[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 109 (Monday, June 7, 2004)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 31777-31778]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-12759]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
29 CFR Part 1926
[Docket No. H011G]
RIN No. 1218-AB89
Announcement of Stakeholders Meetings for Hearing Conservation
Program for Construction Workers
AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA);
Department of Labor.
ACTION: Scheduling of stakeholder meetings.
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SUMMARY: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is
inviting the public to participate in informal stakeholder meetings on
a Hearing Conservation Program for Construction Workers. These planned
meetings will continue OSHA's information collection efforts and will
add to the information obtained in the stakeholder meetings conducted
in Chicago, Illinois on March 24 and 25, 2004. In this meeting,
stakeholders suggested that OSHA consider the advantages of addressing
high noise exposure on a task by task basis. The Agency invites the
public to address issues regarding a task-based approach to
implementing hearing conservation programs, including exposure
assessment and the use of hearing protection devices, to reduce worker
exposures to noise in the construction industry.
DATES: Stakeholder meetings. Stakeholder meetings will be held on July
21st and 22nd, 2004 at the Hyatt Dulles Hotel, 2300 Dulles Corner
Boulevard, Herndon, Virginia (telephone 703-713-1234, fax 703-713-
3410). Both meetings will begin at 8:30 a.m. and end at 12:30 p.m.
Interested parties are requested to notify OSHA of their intent to
participate in one of the stakeholder meetings by July 6, 2004. Also,
stakeholders who wish to make a presentation of task-specific exposure
data, of no longer than 10-minutes, must notify OSHA by July 6th. Each
half day session will have the same agenda and format. Stakeholders are
encouraged to attend only one half-day meeting.
ADDRESSES: If you wish to participate in a stakeholder meeting you must
notify OSHA by e-mail, facsimile, or mail, as set forth below, giving
your name, affiliation, contact information, the stakeholder session
you plan to attend, and whether you wish to be an active participant,
presenter, or an observer.
Electronic: OSHA encourages you to submit your notice of intent to
attend a stakeholder meeting via e-mail to [email protected].
Facsimile: You may fax your notice of intent to attend a
stakeholder meeting to Christie Garner at (202) 693-1678.
Mail: You may also notify OSHA of your intent to attend a
stakeholder meeting, by mail, to Christie Garner, Directorate of
Standards and Guidance, Occupational Safety and Health Administration,
U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-3718, 200 Constitution Ave., NW.,
Washington, DC 20210.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Seymour, Office of Physical
Hazards, Directorate of Standards and Guidance, Occupational Safety and
Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-3718, 200
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210, telephone (202) 693-
1950.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: OSHA issued a section 6(b)(5) health
standard mandating a comprehensive hearing conservation program for
noise-exposed workers in general industry in 1983. However, no rule was
promulgated to cover workers in the construction industry. Studies show
that as many as 750,000 construction workers are currently exposed to
noise levels of 85 dBA or greater at work. The largest number of worker
exposures to excessive noise occurs during road construction,
carpentry, and concrete work. International experience and data show
that hearing conservation programs in the construction industry can be
effective in reducing occupational hearing loss.
On August 5, 2002, OSHA published an Advance Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking (ANPR) addressing noise-induced hearing loss among workers
in the construction industry, current practices to reduce this loss,
and additional approaches and protection that could be used to prevent
such loss in the future (67 FR 50610). The Agency has reviewed the
forty-seven comments received in response to the ANPR and other
available information.
OSHA held stakeholder meetings in Chicago, Illinois on March 24 and
25, 2004. In that meeting stakeholders discussed an approach to
implementing hearing conservation programs based on the knowledge of
exposure levels in common construction tasks. They noted that such an
approach would simplify putting hearing conservation programs into
practice. The stakeholders sought a simple and flexible system that
would require minimal exposure monitoring and expertise by construction
employers.
Stakeholder Meetings
OSHA requests the public to address the following issues regarding
task-based approaches to hearing conservation programs:
What are the common tasks in construction where
significant noise exposures occur? Can such tasks be characterized by
job title, type of construction, activity, type of equipment used, or
other characteristics?
Are data available for most tasks sufficient to
characterize:
[ctrcir] Anticipated exposures,
[ctrcir] Duration,
[ctrcir] Noise perimeter zones,
[ctrcir] Current use of hearing protection?
What are the critical data elements needed to sufficiently
characterize typical tasks in construction?
The stakeholder meetings will be an opportunity for informal
discussion and will allow for the exchange of data, ideas, and points
of view. The first two
[[Page 31778]]
hours of each meeting will be an informal discussion of the above
issues. The remainder of the meeting will be devoted to 10-minute
presentations by stakeholders who wish to present exposure data related
to specific construction tasks. Participants are not expected to
prepare and present formal testimony. The Agency is interested in
reviewing exposure data and hearing first hand from employers and
employees in the construction industry their ideas of what can be done
to reduce the noise exposures and hearing loss of workers within this
industry.
Authority: This notice was prepared under the direction of John
L. Henshaw, Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health.
It is issued under sections 4 and 8 of the Occupational Safety and
Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 653, 655, 657).
Issued at Washington, DC, this 28th day of May, 2004.
John L. Henshaw,
Assistant Secretary of Labor.
[FR Doc. 04-12759 Filed 6-4-04; 8:45 am]
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