[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 159 (Thursday, August 18, 2022)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 50803-50804]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-17800]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

29 CFR Parts 1910 and 1926

[Docket No. OSHA-2018-0004]
RIN 1218-AD10


Advance Notice of Proposed Rule Making (ANPRM)--Blood Lead Level 
for Medical Removal

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

ACTION: Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM); extension of 
comment period.

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SUMMARY: The period for submitting public comments is being extended by 
60 days to allow stakeholders interested in this rulemaking additional 
time to collect information and data necessary for comment and response 
to this ANPRM.

DATES: The comment period for the proposed rule that published at 87 FR 
38343 on June 28, 2022, is extended. Comments on the ANPRM and other 
information must be submitted by October 28, 2022.

ADDRESSES: 
    Written comments: You may submit comments and attachments, 
identified by Docket No. OSHA-2018-0004, electronically at http://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Follow 
the instructions online for making electronic submissions.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the agency's name and 
the docket number for this ANPRM Docket No. OSHA-2018-0004. When 
uploading multiple attachments into Regulations.gov, please number all 
of your attachments because www.regulations.gov will not automatically 
number the attachments. For example, Attachment 1_title of your 
document, Attachment 2_title of your document, Attachment 3_title of 
your document, etc. When submitting comments or recommendations on the 
issues that are raised in this ANPRM, commenters should explain their 
rationale and, if possible, provide data and information to support 
their comments or recommendations. Wherever possible, please indicate 
the title of the person providing the information and the type and 
number of employees at your worksite.
    All comments, including any personal information you provide, will 
be placed in the public docket without change and will be publicly 
available online at www.regulations.gov. Therefore, OSHA cautions 
commenters about submitting information they do not want to be made 
available to the public or submitting materials that contain personal 
information (either about themselves or others) such as Social Security 
Numbers and birthdates.
    Docket: To read or download comments and materials submitted in 
response to this Federal Register document, go to Docket No. OSHA-2018-
0004 at www.regulations.gov. All comments and submissions are listed in 
the www.regulations.gov index; however, some information (e.g., 
copyrighted material) is not publicly available to read or download 
through that website. All submissions, including copyrighted material, 
are available for inspection at the OSHA Docket Office. Documents 
submitted to the docket by OSHA or stakeholders are assigned document 
identification numbers (Document ID) for easy identification and 
retrieval. The full Document ID is the docket number plus a unique 
four-digit code. OSHA is identifying supporting information in this 
ANPRM by author name and publication year, when appropriate. This 
information can be used to search for a supporting document in the 
docket a https://www.regulations.gov. Contact the OSHA Docket Office at 
202-693-2350 (TTY number: 877-889-5627) for assistance in locating 
docket submissions.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 
    Press inquiries: Contact Frank Meilinger, Director, Office of 
Communications, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. 
Department of Labor; telephone: (202) 693-1999; email: 
[email protected].
    General information and technical inquiries: Contact Andrew 
Levinson, Director, Directorate of Standards and Guidance, Occupational 
Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor; telephone 
(202) 693-1950; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:  On June 28, 2022, OSHA published an Advance 
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) to seek input on potential 
revisions to its standards for occupational exposure to lead based on 
medical findings since the issuance of OSHA's lead standards that 
adverse health effects in adults can occur at Blood Lead Levels (BLLs) 
lower than the medical removal level (>=60 [mu]g/dL in general 
industry, >=50 [mu]g/dL in construction) and lower than the level 
required under current standards for an employee to return to their 
former job status (<40 [mu]g/dL). The agency is seeking input on 
reducing the current BLL triggers in the medical surveillance and 
medical removal protection provisions of the general industry and 
construction standards for lead. The agency is also seeking input about 
how current ancillary provisions in the lead standards can be modified 
to reduce worker BLLs.
    The public comment period for this ANPRM was to close on August 29, 
2022, 60 days after publication of the ANPRM. However, OSHA received 
multiple stakeholder requests for an extension of the public comment 
period (Document ID OSHA-2018-0004-0088 (requesting an extension of 90 
additional days), OSHA-2018-0004-0089 (requesting an extension of 90 
additional days), OSHA-2018-0004-0091 (requesting an extension of 60 
days), OSHA-2018-0004-0092 (requesting a minimum extension of 30 days) 
and OSHA-2018-0004-0093 (requesting an extension of 90 days)). The 
comments state that due to the breadth and complexity of the technical 
issues involved in this ANPRM, more

[[Page 50804]]

time is needed to gather data and information and to coordinate 
responses from organization members to develop a comprehensive 
response.
    OSHA agrees to an extension and believes a 60-day extension of the 
public comment period is sufficient and appropriate in order to address 
these stakeholder requests. Therefore, the public comment period will 
be extended until October 28, 2022.

Authority and Signature

    Douglas Parker, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational 
Safety and Health, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue 
NW, Washington, DC 20210, authorized the preparation of this document 
pursuant to the following authorities: sections 4, 6, and 8 of the 
Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 653, 655, 657), 
Secretary of Labor's Order 8-2020 (85 FR 58393 (Sept. 18, 2020)) 29 CFR 
part 1911 and 5 U.S.C. 553.

    Signed at Washington, DC, on August 2, 2022.
Douglas L. Parker,
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2022-17800 Filed 8-17-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-26-P