[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 173 (Friday, September 6, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72899-72900]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-20044]



[[Page 72899]]

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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 the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval of the 
information collection requirements specified in the Respiratory 
Protection Standard.

DATES: Comments must be submitted (postmarked, sent, or received) by 
November 5, 2024.

ADDRESSES: 
    Electronically: You may submit comments and attachments 
electronically at https://www.regulations.gov, which is 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 https://www.regulations.gov. Documents in the docket are 
listed in the https://www.regulations.gov index; however, some 
information (e.g., copyrighted material) is not publicly available to 
read or download through the websites. All submissions, including 
copyrighted material, are available for inspection through the OSHA 
Docket Office. Contact the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-2350 (TTY 
(877) 889-5627) for assistance in locating docket submissions.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and OSHA 
docket number (OSHA-2011-0027) for the Information Collection Request 
(ICR). OSHA will place all comments, including any personal 
information, in the public docket, which may be made 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, 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, the 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 OSH 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 effort in 
obtaining information (29 U.S.C. 657).
    The following sections describe who uses the information collected 
under each requirement, as well as how they use it. The purpose of 
these requirements is to provide protection for the health of workers 
exposed to airborne contaminants, physical hazards, and biological 
agents.
    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 to 
protect workers, 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
     Ways to minimize the burden on employers who must comply; 
for example, by using automated or other technological information, 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. The agency is requesting an adjustment increase in burden 
from 8,400,365 to 8,502,430 hours, a difference of 102,065 hours. This 
increase is due to an increase in the number of employers using 
respirators that are covered by the Standard. Also, the agency is 
requesting an increase in cost of $8,352,662 going from $406,397,822 to 
$416,350,792.
    OSHA will summarize the comments submitted in response to this 
notice and will include this summary in the request to OMB to extend 
the approval of the information collection requirements.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.

[[Page 72900]]

    Title: Respiratory Protection Standard.
    OMB Control Number: 1218-0099.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profits.
    Number of Respondents: 733,538.
    Number of Responses: 28,796,953.
    Frequency of Responses: On occasion.
    Average Time per Response: Varies.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 8,502,430.
    Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $416,350,792.

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 https://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal; or (2) by facsimile (fax), if your comments, 
including attachments, are not longer than 10 pages you may fax them to 
the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-1648. 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 submission by uploading document files electronically.
    Comments and submissions are posted without change at https://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 https://www.regulations.gov index, some information (e.g., copyrighted 
material) is not publicly available to read or download from this 
website. All submission, including copyrighted material, are available 
for inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office. Information on 
using the https://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 from the website, 
and for assistance in using the internet to locate docket submissions.

V. Authority and Signature

    James S. Frederick, 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. 8-2020 
(85 FR 58393).

    Signed at Washington, DC, on August 29, 2024.
James S. Frederick,
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2024-20044 Filed 9-5-24; 8:45 am]
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