[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 225 (Tuesday, November 22, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72216-72218]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-30076]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
[Docket No. OSHA-2011-0059]
Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Chemicals in Laboratories
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 its proposal to
extend OMB approval of the information collection requirements
specified in the Standard on Occupational Exposure to Hazardous
Chemicals in Laboratories (29 CFR 1910.1450).
[[Page 72217]]
DATES: Comments must be submitted (postmarked, sent, or received) by
January 23, 2012.
ADDRESSES: Electronically: You may submit comments and attachments
electronically at http://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal
eRulemaking Portal. Follow the instructions online for submitting
comments.
Facsimile: If your comments, including attachments, are not longer
than 10 pages, you may fax them to the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-
1648.
Mail, hand delivery, express mail, messenger, or courier service:
When using this method, you must submit your comments and attachments
to the OSHA Docket Office, Docket No. OSHA-2011-0059, U.S. Department
of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Room N-2625,
200 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210. Deliveries (hand,
express mail, messenger, and courier service) are accepted during the
Department of Labor's and Docket Office's normal business hours, 8:15
a.m. to 4:45 p.m., e.t.
Instructions: All submissions must include the Agency name and OSHA
docket number (OSHA-2011-0059) for the Information Collection Request
(ICR). All comments including any personal information you provide, are
placed in the public docket without change, and may be made available
online at http://www.regulations.gov. For further information on
submitting comments, see the ``Public Participation'' heading in the
section of this notice titled SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
Docket: To read or download comments or other material in the
docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov or the OSHA Docket Office at
the address above. All documents in the docket (including this Federal
Register notice) are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index;
however, some information (e.g., copyrighted material) is not publicly
available to read or download from the Web site. All submissions,
including copyrighted material, are available for inspection and
copying at the OSHA Docket Office. You also may contact Theda Kenney at
the address below to obtain a copy of the ICR.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Theda Kenney or Todd Owen, Directorate
of Standards and Guidance, OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-3609,
200 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone (202) 693-
2222.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The Department of Labor, as part of its 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 (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, collection instruments are clearly understood, and OSHA's
estimate of the information collection burden is accurate. The
Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (the 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 efforts in
obtaining information (29 U.S.C. 657).
The Standard on Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Chemicals in
Laboratories applies to laboratories that use hazardous chemicals in
accordance with the Standard's definitions for ``laboratory use of
hazardous chemicals'' and ``laboratory scale.'' The Standard requires
that these laboratories maintain worker exposures at or below the
permissible exposure limits specified for the hazardous chemicals in 29
CFR Part 1910, Subpart Z. They do so by developing a written Chemical
Hygiene Plan (CHP) that describes standard operating procedures for
using hazardous chemicals; hazard-control techniques; equipment-
reliability measures; worker information-and-training programs;
conditions under which the employer must approve operations,
procedures, and activities before implementation; and medical
consultations and examinations. The CHP also designates personnel
responsible for implementing the CHP and specifies the procedures used
to provide additional protection to workers exposed to particularly
hazardous chemicals.
Other information collection requirements of the Standard include
documenting exposure monitoring results; notifying workers in writing
of these results; presenting specified information and training to
workers; establishing a medical surveillance program for overexposed
workers; providing required information to the physician; obtaining the
physician's written opinion on using proper respiratory equipment; and
establishing, maintaining, transferring, and disclosing exposure
monitoring and medical records. These collection of information
requirements, including the CHP, control worker overexposure to
hazardous laboratory chemicals thereby preventing serious illnesses and
death among workers exposed to such chemicals.
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
collection and transmission techniques.
III. Proposed Actions
OSHA is proposing to extend the information collection requirements
contained in the Standard on Occupational Exposure to Hazardous
Chemicals in Laboratories (29 CFR 1910.1450). The Agency is proposing
to increase its current burden hour estimate from 281,086 hours to
293,373 hours (an increase of 12,287 burden hours). This increase is
primarily a result of an increase in the number of facilities being
monitored.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
Title: Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Chemicals in Laboratories
(29 CFR 1910.1450)
OMB Number: 1218-0131.
Affected Public: Business or other for-profits.
Number of Respondents: 48,461.
Frequency: Varies from 3 minutes (.05 hour) to replace the safe
practice manual to 1 hour to develop a new manual.
Total Responses: 911,113.
Average Time per Response: Annually; monthly; quarterly; semi-
annually; on occasion.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 293,373.
[[Page 72218]]
Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $41,271,276.
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 http://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal
eRulemaking Portal; (2) by facsimile (fax); or (3) by hard copy. All
comments, attachments, and other material must identify the Agency name
and the OSHA docket number for this ICR (Docket No. OSHA-2011-0059).
You may supplement electronic submissions by uploading document files
electronically. If you wish to mail additional materials in reference
to an electronic or a facsimile submission, you must submit them to the
OSHA Docket Office (see the section of this notice titled ADDRESSES).
The additional materials must clearly identify your electronic comments
by your name, date, and docket number, so the Agency can attach them to
your comments.
Because of security procedures, the use of regular mail may cause a
significant delay in the receipt of comments. For information about
security procedures concerning the delivery of materials by hand,
express delivery, messenger or courier service, please contact the OSHA
Docket Office at (202) 693-2350, (TTY (877) 889-5627).
Comments and submissions are posted without change at http://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 http://www.regulations.gov index, some information (e.g., copyrighted
material) is not publicly available to read or download through this
Web site. All submissions, including copyrighted material, are
available for inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office.
Information on using the http://www.regulations.gov Web site to submit
comments and access the docket is available at the Web site's ``User
Tips'' link. Contact the OSHA Docket Office for information about
materials not available through the Web site and for assistance in
using the Internet to locate docket submissions.
V. Authority and Signature
David Michaels, Ph.D., MPH, 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. 4-2010
(75 FR 55355).
Signed at Washington, DC, on November 17, 2011.
David Michaels,
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2011-30076 Filed 11-21-11; 8:45 am]
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