[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 244 (Friday, December 18, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 82478-82480]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-27818]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[60Day-21-21AN; Docket No. CDC-2020-0115]


Proposed Data Collection Submitted for Public Comment and 
Recommendations

AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of 
Health and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION: Notice with comment period.

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SUMMARY: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as part 
of its continuing effort to reduce public burden and maximize the 
utility of government information, invites the general public and other 
Federal agencies the opportunity to comment on a proposed and/or 
continuing information collection, as required by the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995. This notice invites comment on a proposed 
information collection project titled ``Examining Safety and Health 
Among Aviation Industry Workers in Alaska: A Survey.'' The goals of 
this survey are to collect information on injuries and illness; 
identify the perceived safety and health needs and concerns; develop 
safety guidance; and assist in generating hypotheses for future 
research on health and safety topics among Alaska aviation industry 
workers.

DATES: CDC must receive written comments on or before February 16, 
2021.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CDC-2021-
0115 by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: Jeffrey M. Zirger, Information Collection Review 
Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road, 
NE, MS-D74, Atlanta, Georgia 30329.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 
and Docket Number. CDC will post, without change, all relevant comments 
to Regulations.gov.
    Please note: Submit all comments through the Federal eRulemaking 
portal (regulations.gov) or by U.S. mail to the address listed above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request more information on the 
proposed project or to obtain a copy of the information collection plan 
and instruments, contact Jeffrey M. Zirger,

[[Page 82479]]

Information Collection Review Office, Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road NE, MS-D74, Atlanta, Georgia 30329; 
phone: 404-639-7570; Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), Federal agencies must obtain approval from 
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for each collection of 
information they conduct or sponsor. In addition, the PRA also requires 
Federal agencies to provide a 60-day notice in the Federal Register 
concerning each proposed collection of information, including each new 
proposed collection, each proposed extension of existing collection of 
information, and each reinstatement of previously approved information 
collection before submitting the collection to the OMB for approval. To 
comply with this requirement, we are publishing this notice of a 
proposed data collection as described below.
    The OMB is particularly interested in comments that will help:
    1. Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility;
    2. Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of 
the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used;
    3. Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to 
be collected; and
    4. Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those 
who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic 
submissions of responses.
    5. Assess information collection costs.

Proposed Project

    Examining Safety and Health Among Aviation Industry Workers in 
Alaska: A Survey--New--National Institute for Occupational Safety and 
Health (NIOSH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Background and Brief Description

    The mission of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and 
Health (NIOSH) is to promote safety and health at work for all people 
through research and prevention. The Occupational Safety and Health 
Act, 91 (section 20[a] [1]), authorizes NIOSH to conduct research to 
advance the health and safety of workers.
    The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development received 
over 320,000 reports of occupational injury or illness which cost more 
than $3 billion in workers' compensation benefits from 2000-2013. 
Maintenance technicians and ramp/baggage/cargo/dock agents made up the 
largest number of claims from the aviation industry. Among these 
workers, the most frequently observed injury event was overexertion/
bodily reaction, which most often led to sprains, strains, and tears.
    NIOSH is proposing to update findings from a NIOSH-funded survey 
conducted in Alaska during 2001-2002 on attitudes and practices of 
pilots and aviation operators. This project is part of a larger 
National Occupational Research Agenda project ``Improving Safety in the 
Commercial Aviation Industry in Alaska'' which includes a survey of 
aviation workers in Alaska using workers' compensation claims data to 
guide the selection of employee groups to target for survey 
participation.
    The goals of this study are (1) To better understand work practices 
and the work environment where injuries occur in the aviation industry, 
(2) To identify and quantify the characteristics, attitudes, practices, 
and observations of workers to determine potential risk factors, and 
(3) To provide a snapshot of workers' perceived safety and health needs 
and concerns. The results of the study will be used to develop 
denominators for each occupation; identify statistically significant 
correlations between attitudes, behaviors, company policies, and 
accident rates; guide the development of prioritized evidence-based 
interventions and safety solutions for these workers and potentially 
other workers with similar tasks and in similar environments; and 
generate hypotheses for future research on health and safety topics in 
the aviation industry.
    NIOSH has contracted with the University of Alaska Anchorage's 
Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) to develop and conduct 
the surveys. ISER conducted the previous survey of Alaska operators and 
pilots in 2001 and 2002 and has extensive experience in survey research 
in Alaska. The statewide survey questionnaire will be administered to 
air taxi and commuter airline operators (including the subset of 
single-pilot operators), commercial pilots, ramp/baggage/cargo/dock 
agents, customer service agents, and maintenance technicians.
    The questionnaire for operators requests the number of employed 
pilots, ramp/baggage/cargo/dock agents, customer service agents, and 
maintenance technicians. This second element in the sample design will 
allow for the determination of the number of employees in each 
occupational group needed to complete the survey. The operator 
questionnaire requests the number of employees in the four occupational 
groups--pilots, mechanics, customer service agents, and ramp/baggage/
cargo/dock agents, and their names and contact information.
    The burden table lists the estimated population size of 306 
operators; 820 commercial pilots; 1,400 maintenance technicians; 1,100 
ramp/baggage/cargo/dock agents; and 1,600 customer service agents based 
on data from the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development 
(2016). The total burden for all surveys, is estimated to be 1,547 
hours. CDC is requesting a one-year approval. There are no costs to 
respondents other than their time.

                                        Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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                                                                                      Average
                                                     Number of       Number of      burden per     Total burden
      Type of respondents           Form name       respondents    responses per   response  (in    (in hours)
                                                                    respondent        hours)
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Operators.....................  Operator_Survey.             306               1           25/60             128
Pilots........................  Pilot_Survey....             820               1           25/60             342
Maintenance technicians.......  Maintenance                 1400               1           15/60             350
                                 Technician_Surv
                                 ey.
Ramp/baggage/cargo/dock agents  RBCD_Survey.....            1100               1           15/60             275
Customer Service Agents.......  CSA_Survey......            1600               1           15/60             400
All non-respondents...........  Non-respondent              1045               1            3/50              52
                                 Questionnaire.
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------

[[Page 82480]]

 
    Total.....................  ................  ..............  ..............  ..............           1,547
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Jeffrey M. Zirger,
Lead, Information Collection Review Office, Office of Scientific 
Integrity, Office of Science, Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2020-27818 Filed 12-17-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P