[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 38 (Wednesday, February 26, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11107-11108]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-03805]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. OSHA-2009-0041]


The Formaldehyde Standard; Extension of the Office of Management 
and Budget's (OMB) Approval of Information Collection (Paperwork) 
Requirements

AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Labor.

ACTION: Request for public comments.

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SUMMARY: OSHA solicits public comments concerning the proposal to 
extend the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval of the 
information collection requirements specified in the Formaldehyde 
Standard.

DATES: Comments must be submitted (postmarked, sent, or received) by 
April 27, 2020.

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.
    Mail, hand delivery, express mail, messenger, or courier service: 
When using this method, you must submit your comments and attachments 
to the OSHA Docket Office, Docket No. OSHA-2009-0041, Occupational 
Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-
3653, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20210. Deliveries 
(hand, express mail, messenger, and courier service) are accepted 
during the 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 the 
OSHA docket number (OSHA-2009-0041) for the Information Collection 
Request (ICR). All comments, including any personal information you 
provide, such as social security numbers and date of birth, 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 from the website. All submissions, 
including copyrighted material, are available for inspection and 
copying at the OSHA Docket Office. You also may contact Theda Kenney at 
the below phone number to obtain a copy of the ICR.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    The Department of Labor, as part of its 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 
(PRA) (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 OSH Act) (29 U.S.C. 651 et seq.) authorizes 
information collection by employers as necessary or appropriate for 
enforcement of the OSH Act or for developing information regarding the 
causes and prevention of occupationl injuries, illnesses, and accidents 
(29 U.S.C. 657). The OSH Act also requires that OSHA obtain such 
information with minimum burden upon employers, especially those 
operating small businesses, and to reduce to the maximum extent 
feasible unnecessary duplication of efforts in obtaining information 
(29 U.S.C. 657).
    The standard protects workers from the adverse health effects from 
occupational exposure to formaldehyde, including an itchy, runny, and 
stuffy

[[Page 11108]]

nose; a dry or sore throat; eye irritation; headaches; and cancer of 
the lung, buccal cavity (mouth), and pharynyx (throat). Formaldehyde 
solutions can damage the skin and burn the eyes.
    The standard specifies a number of collections of information. The 
following is a brief description of the collection of information 
contained in the Formaldehyde Standard. The standard requires employers 
to conduct worker exposure monitoring to determine workers' exposure to 
formaldehyde, notify workers of their formaldehyde exposures, provide 
medical surveillance to workers, provide examining physicians with 
specific information, ensure that workers receive a copy of their 
medical examination results, maintain workers' exposure monitoring and 
medical records for specific periods, and provide access to these 
records by the affected workers, and their authorized representatives.

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 the approval of the collection 
of information (paperwork) requirements contained in the Formaldehyde 
Standard. The agency is requesting a 1,859 hour adjustment increase 
(from 238,435 hours to 240,294 burden hours). The agency is using 
fractions rather than decimals in its calculations, so this accounts 
for the change in the number of burden hours.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Title: Formaldehyde Standard (29 CFR 1910.1048).
    OMB Number: 1218-0145.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits.
    Number of Respondents: 86,320.
    Frequency of Response: Various.
    Total Responses: 906,101.
    Average Time per Response: Various.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 240,294.
    Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $46,843,874.

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; or (3) by hard copy. All 
comments, attachments, and other material must identify the agency name 
and the OSHA docket number for this ICR (Docket No. OSHA-2009-0041). 
You may supplement electronic submissions by uploading document 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 your social security number 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 from 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 from 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 February 20, 2020.
Loren Sweatt,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety 
and Health.
[FR Doc. 2020-03805 Filed 2-25-20; 8:45 am]
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