[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 178 (Friday, September 13, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74960-74961]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-20763]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[Docket No. CDC-2024-0065, NIOSH-352-A]


Request for Public Comment on the Draft Hazard Review: Wildland 
Fire Smoke Exposure Among Farmworkers and Other Outdoor Workers

AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of 
Health and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION: Request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health 
(NIOSH) in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an 
Operating Division of the Department of Health and Human Services 
(HHS), requests public comment and technical review on the draft Hazard 
Review: Wildland Fire Smoke Exposure Among Farmworkers and Other 
Outdoor Workers.

DATES: Electronic or written comments must be received by November 12, 
2024.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number CDC-
2024-0065 and docket number NIOSH-352-A, by either of the following 
methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: National Institute for Occupational Safety and 
Health, NIOSH Docket Office, 1090 Tusculum Avenue, MS C-34, Cincinnati, 
Ohio 45226-1998.
    Instructions: All information received in response to this notice 
must include the agency name and docket number (CDC-2024-0065; NIOSH-
352-A). All relevant comments, including any personal information 
provided, will be posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov. 
Do not submit comments by email. CDC does not accept comments by email. 
For access to the docket to read the draft Hazard Review document or 
comments received, go to https://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: R. Todd Niemeier, Ph.D., National 
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, MS-C15, 1090 Tusculum 
Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45226. Telephone: (513) 533-8166.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NIOSH is requesting public comment and 
technical review of the draft Hazard Review: Wildland Fire Smoke 
Exposure Among Farmworkers and Other Outdoor Workers, which is 
accessible in the docket (CDC-2024-0065; NIOSH-352-A). The final 
document will be edited, so comments that focus on the technical 
content are requested. The final document will be used as the 
scientific evidence base to inform the development of supplementary 
educational materials for workers, employers, and other relevant 
audiences to support the implementation of the recommendations. 
Therefore, comments that focus on the understandability, accessibility, 
and feasibility of the recommendations are requested. To facilitate the 
review of this document, NIOSH requests that responses to the following 
specific questions be considered:
    1. How could the outdoor worker populations who may be exposed to 
wildland fire smoke be more completely characterized in Chapter 2? 
Please provide supporting references.

[[Page 74961]]

    2. How could this document better identify and characterize the 
health hazards of exposures to wildland fire smoke based on the 
available scientific literature in Chapter 3? Is there additional 
scientific information to be considered regarding the adverse health 
endpoints associated with exposure to wildland fire smoke? Please 
provide scientific references to support your response as necessary.
    3. What additional information should NIOSH consider adding or how 
should NIOSH modify the discussion of exposure assessment methods for 
wildland fire smoke (based on PM2.5 airborne concentration, 
and when desired, other airborne exposures) to measure outdoor worker 
exposures in Chapter 4? What are the barriers to employers to implement 
these recommended methods? Please provide scientific evidence to 
support your response as necessary.
    4. How can the recommendation in Chapter 4 to use the air quality 
index (AQI) for PM2.5 to define exposure control categories 
be better explained and supported from both a scientific and health 
communications standpoint? Please provide scientific evidence to 
support your response as necessary.
    5. What additional information should NIOSH consider to improve the 
strategies identified in Chapter 5 for controlling exposure to wildland 
fire smoke (e.g., engineering controls, work practices, personal 
protective equipment) to make them more effective and reduce barriers 
to implementation? What additional controls could be considered to 
protect outdoor workers from wildland fire smoke? Please provide 
scientific evidence to support your response as necessary.
    6. Do the recommendations in Chapter 5 adequately address the 
protection of potentially disadvantaged or at-risk outdoor workers, 
such as persons with pre-existing health conditions (e.g., asthma, 
cardiovascular disease), migrant workers, persons of lower 
socioeconomic status, and elderly or minor workers? If not, how could 
the recommendations be changed to better protect these populations? Are 
there additional recommendations to consider to protect these at-risk 
workers?
    7. How could the recommendations in Chapter 5 better address 
accessibility and feasibility for outdoor workers and employers?
    8. What are the potential barriers to the understandability of the 
recommendations in Chapter 5 for outdoor workers and employers? When 
developing supplementary educational materials to support the 
implementation of these recommendations, how can NIOSH best address 
those barriers?
    9. What other research needs should be considered in addition to 
those included in Chapter 6, Research Needs? Please provide a 
scientific justification for additional research needs.
    The draft Hazard Review was developed to provide the scientific 
rationale for characterizing hazards of exposure to wildland fire smoke 
for outdoor workers. The draft Hazard Review also provides 
recommendations and guidance for minimizing exposures and potential 
health effects associated with wildland fire smoke for outdoor workers.
    After the comments received on the draft Hazard Review are 
considered and addressed, the final Hazard Review will be posted on the 
NIOSH website.
    Background: The purpose of the Hazard Review document is to provide 
an overview of the relevant health effects literature and present 
evidence-based recommendations to protect outdoor workers, including 
farm workers, construction workers, oil and gas workers, park rangers, 
emergency responders, and others from the adverse health effects of 
occupational exposure to wildland fire smoke. On March 14, 2024, CDC/
NIOSH published a Request for Information (RFI) in the Federal Register 
(89 FR 18638). The Federal Register notice announced plans to develop a 
Hazard Review document that summarizes the scientific literature about 
the health effects from exposures to wildland fire smoke and provides 
recommendations to protect outdoor workers [NIOSH 2024]. In response to 
the RFI, NIOSH received 10 comment submissions, all of which were 
reviewed and considered during the development of this draft Hazard 
Review. The RFI and comments received are accessible in the docket 
(CDC-2024-0019, NIOSH-352). In addition to requesting information from 
the public, the Hazard Review development process involved review and 
assessment of the scientific literature about exposures to wildland 
fire smoke, potential health effects, outdoor worker populations at 
risk, and development or update of recommendations to protect outdoor 
workers. The information presented in this draft Hazard Review 
represents the scientific rationale and the current methodology about 
approaches to assess and control the hazards of wildland fire smoke to 
outdoor workers. Scientific information related to wildland fire smoke 
presented in the draft Hazard Review covers the following topics:

 Background on wildland fire smoke
 History of NIOSH and other government organizations' related 
activity
 Chemical and physical properties of the smoke
 Population of outdoor workers with potential exposure
 Routes of worker exposure
 Health equity
 Health effects of exposure
 Exposure assessment
 Controlling workplace exposures
 Medical surveillance and medical monitoring
 Research needs

Reference

NIOSH [2024]. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health; 
Outdoor workers exposed to wildland fire smoke; Request for 
information. 89 FR 18638. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/03/14/2024-05403/national-institute-for-occupational-safety-and-health-outdoor-workers-exposed-to-wildland-fire-smoke.

    Dated: September 9, 2024.
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. 2024-20763 Filed 9-12-24; 8:45 am]
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