[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 146 (Tuesday, August 1, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50155-50157]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-16221]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[60Day-23-0260; Docket No. CDC-2023-0065]


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 continuing information 
collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This 
notice invites comment on a proposed information collection project 
titled Health Hazard Evaluations/Technical Assistance and Emerging 
Problems. This data collection is designed to assist the National 
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in responding to 
requests for Health Hazard Evaluations (HHEs) to identify chemical, 
biological or physical hazards in workplaces throughout the United 
States.

DATES: CDC must receive written comments on or before October 2, 2023.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CDC-2023-
0065 by either of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.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 H21-8, Atlanta, Georgia 30329.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 
and Docket Number. CDC will post, without change, all relevant comments 
to www.regulations.gov.
    Please note: Submit all comments through the Federal eRulemaking 
portal (www.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 50156]]

Information Collection Review Office, Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road NE, MS H21-8, Atlanta, Georgia 30329; 
Telephone: 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;
    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; and
    5. Assess information collection costs.

Proposed Project

    Health Hazard Evaluations/Technical Assistance and Emerging 
Problems (OMB Control No. 0920-0260, Exp. 3/31/2024)--Revision--
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Background and Brief Description

    In accordance with its mandates under the Occupational Safety and 
Health Act of 1970 and the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, 
NIOSH responds to requests for Health Hazard Evaluations (HHE) to 
identify chemical, biological or physical hazards in workplaces 
throughout the United States. Each year, NIOSH receives approximately 
250 such requests although that number has been lower in the most 
recent years presumably due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Most HHE requests 
come from workplaces in the following industrial sectors: services, 
manufacturing, health and social services, transportation, and 
construction.
    A printed HHE request form is available in English and in Spanish. 
The form is also available on the internet and differs from the printed 
version only in format and in the fact that it can be submitted 
directly from the website. The request form takes an estimated 12 
minutes to complete. The form provides the mechanism for employees, 
employers, and other authorized representatives to supply the 
information required by the regulations governing the NIOSH HHE program 
(42 CFR 85.3-1). NIOSH then reviews the HHE request to determine if an 
on-site evaluation is needed. The primary purpose of an on-site 
evaluation is to help employers and employees identify and eliminate 
occupational health hazards. For approximately 25% of the requests 
received NIOSH determines an on-site evaluation is needed. In 
approximately 70% of these on-site evaluations, employees are 
interviewed in an informal manner to help further define concerns. 
Interviews may take approximately 15 minutes per respondent. The 
interview questions are specific to each workplace and its suspected 
diseases and hazards. However, interviews are based on standard medical 
practices. In approximately 30% of on-site evaluations, questionnaires 
are distributed or administered by NIOSH staff to employees. 
Questionnaires may require approximately 30 minutes to complete. The 
survey questions are specific to each workplace, and its suspected 
diseases and hazards; however, items in the questionnaires are derived 
from standardized or widely used medical and epidemiologic data 
collection instruments.
    Approximately two (less than 1%) of the onsite evaluations involve 
medical tests or the collection of biological samples that would 
require informed consent. The estimated time to complete the informed 
consent process is 30 minutes. If 30 employees are monitored at each of 
the two work sites, the burden from this activity is 30 hours. Roughly 
70% of the on-site evaluations involve employee exposure monitoring in 
the workplace. Employees participating in on-site evaluations by 
wearing a sampling or monitoring device to measure personal workplace 
exposures are offered the opportunity to receive notification of their 
exposure results. To indicate their preference and, if interested, 
provide contact information, employees complete a contact information 
post card or form. Completing the contact card or form may take five 
minutes or less. The number of employees monitored for workplace 
exposures per on-site evaluation is estimated to be 25 per site.
    NIOSH distributes interim and final reports of health hazard 
evaluations, excluding personal identifiers, to the following: 
requesters, employers, employee representatives; the Department of 
Labor (Occupational Safety and Health Administration or Mine Safety and 
Health Administration, as appropriate); state health departments; and, 
as needed, other state and federal agencies. NIOSH also administers a 
followback program to assess the effectiveness of its HHE program in 
reducing workplace hazards. This program entails the distribution of 
followback surveys to employer and employee representatives at all the 
workplaces where NIOSH conducted an on-site evaluation. In a small 
number of instances, a followback on-site evaluation may be completed. 
The first followback survey is sent shortly after the first visit for 
an on-site evaluation and takes about 10 minutes to complete. A second 
followback survey is sent after the final report is completed and 
requires about 20 minutes to complete. At 12 months, a third followback 
survey is sent, which takes about 15 minutes to complete.
    For requests where NIOSH does not conduct an on-site evaluation, 
the requestor receives the first followback survey after our response 
letter is sent and a second one 12 months after our response. The first 
survey takes about 10 minutes to complete, and the second survey takes 
about 15 minutes to complete. Because of the number of investigations 
conducted each year, the need to respond quickly to requests for 
assistance, the diverse and unpredictable nature of these 
investigations, and its followback program to assess evaluation 
effectiveness, NIOSH requests a consolidated clearance for data 
collections performed within the domain of its HHE program. In 
consideration of this planned continuation, the program is submitting 
this Revision to include the next three years from the approval date. 
The total estimated burden hours are 1745 hours. There is no cost to 
respondents other than their time.

[[Page 50157]]



                                        Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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                                                                                          Average
                                                           Number of       Number of     burden per     Total
       Type of respondents              Form name         respondents    responses per    response    burden (in
                                                                          respondent     (in hours)     hours)
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Employees and Representatives....  Health Hazard                   175               1        12/60           35
                                    Evaluation Request
                                    Form.
Employers........................  Health Hazard                    75               1        12/60           15
                                    Evaluation Request
                                    Form.
Employees........................  Health Hazard                 1,470               1        15/60          368
                                    Evaluation
                                    specific interview
                                    example.
Employees........................  Health Hazard                 2,100               1        30/60        1,050
                                    Evaluation
                                    specific
                                    questionnaire
                                    example.
Employees........................  HHE specific                     60               1        30/60           30
                                    informed consent
                                    form.
Employees........................  Contact information           1,225               1         5/60          102
                                    post card.
Employees and Representatives;     First Followback                140               1        10/60           23
 Employers--Year 1 (on-site         Survey.
 evaluation).
Employees and Representatives;     Second Followback               140               1        20/60           47
 Employers--Year 1 (on-site         Survey.
 evaluation).
Employees and Representatives;     Third Followback                140               1        15/60           35
 Employers--Year 2 (on-site         Survey.
 evaluation).
Employees and Representatives;     First Followback                 94               1        10/60           16
 Employers--Year 1 (without on-     Survey.
 site evaluation).
Employees and Representatives;     Second Followback                94               1        15/60           24
 Employers--Year 2 (without on-     Survey.
 site evaluation).
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    Total........................  ...................  ..............  ..............  ...........        1,745
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Jeffrey M. Zirger,
Lead, Information Collection Review Office, Office of Public Health 
Ethics and Regulations, Office of Science, Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2023-16221 Filed 7-31-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P