[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 183 (Tuesday, September 22, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57183-57185]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-24007]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


Statement of Organization, Functions, and Delegations of 
Authority

    Part C (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) of the 
Statement of Organization, Functions, and Delegations of Authority of 
the Department of Health and Human Services (45 FR 67772-76, dated 
October 14, 1980, and corrected at 45 FR 69296, October 20, 1980, as 
amended most recently at 80 FR 34643-34644, dated June 6, 2015) is 
amended to reflect the reorganization of the National Institute for 
Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention.
    Section C-B, Organization and Functions, is hereby amended as 
follows:
    After the title and the function statement for the Western States 
Division (CCQ) insert the following:
    Pittsburgh Mining Research Division (CCR). Provides leadership for 
the prevention of work-related illness, injury, and fatalities of mine 
workers through research and prevention activities of the Pittsburgh 
Mining Research Division (PMRD). Specifically PMRD: (1) Conducts field 
studies to identify emerging hazards, to understand the underlying 
causes of mine safety and health problems, and to evaluate the 
effectiveness of interventions; (2) develops engineering and 
behavioral-based interventions,

[[Page 57184]]

including training programs, to improve safety and health in the mines, 
trains mine safety and health instructors, and for evaluation purposes, 
conducts mine emergency, mine rescue and escape training for miners and 
mine rescue teams; (3) performs research, development, and testing of 
new technologies, equipment, and practices to enhance mine safety and 
health; (4) develops best practices guidance for interventions; (5) 
transfers mining research and prevention products into practice; and 
(6) coordinates, with the Spokane Mining Research Division, NIOSH 
research and prevention activities for the mining sector.
    Health Communications, Surveillance and Research Support Branch 
(CCRB). (1) Collects and analyzes health and safety data related to 
mining occupations in order to report on the overall incidence, 
prevalence and significance of occupational safety and health problems 
in mining; (2) describes trends in incidence of mining-related 
fatalities, morbidity, and traumatic injury; (3) conducts surveillance 
on the use of new technology, the use of engineering controls, and the 
use of protective equipment in the mining sector; (4) coordinates 
surveillance activities with other NIOSH surveillance initiatives; (5) 
provides statistical support for surveillance and research activities 
of the division; (6) analyzes and assists in the development of 
research protocols for developing studies; (7) coordinates planning, 
analysis, and evaluation of the mining research program for achieving 
organizational goals; (8) collaborates with research staff to translate 
findings from laboratory research to produce compelling products that 
motivate the mining sector to engage in improved injury control and 
disease prevention activities; (9) coordinates with other health 
communication, health education, and information dissemination 
activities within NIOSH and CDC to ensure that mining research 
information is effectively integrated into the CDC dissemination and 
intervention strategies; and (10) supports mining research through the 
development and application of computational tools and techniques that 
advance the understanding and mitigation of mining health and safety 
problems.
    Ground Control Branch (CCRC). (1) Conducts laboratory and field 
investigations of catastrophic events such as cataclysmic structural or 
ground failures to better understand cause and effect relationships 
that initiate such events; (2) designs, evaluates, and implements 
appropriate intervention strategies and engineering controls to prevent 
ground failures; (3) develops, tests, and promotes the use of rock 
safety engineering prediction and risk evaluation systems for control 
or reduction of risk; (4) conducts laboratory and field investigations 
of surface mining operations to ensure appropriate engineering designs 
to prevent slope and highwall failures; (5) conducts research using a 
variety of techniques including numerical modeling and laboratory 
testing and experiments to ensure a full understanding of rock behavior 
and performance during rock excavation and mining operations; (6) 
develops, tests, and demonstrates sensors, predictive models, and 
engineering control technologies to reduce miners risk for injury or 
death; and (7) conducts research investigations using a wide-variety of 
measurement and sensor technologies including in-mine and surface 
systems and technologies to ensure the structural stability of mining 
operations.
    Dust, Ventilation and Toxic Substances Branch (CCRD). (1) Develops, 
plans, and implements a program of research to develop or improve 
personal and area direct reading instruments for measuring mining 
contaminants including, but not limited to, respirable dust, silica, 
diesel particulates and exhaust and a variety of toxic and other 
potentially harmful exposures; (2) conducts field tests, experiments, 
and demonstrations of new technology for monitoring and assessing mine 
air quality; (3) designs, plans, and implements laboratory and field 
research to develop airborne hazard reduction control technologies; (4) 
carries out field surveys in mines to identify work organization 
strategies that could result in reduced dust exposures, diesel 
particulate exposures, toxic substance exposures and exposures to other 
potentially harmful exposures; (5) evaluates the performance, 
economics, and technical feasibility of engineering control strategies, 
novel approaches, and the application of new or emerging technologies 
for underground and surface mine dust and respiratory hazard control 
systems; (6) develops and evaluates implementation strategies for using 
newly developed monitors and control technology for exposure reduction 
or prevention; and (7) conducts field and laboratory experiments on 
mine ventilation systems to develop improved technologies and 
strategies for applications to dust control, gas control, diesel 
exhaust control to ensure safe and healthy conditions for underground 
miners.
    Human Factors Branch (CCRE). Seeking to improve the health and 
safety of mineworkers, the branch systematically identifies, 
understands, and evaluates interactions within the mining work system, 
including the organizational and physical environment, tools and 
technology, job tasks and social factors. Researchers use a range of 
established and novel methods to study how the interactions among 
various individual, environmental, and organizational factors, along 
with tools and technology affect the mining work process and work 
system, and how these processes impact worker perceptions, decisions, 
behavior, health and well-being. The branch: (1) Conducts research with 
an overarching focus on the human component in the mining workplace 
system and in the mine emergency response system including: Designing 
and testing of proposed interventions related to workplace safety 
management systems and mine emergency response, rescue and escape 
systems, including demonstrations of proposed technologies using 
laboratory mock-ups, full-scale demonstrations at the division's 
experimental mines, assessments and demonstrations in the branch's 
virtual reality immersive environment research labs, and field 
evaluations in operating mines; (2) develops interventions, conducts 
evaluations and recommends intervention implementation strategies for 
injury prevention and control technologies developed by the division; 
(3) conducts human factors research related to worker perceptions, 
judgment and decision making, hazard recognition, human behavior; and 
(4) provides effective training and work place organization techniques 
and strategies for mining.
    Electrical and Mechanical Systems Safety Branch (CCRF). (1) 
Conducts laboratory, field, and computer modeling research to assess 
the health and safety relevance of mining equipment design features; 
(2) using scientific and engineering techniques, analyzes case-studies 
of injuries and fatalities resulting from mining equipment and develops 
interventions and strategies for reducing or eliminating the hazards; 
(3) conducts laboratory and field research to assess the safety hazards 
of electrical systems used in mining operations and develops 
interventions and strategies to reduce or eliminate the hazards; (4) 
develops novel approaches for improving the operational safety of 
working around, and on, mining machinery; and (5)

[[Page 57185]]

conducts laboratory and field research on communication systems, 
tracking systems and monitoring systems as needed to ensure their 
viability and safety during routine mining operations as well as post-
disaster conditions.
    Fires and Explosions Branch (CCRG). (1) Conducts experiments and 
studies at the Bruceton Experimental Mine, the Bruceton Safety Research 
Coal Mine, and similar facilities as well as field experiments at 
operating mines to prevent catastrophic events such as mine explosions, 
mine fires, and gas and water inundations to better understand cause 
and effect relationships which initiate such events; (2) develops new 
or improved strategies and technologies for mine fire prevention, 
detection, control, and suppression; (3) investigates and develops an 
understanding of the critical parameters and their interrelationships 
governing the mitigation and propagation of explosions, and develops 
and facilitates the implementation of interventions to prevent mine 
explosions; (4) develops new controls and strategies for eliminating 
explosions or fires or minimizing the impact of explosions on the 
safety of mine workers by improving suppression systems, improving 
detection of sentinel events; (5) works with the mining industry and 
other government agencies to ensure research gaps and technology needs 
are met for preventing any and all types of events that could lead to 
mine explosions, sustained fires or inundations; and (6) identifies and 
evaluates emerging health and safety issues as mining operations move 
into more challenging and dangerous geologic conditions.
    Workplace Health Branch (CCRH). (1) Plans and conducts laboratory 
and field research on all aspects of workplace health including noise-
induced hearing loss in miners, cumulative and repetitive injuries and 
the identification of potential related health and safety hazards; (2) 
specific to excessive noise levels, conducts field dosimetric and 
audiometric surveys to assess the extent and severity of the problem; 
(3) specific to cumulative and repetitive injuries, conducts laboratory 
and field studies to identify the risk factors most responsible for 
causing injuries to mine workers at surface and underground operations 
and develops interventions, conducts evaluations and recommends 
intervention strategies for cumulative and repetitive injuries; (4) 
conducts field and laboratory research to identify noise generation 
sources and develops, tests, and demonstrates new control technologies 
for noise reduction; (5) evaluates the technical and economic 
feasibility of noise reduction controls; (6) designs and conducts 
surveillance based research studies to identify and classify risk 
factors that cause, or may cause, repetitive and cumulative injuries to 
miners; (7) conducts research studies to further the understanding of 
operating equipment on the role of mine worker musculoskeletal 
disorders in the underground and surface environment; and (8) develops 
strategies, technologies and approaches for improving the operational 
aspects of mining systems for mine worker comfort and health.
    Spokane Mining Research Division (CCS). (1) Provides leadership for 
prevention of work-related illness, injury, and death in the mining 
industry with an emphasis on the special needs in the western United 
States; (2) develops numerical models and conducts laboratory and field 
investigations to better understand the causes of catastrophic failures 
in underground metal/nonmetal mines that may lead to multiple injuries 
and fatalities; (3) develops new design practices and tools, control 
technologies, and work practices to reduce the risk of these global and 
local ground failures in underground metal/nonmetal mines; (4) conducts 
numerical studies and field investigations to understand the problems 
of ventilating deep and multilevel underground mines, and develops 
improved design approaches and engineering controls to reduce the 
concentration of toxic substances in the mine air; (5) conducts 
laboratory and field studies to help leverage and support the 
Institute's mining research program; (6) develops and recommends 
appropriate criteria for new standards, NIOSH policy, documents, or 
testimony related to health and safety in the mining industry.
    Delete in its entirety the title and function statements for the 
Office of Mine Safety and Health Research (CCM).

James Seligman,
Acting Chief Operating Officer, Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2015-24007 Filed 9-21-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-18-P