[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 209 (Tuesday, November 2, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60462-60463]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-23853]



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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[Docket Number CDC-2021-0115, NIOSH-343]


The Need To Establish Personal Protective Technology Centers of 
Excellence To Address Research and Practice Gaps

AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, HHS.

ACTION: Request for information.

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SUMMARY: The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health 
(NIOSH), within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 
is soliciting public comment on the need to establish centers of 
excellence to address research and practice needs in the area of 
personal protective technology (PPT), including personal protective 
equipment.

DATES: Comments must be received by January 31, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted through either of the following 
two methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov 
(follow the instructions for submitting comments), or
     Mail: NIOSH Docket Office, 1090 Tusculum Avenue, MS C-34, 
Cincinnati, Ohio 45226-1998.
    Instructions: All written submissions received in response to this 
notice must include the agency name (Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention, HHS) and docket number (CDC-2021-0115; NIOSH-343). All 
relevant comments received will be posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patrick G. Dempsey, Ph.D.; email: 
[email protected]; telephone 412-386-6480 [not a toll-free number].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Within NIOSH, the National Personal 
Protective Technology Laboratory is charged with preventing disease, 
injury, and death among the millions of American workers who rely on 
PPT. To accomplish this mission, NIOSH conducts scientific research, 
leads PPT conformity assessment efforts, develops guidance and 
authoritative recommendations, disseminates information, and responds 
to requests for workplace health hazard evaluations.
    Personal protective technology--such as respirators, protective 
clothing, gloves, eyewear, hearing protection, helmets, fit testing 
equipment, and fall harnesses--is instrumental in protecting the health 
and safety of workers in the United States and globally. Due to the 
comprehensive and inter-/multi-disciplinary nature of PPT, innovative 
thinking and approaches are necessary to advance and maximize its role 
in enhancing occupational safety and health.
    In 2008, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and the National Research 
Council (NRC) of the National Academies convened a committee to 
appraise the NIOSH intramural PPT Program to ``evaluate the relevance 
and impact of a dozen specific elements of the PPT Program in 
preventing work-related injury and illness, identify important future 
considerations for scientific investigation, and provide 
recommendations for program improvement.'' \1\ The committee offered 
five recommendations; Recommendation 2 suggested that NIOSH ``should 
establish and sustain extramural PPT centers of excellence and work to 
increase other extramural research opportunities.'' Specifically, the 
committee recommended that the intramural PPT Program ``[d]evelop and 
support research centers of excellence that work closely with the NIOSH 
intramural research program to improve PPT, increase field research, 
and explore and implement research to practice interventions.'' \2\ 
Benefits and advantages of this approach include increased 
interdisciplinary expertise and improved ability to evaluate 
interventions (e.g., emerging technologies), extending the scope of 
scientific inquiry to include the behavioral sciences, and increasing 
field research.
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    \1\ Institute of Medicine and National Research Council. 2008. 
The Personal Protective Technology Program at NIOSH. Committee to 
Review the NIOSH Personal Protective Technology Program. Rpt. No. 5, 
Reviews of Research Programs of the National Institute for 
Occupational Safety and Health. Washington, DC: The National 
Academies Press, at ix.
    \2\ Id at 13-14.
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Request for Information

    In response to the IOM/NRC recommendation, NIOSH is exploring the 
establishment of centers of excellence dedicated to advancing PPT and 
serving as knowledge hubs where experts from multiple disciplines, 
industry representatives, and other interested parties/groups 
collaborate on PPT research and practice. To accomplish that goal, 
NIOSH is seeking input from any interested party regarding the scope of 
future centers of excellence that could play critical roles in 
identifying research needs, conducting research, disseminating 
information including education and outreach activities, and 
translating research findings and technologies into products and 
practices that will enhance safety and health. The NIOSH National 
Personal Protective Technology Laboratory has identified the following 
three broad focus areas to be addressed by one or more future centers 
of excellence:
     Research and development of new technologies and 
approaches to PPT including sensor technology to increase efficacy;
     human factors/ergonomics approaches to evaluating the 
factors that influence the adoption and usage of PPT such as 
performance, comfort, fit, and usability; sociotechnical systems 
analyses of the influences of factors such as health and safety 
management systems, safety culture, and regulatory requirements; and
     innovative approaches to the design, manufacture, and 
maintenance of PPT that enhance factors such as the effectiveness and 
acceptance of PPT in varied user populations, availability, and the 
ability to rapidly customize and produce PPT during crises.
    In addition to input on the three topic areas described above, 
NIOSH is seeking input on the following questions:
    (1) What are the perceived needs for and benefits of establishing 
centers of excellence to advance PPT research and practice as it 
relates to your organization or for you personally?
    (2) Are there specific PPT research and practice needs for certain 
industry sectors and/or occupations?
    (3) Are there specific PPT research and practice needs for 
different types of hazards (e.g., biological, chemical, gas and vapor, 
thermal, physical)?
    (4) Are there specific PPT research and practice needs for certain 
anatomical categories of protection (e.g., dermal, vision, hearing, 
respiratory)?
    (5) Which particular academic disciplines, research domains, or 
technical expertise should contribute to addressing PPT research and 
practice needs? Describe multi- or inter-disciplinary needs to most 
effectively advance research and practice.
    (6) Describe emerging or novel technologies that can be 
investigated with respect to increasing the effectiveness of PPT.
    (7) How well do the three broad focus areas described above 
identify critical needs? Are there alternate or additional needs that 
have not been identified in this notice?

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    (8) NIOSH anticipates that future PPT centers of excellence will 
include at least three functional core areas: planning and evaluation, 
which includes center of excellence administration; research, which can 
be comprised of pilot projects, small projects, and large projects; and 
outreach, which can include communication and dissemination activities, 
education activities, and implementation activities. An academic 
training functional core area is optional. How important are the 
different core areas and activities within core areas to the ability of 
centers of excellence to advance PPT research and practice?

Disclaimer and Important Notes

    This notice is intended for planning purposes; it does not 
constitute a formal announcement for comprehensive applications. In 
accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation 48 CFR 15.201(e), 
responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the 
Government to form a binding award. NIOSH will not provide 
reimbursement for costs incurred in commenting on this notice.
    NIOSH will not respond to individual public comments or publish 
publicly a compendium of responses. An informational submission in 
response to this notice does not create any commitment by or on behalf 
of CDC or HHS to develop or pursue any program or ideas discussed.

John J. Howard,
Director, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Health and 
Human Services.
[FR Doc. 2021-23853 Filed 11-1-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P