questions.
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.....................  ................  ..............  ..............  ..............             160
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Leroy A. Richardson,
Chief, Information Collection Review Office, Office of Scientific 
Integrity, Office of the Associate Director for Science, Office of the 
Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2015-08026 Filed 4-7-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4163-18-P