[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 98 (Wednesday, May 20, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30706-30708]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-10797]
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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 84 FR 65981, dated December 2, 2019) is
amended to reflect the reorganization of the National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. The reorganization is needed to become more responsive to
the changing mining industry and stakeholder priorities, as well as
align and integrate regional activities of the NIOSH mining program's
core business and research functions.
I. Under Part C, Section C-B, Organization and Functions, the
following organizational units are deleted in their entirety:
Health Communication, Surveillance and Research Support Branch
(CCRB)
Ground Control Branch (CCRC)
Dust, Ventilation and Toxic Substances Branch (CCRD)
Human Factors Branch (CCRE)
Electrical and Mechanical Systems Safety Branch (CCRF)
Fires and Explosions Branch (CCRG)
Workplace Health Branch (CCRH)
II. Under Part C, Section C-B, Organization and Functions, make the
following changes:
Update functional statement for the Pittsburgh Mining Research
Division (CCR)
Create the Health Hazards Prevention Branch (CCRJ)
Create the Mining Systems Safety Branch (CCRK)
Create the Human Systems Integration Branch (CCRL)
Update the functional statement for the Spokane Research
Division (CCS)
[[Page 30707]]
Create the Miner Health Branch (CCSB)
Create the Miner Safety Branch (CCSC)
III. Under Part C, Section C-B, Organization and Functions, insert
the following:
Pittsburgh Mining Research Division (CCR). Provides
leadership and guidance for the prevention of work-related illness,
injury, and fatalities of mine workers through research and prevention
activities of the Pittsburgh Mining Research Division through three
subordinate Branches. Specifically: (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, including training programs, to improve safety and
health in the mines; (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) collaborates with the Spokane Mining Research Division and other
NIOSH divisions engaged in research and prevention activities relevant
to mine worker health and safety.
Health Hazards Prevention Branch (CCRJ). The Health
Hazards Prevention Branch function is to reduce illnesses and injuries
to mine workers through assessment and control of respiratory and
physical hazards. The branch: (1) Assesses mine worker exposure to
respiratory hazards, through a comprehensive characterization of the
exposures and the evaluation and development of monitoring methods and
technologies; (2) conducts research on and evaluates the performance
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; (3) conducts research related to occupational hearing loss in
the mining sector, including causative effects, noise controls, hearing
protection devices and impulse noise; (4) demonstrates and evaluates
the technical and economic feasibility of noise reduction controls; (5)
conducts research related to ergonomic hazards, including developing
engineering controls in the laboratory and evaluating their
effectiveness in the workplace to prevent workplace musculoskeletal
disorders, slips-trips-falls accidents, and materials handling
injuries; and (6) conducts research related to the assessment and
control of diesel particulate matter (DPM) in both surface and
underground mines.
Mining Systems Safety Branch (CCRK). The Mining Systems
Safety Branch function is to reduce accidents and injuries arising from
changing geological conditions and mine system technologies and to
prevent mine explosions, mine fires, and gas and water inundations,
particularly in underground coal mines. The branch: (1) Conducts
experiments through laboratory and field investigations to prevent
catastrophic events such as cataclysmic structural or ground failures,
mine explosions, mine fires, and gas and water inundations to better
understand cause and effect relationships that initiate such events;
(2) utilizes monitoring and advanced numerical modeling techniques to
better understand and visualize ground behavior and support response,
leading to improved design criteria for mine layouts and support design
to mitigate ground control failures; (3) develops, tests, and
demonstrates sensors, predictive models, and engineering control
technologies to reduce miners' risk for injury or death; (4) conducts
laboratory and field research on communication systems, tracking
systems, lighting systems, sensor technologies, refuge alternatives,
and monitoring systems to ensure their viability and safety during
routine mining operations as well as post-disaster conditions; (5)
assesses and develops new or improved strategies and technologies to
reduce the risks associated with fires and explosions in mining
operations to mitigate the impact of mine disasters; (6) assesses
methodologies and designs to enhance and improve underground mine
ventilation system design and application to prevent disasters and
ensure safe and healthy conditions for underground miners; and (7)
identifies and evaluates emerging health and safety issues as mining
operations move into more challenging and dangerous geologic
conditions.
Human Systems Integration Branch (CCRL). The Human Systems
Integration Branch function is to reduce fatalities and injuries
through interventions and engineering controls solutions developed
through a human systems integration framework. 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; (2)
conducts human factors research related to worker perceptions, judgment
and decision-making, hazard recognition, and human behavior; (3)
provides effective training and workplace organization techniques and
strategies for mining; (4) conducts intervention and evaluation
effectiveness research for integration and use of technologies and
interventions including engineering controls, organizational
administrative and process changes and individual leadership and worker
practices in mining; (5) systematically studies risk at the
intersections of technical, human and environmental elements which
occur at the levels of the individual, tasks, tools and technology,
physical environment and organizational process and design in order to
improve risk management systems; and (6) conducts research on effective
training methods that develops organizational techniques and strategies
to promote a positive safety culture in mining.
Spokane Mining Research Division (CCS). Provides
leadership and guidance in the prevention of work-related illness,
injury, and fatalities in the mining industries through research and
prevention activities of the Spokane Mining Research Division, with an
emphasis on the special needs of surface and underground mines in the
western United States. Specifically: (1) Developing numerical models
and conducting laboratory and field research and investigations to
better understand the causes of catastrophic failures that may lead to
multiple injuries and fatalities; (2) developing new design practices
and tools, control technologies, and work practices to reduce the risk
of global and local ground failures in mines; (3) assessing and
mitigating risks associated with emerging technologies such as
automated mining equipment and new sensor technologies, and through
researching, identifying or developing new technologies that have
potential benefits to mining health and safety; (4) developing improved
design approaches, monitoring devices, and engineering controls to
reduce the concentration of toxic substances in the mine air; (5)
developing and promoting health and safety strategies through research
that protect mine workers from occupational hazards and advance life-
time worker wellbeing through the implementation of a miner health
program; (6) conducting laboratory and field studies to leverage and
support the Institute's mining research program; and (7) collaborates
with the Pittsburgh Mining Research Division and other NIOSH divisions
engaged in research and prevention activities relevant to mine worker
health and safety.
[[Page 30708]]
Miner Safety Branch (CCSB). The Miner Safety Branch
function is to identify and eliminate safety issues arising from
changing mine conditions and technologies. State-of-the-art
technologies are used to conduct fundamental and applied research aimed
at eliminating injuries and fatalities in mining with a particular
focus on geomechanical instabilities, localized ground falls, machine
safety, and worker interaction with automated systems and other
emerging technologies. Researchers specialized in the fields of
geology, geophysics, seismology, electronic instrumentation, numerical
modeling, geotechnical engineering, safety engineering, data science,
and mining engineering utilize state-of-the-art, emerging, and novel
technologies to identify and solve mine safety challenges. The branch:
(1) Develops, implements, and improves geophysical methods,
geotechnical instrumentation, and laboratory techniques through applied
research to quantify rock mass properties and characterize mining-
induced ground response; (2) utilizes advanced numerical modeling
techniques to better understand and visualize ground behavior and
support response; (3) identifies new technologies to monitor and
improve ground support; (4) conducts research through laboratory and
field assessments of the performance of engineered support systems to
provide quantifiable design criteria; (5) develops recommendations for
the design of equipment and techniques to reduce risks associated with
the installation of ground support; (6) utilizes experimental and
empirical methods developed through research to quantify the
reliability of alternative mining methods and design practices; (7)
applies advanced informatics, data analyses, and visualization
techniques to automated and semi-automated mining systems to provide
increased situational awareness for mine workers; (8) assesses,
develops and deploys research-based mine-wide seismic systems for
quantifying and evaluating seismic hazards and mitigation strategies
for underground and surface mines; and (9) addresses health and safety
issues that may develop after the introduction of automated mining
systems and other emerging technologies in mining.
Miner Health Branch (CCSC). The Miner Health Branch
function is to assess and track miner health and hazard exposures; and
develop and promote health solutions that maximize worker protection,
minimize exposures and prevent disease, while improving functional
health for the entire mining population. Research is pursued through an
interdisciplinary approach involving the fields of epidemiology,
industrial hygiene, occupational medicine, organizational psychology,
chemistry, as well as mechanical, electrical, and industrial
engineering. The branch: (1) Incorporates novel and relevant health
surveillance methods for the systematic assessment of health and
exposure potential of the miner as it pertains to dynamic mining
environments; (2) conducts research on the identification and
prioritization of adverse health outcomes and exposures, and their
associated risk factors; (3) quantitatively and qualitatively measures
risk through research, experimental, and real-world data collection;
(4) conducts research on the development and evaluation of workplace
practices and technologies aimed at preventing injury and illness that
improve long-term functionality for all miners and benefit employers,
families, and communities; (5) develops technologies and methods to
monitor and eliminate exposures; and (6) engages and collaborates
across NIOSH and with industry to effectively communicate tangible
health solutions and control strategies.
IV. Delegations of Authority: All delegations and redelegations of
authority made to officials and employees of affected organizational
components will continue with them or their successors pending further
redelegation, provided they are consistent with this reorganization.
(Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3101)
Dated: April 29, 2020.
Alex M. Azar, II,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-10797 Filed 5-19-20; 8:45 am]
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