[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 24 (Friday, February 4, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Page 6475]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-2527]



[[Page 6475]]

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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[Docket Number NIOSH-223]


Emergency Responder Health Monitoring and Surveillance

AGENCY: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) 
of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of 
Health and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION: Notice of draft publication available for public comment.

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SUMMARY: The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health 
(NIOSH) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 
announces the availability of the following draft publication for 
public comment. The document is entitled, ``Emergency Responder Health 
Monitoring and Surveillance.''
    The draft document and instructions for submitting comments can be 
found at: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docket/review/docket223/.
    The document proposes a new framework for ensuring responder safety 
and health by monitoring and conducting surveillance of their health 
and safety during the entire cycle of emergency response, including the 
pre-deployment, deployment, and post-deployment phases of a response. 
The proposed system is referred to as the ``Emergency Responder Health 
Monitoring and Surveillance (ERHMS)'' system, which includes a guidance 
section describing the principles of ensuring optimal responder safety 
and health, as well as a tools section to help facilitate the execution 
of these principles during an actual response.
    The goals of this proposed system are to ensure that only properly 
trained and fit responders are deployed to a response, that the health 
and safety of all responders are appropriately monitored during a 
response, and that a systematic and comprehensive evaluation be 
conducted to determine the potential need for long term surveillance of 
responders' health after their deployment has been completed. This 
system will help to ensure that hazardous occupational exposures and 
signs and symptoms observed during an emergency response are utilized 
to mitigate adverse physical and psychological outcomes and determine 
whether protective measures are sufficient to prevent or reduce harmful 
exposures to workers. Data collected during the pre-, during-, and 
post-deployment phases will also help to identify which responders 
would benefit from medical referral and possible enrollment in a long-
term health surveillance program.
    The document, entitled ``Emergency Responder Health Monitoring and 
Surveillance,'' can be viewed at:  http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docket/review/docket223/.
    This guidance does not have the force and effect of the law.
    Public Comment Period: Comments must be received by April 5, 2011.

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be submitted to the NIOSH Docket 
Office, identified by Docket Number NIOSH-223, by any of the following 
methods:
     Mail: NIOSH Docket Office, Robert A. Taft Laboratories, 
MS-C34, 4676 Columbia Parkway, Cincinnati, Ohio 45226.
     Facsimile: (513) 533-8285.
     E-mail: nioshdocket@cdc.gov.

All information received in response to this notice will be available 
for public examination and copying at the NIOSH Docket Office, 4676 
Columbia Parkway, Room 111, Cincinnati, Ohio 45226.
    A complete electronic docket containing all comments submitted will 
be available on the NIOSH Web page at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docket, 
and comments will be available in writing by request. NIOSH includes 
all comments received without change in the docket, including any 
personal information provided. All electronic comments should be 
formatted as Microsoft Word. Please make reference to Docket Number 
NIOSH-223.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ren[eacute]e Funk, D.V.M., telephone 
(404) 498-1376, e-mail rjf8@cdc.gov, NIOSH, MS-E20, 1600 Clifton Road 
NE., Atlanta, GA 30333.

    Dated: January 28, 2011.
John Howard,
Director, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2011-2527 Filed 2-3-11; 8:45 am]
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