[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 198 (Monday, October 16, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71364-71365]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-22779]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[60Day-24-1316; Docket No. CDC-2023-0084]


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 Aerosols from Harmful Algal Blooms: Exposures and Health Effects 
in Highly Exposed Populations. The goal of this study is to conduct 
exploratory analyses of the relationships between HAB-related 
biomonitoring data, environmental data, and symptom reporting.

DATES: CDC must receive written comments on or before December 15, 
2023.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CDC-2023-
0084 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, Information Collection 
Review Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton 
Road NE, MS H21-8, Atlanta, Georgia 30329;

[[Page 71365]]

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

    Aerosols from Harmful Algal Blooms: Exposures and Health Effects in 
Highly Exposed Populations (OMB Control No. 0920-1316, Exp. 1/31/
2024)--Extension--National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH), 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Background and Brief Description

    Human exposures to HAB toxins (harmful algal blooms, or HABS, 
include marine microalgae; marine macroalgae, such as seaweeds; and 
cyanobacteria, also called blue-green algae) have been reported to 
produce a variety of health effects, including respiratory irritation 
and liver and kidney damage. The goal of this study is to conduct 
exploratory analyses of the relationships between biomonitoring data, 
environmental data, and symptom reporting. CDC anticipates this 
research to be hypothesis generating, and not necessarily generalizable 
to participants with similar exposures in the same population or to the 
public more generally.
    HABs and associated environmental impacts (e.g., geographic and 
temporal extent, composition, toxin production) are difficult, if not 
impossible to predict and track. This project was developed in response 
to community health concerns reported during a severe cyanobacterial 
bloom in 2018. Since then, there have not been any significant blooms, 
and CDC has been unable to implement the study. As such, during the 
first three years of approval for this data collection, CDC was unable 
to align the physical occurrence of a specific type of HAB, a 
cyanobacterial bloom, of significant magnitude with government 
approvals and resource commitments. The program requests an Extension 
of OMB approval to allow us to implement the study during the next 
substantial HAB that occurs in Florida whether it comprises 
cyanobacteria, marine microalgae, or seaweed.
    The total number of respondents is 486, which is unchanged from the 
previously approved number of respondents. The total estimated 
annualized time burden is 1,273 hours. Participation is voluntary and 
there are no costs to respondents other than their time.

                                        Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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                                                                     Number of    Average burden
      Type of respondents           Form name        Number of     responses per   per response    Total burden
                                                    respondents     respondent      (in hours)      (in hours)
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Interested community members..  Screening/                    84               1           15/60              21
                                 baseline Survey.
Eligible study respondents....  Symptom Survey..              67              10           15/60             167
Eligible study respondents....  Record of Time                67               5           10/60              56
                                 Spent Outdoors.
Eligible study respondents....  Provide blood                 67               3           15/60              51
                                 specimen.
Eligible study respondents....  Provide                       67              10               1             670
                                 specimens
                                 (urine, nasal
                                 swabs, lung
                                 function test).
Eligible study respondents....  Be outfitted                  67               5           45/60             252
                                 with personal
                                 air sampler.
Eligible study respondents....  Provide fish (if              67               5           10/60              56
                                 respondent went
                                 fishing and
                                 caught fish).
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.....................  ................  ..............  ..............  ..............           1,273
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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. 2023-22779 Filed 10-13-23; 8:45 am]
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