[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 67 (Friday, April 9, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18557-18558]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-07295]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. OSHA-2011-0027]


Respiratory Protection 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 OMB approval of the information collection requirements 
specified by the Respiratory Protection Standard.

DATES: Comments must be submitted (postmarked, sent, or received) by 
June 8, 2021.

ADDRESSES: 
    Electronically: You may submit comments, including attachments, 
electronically at http://www.regulations.gov, the Federal eRulemaking 
Portal. Follow the instructions online for submitting comments.
    Docket: To read or download comments or other material in the 
docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov. Documents in the docket 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 through the OSHA 
Docket Office. Contact the OSHA Docket Office for assistance in 
locating docket submissions.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and the 
OSHA docket number for this Federal Register notice (OSHA-2017-0014). 
OSHA will place comments and requests to speak, including personal 
information, in the public docket, which may be available online. 
Therefore, OSHA cautions interested parties about submitting personal 
information such as Social Security numbers and birthdates. For further 
information on submitting comments, see the ``Public Participation'' 
heading in the section of this notice titled SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Seleda Perryman or Theda Kenney, 
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 the 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) (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 (OSH 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). 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 Respiratory Protection Standard (29 CFR 1910.134; hereafter, 
``the Standard'') contains information collection requirements that 
require employers to: Develop a written respirator program; conduct 
worker medical evaluations and provide follow-up medical evaluations to 
determine the worker's ability to use a respirator; provide the 
physician or other licensed healthcare professional with information 
about the worker's respirator and the conditions under which the worker 
will use the respirator; and administer fit tests for workers who will 
use negative- or positive-pressure, tight-fitting facepieces. In 
addition, employers must ensure that workers store emergency-use 
respirators in compartments clearly marked as containing emergency-use 
respirators. For respirators maintained for emergency use, employers 
must label or tag the respirator with a certificate stating the date of 
the inspection, the name of the individual who did the inspection, the 
findings of the inspection, required remedial action, and the identity 
of the respirator.
    The Standard also requires employers to ensure that cylinders used 
to supply breathing air to respirators have a certificate of analysis 
from the supplier stating that the breathing air meets the requirements 
for Type 1--Grade D breathing air; such certification assures employers 
that the purchased breathing air is safe. Compressors used to supply 
breathing air to respirators must have a tag containing the most recent 
change date and the signature of the individual authorized by the 
employer to perform the change. Employers must maintain this tag at the 
compressor. These tags provide assurance that the compressors are 
functioning properly.

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

[[Page 18558]]

     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 information 
collection requirements contained in the Respiratory Protection 
Standard (29 CFR 1910.134). The agency requests an adjustment decrease 
of 443,290.41 hours, from 7,622,100 to 7,178,809.59 hours, as a result 
of updating the number of establishments and workers covered by the 
Standard. The agency is also requesting a $20,004,491.30 decrease as a 
result of updating the number of employees covered by the Standard; and 
the inclusion of medical costs for those employees that will have 
additional medical examinations. 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: Respiratory Protection Standard (29 CFR 1910.134).
    OMB Control Number: 1218-0099.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profits.
    Number of Respondents: 699,048.
    Frequency of Responses: Initially; Annually; On occasion.
    Total Responses: 25,318,635.
    Average Time per Response: Varies from 5 minutes (.08 hour) to mark 
a storage compartment or protective cover to 8 hours for large 
employers to gather and prepare information to develop a written plan.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 7,178,809.59.
    Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $352,304,878.70.

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. Please 
note: While OSHA's Docket Office is continuing to accept and process 
submissions by regular mail, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Docket 
Office is closed to the public and not able to receive submissions to 
the docket by hand, express mail, messenger, and courier service. All 
comments, attachments, and other material must identify the agency name 
and the OSHA docket number for the ICR (Docket No. OSHA-2011-0027). 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 electronic comments by 
your name, date, and the docket number so that the agency can attach 
them to your comments.
    Due to security procedures, the use of regular mail may cause a 
significant delay in the receipt of comments.
    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 
dates 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 at (202) 693-2350, (TTY (877) 889-5627) 
for information about materials not available through the website, and 
for assistance in using the internet to locate docket submissions.

V. Authority and Signature

    James S. Frederick, 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 April 1, 2021.
James S. Frederick,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety 
and Health.
[FR Doc. 2021-07295 Filed 4-8-21; 8:45 am]
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