[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 7 (Friday, January 10, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Page 1314]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-00246]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


Research Project To Evaluate and Control Hazards to Landscaping 
and Grounds Management Workers; Request for Participants

AGENCY: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, (CDC), Department of Health 
and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION: Request for pilot study participants.

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SUMMARY: The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health 
(NIOSH), within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 
is initiating a research study to evaluate workplace hazards to 
landscapers, groundskeepers, hardscapers and arborists and to develop 
appropriate controls to minimize or eliminate those hazards. NIOSH is 
seeking up to nine firms in the landscaping and grounds management 
fields to participate in the pilot study that will evaluate how outdoor 
power tools can create hazards that may result in occupational health 
impacts. NIOSH will use this information to design effective solutions, 
such as engineering controls for power tools. The findings and controls 
information will be shared with participating workers and companies.

DATES: Submit letters of interest to participate in this research 
program prior to October 16, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Interested employers and/or workers should submit a letter 
of interest with information about their work activities and location 
to: NIOSH, Division of Field Studies and Engineering, Attn: Barbara 
Alexander, 1090 Tusculum Ave., MS R-5, Cincinnati, Ohio 45226, Email 
address: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Barbara Alexander, 1090 Tusculum Ave., 
MS R-5, Cincinnati, Ohio 45226, Phone: 513-841-4581, Email address: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The landscaping industry is composed 
primarily of small companies and is one of the most hazardous 
industries in the services sector with a fatality rate of 16.9 per 
100,000 workers, compared to 3.5 per 100,000 workers for all industries 
in 2017.\1\ The rate of non-fatal injuries in landscaping is also 
elevated.\2\ Previous research conducted by NIOSH has shown that 
workers completing tasks similar to those performed by landscapers, 
groundskeepers, arborists, and hardscapers are exposed to hazardous 
levels of noise, carbon monoxide (CO), dust, and silica.\3\ For 
example, similar processes and tasks in the construction industry 
produce exposures that are well-characterized; substitutions and 
engineering controls appropriate to reducing these exposures are known 
and their effectiveness has been demonstrated.\4\ Previous NIOSH 
research has led to safer operations through interventions such as the 
design and development of dust controls on asphalt milling machines; 
\5\ the development of reduced noise equipment for the ``NIOSH Buy 
Quiet'' initiative; \6\ and the development of a website, www.silica-safe.org, which addresses silica hazards and controls in the 
construction industry. The data available for landscapers, hardscapers, 
arborists, and groundskeepers indicate that their burden of 
occupational exposure, illness and injury is potentially great.
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    \1\ Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI), Bureau of 
Labor Statistics, U. S. Department of Labor, https://www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfoi1.htm#other.
    \2\ Incidence rates of nonfatal occupational injuries and 
illnesses by industry and case types, 2018, Bureau of Labor 
Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, https://www.bls.gov/iif/oshwc/osh/os/summ1_00_2018.htm.
    \3\ NIOSH [2019]. Evaluation of wildland fire fighter exposures 
during fuel reduction projects. By Ramsey JG, Eisenberg J, Wiegand 
D, Brueck SE, McDowell TW. Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health 
and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Health Hazard 
Evaluation Report 2015-0028-3330, https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/hhe/reports/pdfs/2015-0028-3330.pdf.
    \4\ NIOSH [2007]. In-depth survey of dust control technology for 
cutting concrete block and tuckpointing brick, EPHB 282-13 
Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for 
Occupational Safety and Health, https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/surveyreports/pdfs/282-13.pdf.
    \5\ NIOSH [2015]. Best practice engineering control guidelines 
to control worker exposure to respirable crystalline silica during 
asphalt pavement milling. Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health 
and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, DHHS (NIOSH) 
Publication No. 2015-105 (accessed 1/9/2018).
    \6\ https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/buyquiet/default.html.
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    The study will consist of two parts. In the first part of the 
study, NIOSH will conduct site visits at work locations in accordance 
with the requirements of NIOSH regulations in 42 CFR part 85a. NIOSH 
investigators will collect data through small sampling devices that 
workers will wear while conducting normal working activities. This 
information will establish a baseline for exposures to potential 
hazards from the use of outdoor power equipment. In the second part of 
the study, NIOSH will test worker exposures while using tools which are 
designed to reduce exposures to noise, CO, dust, and silica. The 
reduced-exposure tools will be provided by NIOSH through the employer, 
and training in their correct use will be provided. The study is a 
unique opportunity to try new equipment on the market with low-emission 
and low-noise properties.
    This pilot project will add to our understanding of hazards in this 
industry and will promote the implementation of effective controls. 
Participants selected for the study will receive a site visit report 
for their particular site, workers, and processes, as well as a 
consolidated report of overall findings and recommendations. A research 
report from this study will be prepared and made publicly available at 
the end of the research. Company and participant names will not be 
included in the report.

Frank J. Hearl,
Chief of Staff, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2020-00246 Filed 1-9-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P