[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 174 (Monday, September 9, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47325-47327]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-19356]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. OSHA-2009-0028]


Personal Protective Equipment for General Industry; Extension for 
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 comments.

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SUMMARY: OSHA solicits comments concerning this proposal to extend the 
Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval of the information 
collection requirements contained in the Personal Protective Equipment 
Standard for General Industry.

DATES: Comments must be submitted (postmarked, sent, or received) by 
November 8, 2019.

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.

[[Page 47326]]

    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-3653, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 
20210. Deliveries (hand, express mail, messenger, and courier service) 
are accepted during the OSHA Docket Office's normal business hours, 
10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., ET.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and OSHA 
docket number for the ICR (OSHA-2009-0028) 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 above address. 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 website. All submissions, 
including copyrighted material, are available for inspection and 
copying at the OSHA Docket Office. You may contact Theda Kenney at the 
phone number below to obtain a copy of the ICR.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Seleda Perryman, Directorate of 
Standards and Guidance, OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor, Washington, DC 
20210; telephone (202) 693-2222.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    The Department of Labor, as part of a 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) & (g))

    Paragraph 1910.132(d)(1) and the Personal Fall Protection standard 
require that employers perform a hazard assessment of the workplace to 
determine whether hazards are present, or likely to be present, that 
make the use of PPE necessary.\1\ Where such hazards are present, 
employers must select and have each affected worker use PPE that 
protects them from the identified hazards (Sec.  1910.132(d)(1)(i)), 
and communicate PPE selection decisions to each affected worker (Sec.  
1910.132(d)(1)(ii)).
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    \1\ Section 1910.132(g) specifies that the hazard assessment 
(Sec.  1910.132(d)) requirements only apply to PPE for the eyes, 
face, head, feet, and hands. The final rule revised Sec.  
1910.132(g) to also apply the hazard assessment requirement to 
personal fall protection systems.
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    Paragraph 1910.132(d)(2) requires that employers certify in writing 
they have performed the required hazard assessment. The certification 
must include the date, the name of the person certifying that the 
hazard assessment was conducted, and identification of the workplace 
evaluated (area or location). The Personal Fall Protection standard 
expands the hazard assessment requirement to personal fall protection 
systems (Sec.  1910.132(g)).
    Conducting a PPE hazard assessment ensures that potential workplace 
hazards necessitating PPE use have been identified and that the PPE 
selected is appropriate for those hazards and the affected workers. 
Communicating information on PPE selection decisions to affected 
workers ensures they are aware that the PPE selected will protect them 
from the hazards that the assessment identified. The certification of 
the hazard assessment verifies that employers have conducted the 
required assessment.

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 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 3,745,218 hours to 3,673,168, a 
total adjustment decrease of 72,050 hours. This decrease is due to 
updated data showing a decrease in the number of establishments using 
fall protection systems 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 for General Industry (PPE) (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: 3,039,775.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion.
    Average Time per Response: Various.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 3,673,168.
    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

[[Page 47327]]

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 
website. All submissions, including copyrighted material, are available 
for inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office. Information on 
using the http://www.regulations.gov website to submit comments and 
access the docket is available at the website's ``User Tips'' link. 
Contact the OSHA Docket Office for information about materials not 
available through the website, and for assistance in using the internet 
to locate docket submissions.

V. Authority and Signature

    Loren Sweatt, Principal Deputy 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. 1-2012 
(77 FR 3912).

    Signed at Washington, DC, on September 3, 2019.
Loren Sweatt,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety 
and Health.
[FR Doc. 2019-19356 Filed 9-6-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4510-26-P