[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 42 (Monday, March 4, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14094-14095]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-04900]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
[30Day-13-0850]
Agency Forms Undergoing Paperwork Reduction Act Review
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) publishes a
list of information collection requests under review by the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) in compliance with the Paperwork Reduction
Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). To request a copy of these requests, call
(404) 639-7570 or send an email to [email protected]. Send written comments
to CDC Desk Officer, Office of Management and Budget, Washington, DC
20503 or by fax to (202) 395-5806. Written comments should be received
within 30 days of this notice.
Proposed Project
Laboratory Response Network (LRN)--0920-0850-Extension (expiration
5/31/13)--National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infections
(NCEZID), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Background and Brief Description
The Laboratory Response Network (LRN) was established by the
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) in accordance with Presidential Decision
Directive 39, which outlined national anti-terrorism policies and
assigned specific missions to Federal departments and agencies. The
LRN's mission is to maintain an integrated national and international
network of laboratories that can respond to suspected acts of
biological, chemical, or radiological threats and other public health
emergencies.
When Federal, State and local public health laboratories
voluntarily join the LRN, they assume specific responsibilities and are
required to provide information to the LRN Program Office at CDC. Each
laboratory must submit and maintain complete information regarding the
testing capabilities of the laboratory. Biennually, laboratories are
required to review, verify and update their testing capability
information. Complete testing capability information is required in
order for the LRN Program Office to determine the ability of the
Network to respond to a biological or chemical threat event. The
sensitivity of all information associated with the LRN requires the LRN
Program Office to obtain personal information about all individuals
accessing the LRN Web site. In addition, the LRN Program Office must be
able to contact all laboratory personnel during an event so each
laboratory staff member that obtains access to the restricted LRN Web
site must provide his or her contact information to the LRN Program
Office.
As a requirement of membership, LRN Laboratories must report all
biological and chemical testing results to the LRN Program at CDC using
a CDC developed software tool called the LRN Results Messenger. This
information is essential for surveillance of anomalies, to support
response to an event that may involve multiple agencies and to manage
limited resources. LRN Laboratories must also participate in and report
results for Proficiency Testing Challenges or Validation Studies. LRN
Laboratories participate in multiple Proficiency Testing Challenges,
Exercises and/or Validation Studies every year consisting of five to
500 simulated samples provided by the LRN Program Office. It is
necessary to conduct such challenges in order to verify the testing
capability of the LRN Laboratories. The rarity of biological or
chemical agents perceived to be of bioterrorism concern prevents some
LRN Laboratories from maintaining proficiency as a result of day-to-day
testing. Simulated samples are therefore distributed to ensure
proficiency across the LRN. The results obtained from testing these
simulated samples must also be entered into Results Messenger for
evaluation by the LRN Program Office. During a surge event resulting
from a bioterrorism or chemical terrorism attack, LRN Laboratories are
also required to submit all testing results using LRN Results
Messenger. The LRN Program Office requires these results in order to
track the progression of a bioterrorism event and respond in the most
efficient and effective way possible and for data sharing with other
Federal partners
[[Page 14095]]
involved in the response. The number of samples tested during a
response to a possible event could range from 10,000 to more than
500,000 samples depending on the length and breadth of the event. Since
there is potentially a large range in the number of samples for a surge
event, CDC estimates the annualized burden for this event will be
2,250,000 hours or 625 responses per respondent.
There is no cost to the respondents other than their time. The
total estimated annualized burden is 2,382,300 hours.
Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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Number of Avg. burden
Type of respondents Form name Number of responses per per response
respondents respondent (in hrs)
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Public Health Laboratories............ Biennial Requalification 150 1 2
Public Health Laboratories............ General Surveillance 150 25 24
Testing Results.
Public Health Laboratories............ Proficiency Testing/ 150 5 56
Validation Testing
Results.
Public Health Laboratories............ Surge Event Testing 150 625 24
Results.
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Dated: February 26, 2013.
Ron A. Otten,
Director, Office of Scientific Integrity (OSI), Office of the Associate
Director for Science (OADS), Office of the Director, Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2013-04900 Filed 3-1-13; 8:45 am]
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