Supporting Statement for a Request for OMB Review under

The Paperwork Reduction Act

1. IDENTIFICATION OF THE INFORMATION COLLECTION

1(a) Title and Number of the Information Collection

TITLE: Reporting and Recordkeeping for Asbestos Abatement Worker 

Protection

EPA ICR No.: 1246.11 OMB Control No.: 2070-0072

1(b) Short Characterization

The Asbestos Worker Protection Rule (WPR) (40 CFR 763, Subpart G; see Attachment 

C) establishes workplace standards for the protection of State and local government employees 

who work with asbestos and who are not covered by an OSHA-approved State Plan. Currently, 

State and local government employees in 25 States, the District of Columbia and certain other 

U.S. territories who perform construction work, including building construction, renovation, 

demolition, and maintenance activities, and employees who perform brake and clutch repair 

work are covered by the WPR. The WPR incorporates, by reference, the OSHA Construction 

Industry Standard for Asbestos (29 CFR 1926.1101) and the General Industry Standard for 

Asbestos (29 CFR1910.1001). As a result, the WPR requires State and local government 

employers to use engineering controls and appropriate work practices to control the release of 

asbestos fibers. Covered employers must also monitor employee exposure to asbestos and 

provide employees with personal protective equipment, training, and medical surveillance to 

reduce the risk of asbestos exposure. Exposure monitoring records must be maintained for 30 

years, medical surveillance records for the duration of employment of the affected employees 

plus 30 years, and training records for the duration of employment plus one year. Employers 

must also establish written respiratory protection programs and maintain procedures and records 

of respirator fit tests for one year. 

2. NEED FOR AND USE OF THE COLLECTION

2(a) Need/Authority for the Collection

The records maintained as a result of this information collection will provide the 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with the data necessary for effective enforcement of the 

WPR, as authorized under Sections 6 and 8(a) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) (15 

U.S.C. 2605, 2607(a)). (See Attachments A and B.)
2

2(b) Use/Users of the Data

The purpose of the WPR is to provide protection from adverse health effects associated 

with occupational exposure to asbestos for State and local government employees who are 

engaged in asbestos-related construction, custodial, and brake and clutch repair activities in 

States that do not have OSHA-approved State plans. Like the OSHA Standards, the rule requires 

employers (in this case, State and local governments) to monitor employee exposure to asbestos, 

to take action to reduce exposures to levels below the permissible exposure limits (PELs), to 

provide employees with personal protective equipment, to monitor employee health, to train 

employees about the hazards of asbestos and how to minimize those hazards, and to provide 

employees with information about exposures to asbestos and the associated health effects.

The recordkeeping provisions contained in the rule are designed to ensure that employers 

comply with applicable standards and that protection of employees exposed to asbestos is 

provided to the full extent required. EPA’s compliance officers examine the records for this 

purpose when conducting inspections. Additionally, the data contained in exposure 

measurements records are useful to employers in pinpointing areas of their operations that may 

require additional efforts to reduce exposure. If these data were not collected and maintained, 

compliance monitoring would be very difficult for EPA, and failures of asbestos-control 

measures could easily go undetected by the employer.

Records of medical examinations are used by physicians who must periodically examine 

employees exposed to asbestos. Without records of previous medical examinations, the 

physician may not be able to determine whether an employee has suffered an adverse health 

effect since his or her last examination. Furthermore, when symptoms of organic damage 

appear, the physician often needs information regarding the patient’s previous medical condition 

in order to make an accurate diagnosis of the new problem, its apparent cause, and the course of 

treatment required.

In addition, the data and information contained in the records required to be kept and 

maintained by the WPR may be used by EPA for the development of asbestos exposure 

assessments. Exposure data and medical surveillance information may be used for 

epidemiological and diagnostic investigations to determine, for example, dose-response 

relationships in diseases caused by asbestos exposure.

3. NON-DUPLICATION, CONSULTATIONS, AND OTHER COLLECTION 

CRITERIA

3(a) Non-Duplication

EPA is not aware of any other laws or regulations that require the general compilation, 

maintenance, or provision of access to occupational exposure and medical records for State and 

local government workers in the 25 States, the District of Columbia and certain other U.S. 

territories without an OSHA-approved State plan. Currently, all private sector workers, as well 
3

as State and local government employees in the 25 States as well as Puerto Rico and the 

U.S.Virgin Islands that have OSHA-approved State plans, are protected by the OSHA 

regulations. 

The rule uses the Office of Federal Register’s incorporation-by-reference (IBR) approach 

to cross-reference the OSHA regulations in the EPA WPR. In addition to ensuring that all State 

and local government employees and private sector employees receive identical protection from 

occupational asbestos exposures under federal law, the use of IBR also ensures that this identical 

protection is maintained in the future.

This approach eliminates potential confusion by ensuring that the regulated community

only has to learn and comply with the OSHA standards, and ensures that the same level of 

protection for all persons who work with asbestos-containing material (ACM), whether those 

persons are employed by the private sector or by a State or local government.

3(b) Public Notice Required Prior to ICR Submission to OMB

Prior to submission to OMB, this ICR will be made available to the public for comment 

through a Federal Register notice. The public will have 60 days to provide comments. Any

comments received will be given consideration when completing the supporting statement that is 

submitted to OMB.

3(c) Consultations

The data collection contemplated by this request was originally part of a proposed rule 

subject to notice and comment procedures. One of the eleven comments EPA received during 

that period on the proposal suggested that the annual training requirement for custodians, and the 

associated recordkeeping, was too burdensome. However, the respondent did not dispute EPA’s 

estimate of the costs associated with this requirement.

The identical recordkeeping and reporting requirements as applied to the private sector 

and to States with OSHA-approved State plans have been subject to notice and comment as part 

of OSHA rulemaking efforts. EPA previously consulted with OSHA in August 2003 to discuss 

whether any comments had been received or any additional activity had taken place to determine 

changes in industry burden after the regulations were promulgated under 29 CFR 1910.1001 and 

1926.1101. OSHA officials stated that they had not received additional comments from industry

after these rules were promulgated.

3(d) Effects of Less Frequent Collection

The information collection frequencies specified by this rule are the minimum EPA 

considers necessary to ensure that the health of public employees engaged in asbestos abatement 

activities is adequately monitored. Initial exposure monitoring must be performed for most 

projects covered by this rule, but the employer will be able to rely on those results for 

approximately three years when performing similar projects. All employees covered by this rule 
4

must receive training on an annual basis. Most of these employees must also receive annual 

medical exams. These requirements are necessary to ensure that the employees are being 

adequately protected from asbestos hazards.

3(e) General Guidelines

Information collected as a result of this request does not violate any of the guidelines 

imposed by 5 CFR 1320.6. The requirement that records for medical surveillance and exposure 

monitoring be retained for more than three years is permissible under a provision contained in 5 

CFR 1320.6 that expressly exempts the retention of health and medical records from limitations 

otherwise imposed by the regulation.

3(f) Confidentiality

The Agency has instituted procedures to avoid the inappropriate release of confidential 

information as specified by 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3)(v). The confidentiality of collected information 

will be maintained pursuant to the provisions of the Toxic Substances Control Act, 15 U.S.C. 

2613, the Privacy Act of 1974 and OMB Circular A-108.

3(g) Sensitive Questions

The rule requires employers to allow EPA access to medical records upon request. EPA 

primarily intends to use this information to determine whether the employer has complied with 

the medical surveillance requirements of the rule, although EPA may also use this information in 

epidemiological and diagnostic investigations. EPA will treat this information as confidential 

and exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act pursuant to 40 CFR 2.119(b).

4. THE RESPONDENTS AND THE INFORMATION COLLECTED

4(a) Respondents/North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) 

Codes

Respondents for this information collection include States and local government 

employers in the 25 states, the District of Columbia and certain other U.S. territories that have 

employees engaged in asbestos-related construction, custodial, and brake and clutch repair 

activities without OSHA-approved State plans. The following table is intended to help identify 

potentially affected categories and entities. This listing is not, however, intended to be 

exhaustive. The North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) applies to certain 

entities. To determine whether a State or local government employer is subject to the WPR, 

employers must carefully examine the applicability provisions in the regulation at 40 CFR 

763.121.
5

Categories NAICS 

Codes

Examples of Potentially Affected Entities

Public 

Administration

92 State or local government employers not subject to an OSHA-approved 

State Asbestos Plan or a State Asbestos Worker Protection Plan that EPA 

has determined is exempt from the requirements of the EPA WPR, AND 

whose employees work with or near asbestos-containing material.

Educational Services 61 School Districts (subset of local government employers identified above) 

whose employees work with or near asbestos-containing material.

4(b) Respondent Activities and Information Requested

The WPR contains several paperwork related requirements for State and local 

government employers in the 25 states, the District of Columbia and certain other U.S. territories 

covered by the WPR. The overall estimated potential economic impact of this rule is presented 

in the document entitled “Final Asbestos Worker Protection Rule Economic Analysis,” which is 

available as a part of the public version of the official record for the rule. This ICR describes the 

information collection activities contained in the rule, along with the estimated burden and costs 

related to those information collection requirements.

This rule requires employers to collect, disseminate, and maintain information relating to 

employee asbestos exposures, respiratory protection, medical surveillance, and training. The 

records maintained as a result of this information collection will provide EPA with the data 

necessary for effective enforcement of the WPR, as authorized under TSCA sections 6 and 8. 

These activities are described in more detail in this section.

4(b)(i) Data Items

This rule requires State and local government employers to develop and maintain a 

written respiratory protection program if their employees use respirators. Employers must 

provide information and guidance on the selection, use, and care of respirators, give annual fit 

tests, and maintain records of fit tests for one year. Fit-testing record summaries must include 

the following information:

• Name or identification of the employee tested; 

• Type of fit test performed; 

• Specific make, model, style, and size of respirator tested;

• Date of test; and

• The test results.

The rule requires an exposure assessment to determine accurately the airborne 

concentrations of asbestos to which employees are exposed. Employers can meet this 

requirement through objective data that demonstrate that the product or material containing the 

asbestos cannot release airborne fibers in concentrations exceeding the permissible exposure 

limits (PELs), historical monitoring data from similar projects that indicates that the PELs will 

not be exceeded, or initial monitoring results that demonstrate that employee exposures are 
6

below the PELs. However, employers must continue periodic exposure monitoring for 

employees who work in areas where exposures exceed or can reasonably be expected to exceed 

the PELs. Employers may forgo periodic monitoring if affected employees are equipped with 

supplied-air respirators, and EPA assumes that employers will choose to provide supplied-air 

respirators in these instances.

Employers who use objective data to demonstrate that the PELs will not be exceeded are 

required to maintain records for the duration of the employer’s reliance upon such data. The 

records must include the following information:

• The product qualifying for exemption;

• The source of the objective data;

• The testing protocol, results of testing, and/or analysis of the material for asbestos 

release;

• A description of the operation exempted and how the data support the exemption; 

and

• Other data relevant to the operations, materials, processing or employee exposures 

covered by the exemption.

Employers must notify all affected employees of the monitoring results, and they must 

notify individual employees of monitoring results representing their personal exposures. For all 

measurements taken to monitor employee exposure to asbestos, the employer must maintain 

records of each measurement for a period of 30 years. Exposure monitoring records must be 

made available, upon request, to the affected employees. The records must include the following 

information for each exposure measurement:

• The date of measurement;

• The operation involving exposure to asbestos that is being monitored;

• Sampling and analytical methods used and evidence of their accuracy;

• Number, duration, and results of samples taken;

• Type of protective devices worn, if any; and

• Name, social security number, and exposure of the employees whose exposures 

are represented.

The rule requires employers to institute a medical surveillance program for all 

employees who engage in asbestos removal, renovation, and maintenance projects, or who are 

exposed at or above a PEL for 30 or more days each year. For each employee subject to medical 

surveillance, the employer is required to maintain for the duration of employment plus 30 years 

records that contain the following information:
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• The name and social security number of the employee;

• A copy of the employee’s medical examination results, including the medical 

history, questionnaire responses, results of any tests, and physicians’ 

recommendations;

• Physicians’ written opinions;

• Any employee medical complaints related to exposure to asbestos; and

• A copy of the information provided to the physician.

The employer must provide a copy of the physician’s written opinion to the employee 

within 30 days of his/her receipt of the opinion. In addition, medical surveillance records must 

be made available to the affected employee upon request.

The rule requires that a training program be instituted for all employees who are likely to 

be exposed above the PELs and for those employees who perform asbestos removal, renovation, 

maintenance or construction-related custodial tasks. Employees must be provided access to the 

training materials, including self-help smoking cessation information. In addition, each 

construction project must be supervised by a competent person, who must have, in most cases, 

additional training. Employers are required to maintain records of training for one year beyond 

the last date of the worker’s employment.

Under, the rule, employers must presume that asbestos is present in thermal system 

insulation (TSI) and surfacing material installed in buildings built prior to 1981. Employers may

rebut this presumption in two ways, through the results of a building inspection that meets the 

requirements of the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) regulations at 40 CFR 

763.85, or by testing the material. Such records must be maintained for as long as they are relied 

upon to rebut the presumption.

Finally, the rule requires specific engineering control and work practice methods for each 

type of project. Employers are permitted to use alternative control methods if it is determined, in 

advance, that the alternative control method is adequate to reduce employee exposures below the 

PELs. For Class I projects, those that involve TSI, or surfacing material, an appropriatelyqualified person must certify that the alternative control method will reduce employee exposures 

below the PELs and that the method will also prevent asbestos contamination beyond the 

regulated area where the project will be performed. For larger Class I projects, the employer 

who wishes to use alternative control methods must provide EPA with a copy of the evaluation 

and certification before the alternative control methods are used. EPA assumes that employers 

will choose to use listed control methods rather than alternatives in these instances.

4(b)(ii)Respondent Activities

This section lists the major activities required of respondents, with specific steps 

necessary to fulfill all the conditions of the major activity. Respondents must:

A. Read and interpret regulations.
8

B. Develop a respirator program.

• Provide guidance on selection, use, and care of respirators.

• Provide periodic fit tests and maintain records of fit tests for one year.

C. Establish a monitoring program.

• Provide objective data showing that the PELs will not be exceeded, or

-- Initially monitor employee exposures if objective data are not 

provided;

-- Periodically monitor employees whose exposures are expected to 

exceed a PEL, unless such employees are provided with suppliedair respirators;

-- Notify workers of the results of employee exposure monitoring; 

and

-- Maintain records of all exposure measurements for 30 years.

D. Communicate hazards to employees.

• Have a competent person evaluate risk associated with Class I and II 

work;

• Notify employees engaged in asbestos-related work about the nature of the 

work prior to beginning the project; and

• Notify other employees and building occupants about the occurrence of 

the asbestos-related work.

E. Institute training programs.

• Provide training for all employees engaged in asbestos removal, 

renovation, maintenance and construction-related custodial activities, as 

well as for all other employees exposed above the PELs;

• Provide employees with access to information and training materials;

• Maintain training records for one year.

F. Institute a medical surveillance program.

• Provide medical examinations for all employees who engage in asbestos

removal, renovation, and maintenance projects, or who are exposed at or 

above a PEL for 30 or more days each year;

• Provide information to the examining physician;

• Obtain a completed medical questionnaire from the affected employee;
9

• Obtain a written opinion from the examining physician; and

• Maintain records of medical examinations for the duration of employment 

plus 30 years.

G. Provide access to records at employee and/or EPA request.

H. Institute training for competent persons.

• Provide training for competent persons who will supervise construction 

projects.

5. THE INFORMATION COLLECTED--AGENCY ACTIVITIES, COLLECTION 

METHODOLOGY, AND INFORMATION MANAGEMENT

5(a) Agency Activities

In connection with this information request, the Agency may:

(1) Perform inspections and respond to inquiries;

(2) Investigate complaints and handle legal matters; and

(3) Develop asbestos exposure assessments and epidemiological/diagnostic studies.

5(b) Collection Methodology and Management

Nothing in this information collection is derived from a survey or is form-related. EPA 

does not receive the data; therefore, EPA does not have any special data collection methodology

and management. All information subject to this collection request is to be gathered and retained 

by the employer. The regulations specify the methods to be used for employee exposure 

monitoring and medical surveillance, as well as the subjects to be covered in training. In 

general, the rule identifies what data must be collected and maintained without specifying a 

particular collection method. Therefore, industry has the option of utilizing improved data 

collection and maintenance technology.

5(c) Small Entity Flexibility

The only small entities potentially impacted by this rule are small government entities 

consisting of local governments (e.g., county, municipal, or towns) and school districts. The 

primary function of the statutory requirements of TSCA Section 6 is the protection of human 

health and the environment. Consequently, no specific provisions exist for easing the burden on 

small local government entities. The records required are as necessary for the protection of 

employees of small local governments as for other affected employees. However, State and local 
10

governments may use private contractors for the activities covered by the Asbestos Worker 

Protection Standard and, thus, avoid the recordkeeping burden themselves.

5(d) Collection Schedule 

Employers who use their own employees to conduct asbestos construction, custodial, or 

brake and clutch repair activities after the effective date of this rule will be subject to the 

information collection and recordkeeping requirements described above. Depending upon the 

type of project, some or all of the information collection and recordkeeping requirements must 

be complied with before the project commences. For example, in most instances, employers 

must provide and document training for their employees before they may participate in the 

asbestos-related activities covered by this rule.

6. ESTIMATING THE BURDEN AND COST OF THE COLLECTION

Section 6(a) discusses respondent burden, and Section 6(b) addresses respondent costs. 

Section 6(c) reports EPA burdens and costs, and Sections 6(d), 6(e), and 6(f) summarize 

respondent burdens, discuss changes in burden estimates, and provide the Federal Register 

burden statement, respectively.

6(a) Estimating Respondent Burden

The respondents for this rule are State and local governments in the 25 states, the District 

of Columbia and certain other U.S. territories that do not have OSHA-approved State plans. 

Tables 1 through 3 document EPA’s calculations of the respondent burden. Table 1 provides 

EPA’s estimates of the burden per response for each paperwork requirement. Table 2 provides 

EPA’s estimates of the total number of responses for each requirement. Finally, Table 3 

provides EPA’s estimates of total respondent burden by multiplying the burden per response 

(Table 1) and the total number of responses (Table 2) for each requirement.

At the time the Worker Protection Rule was promulgated, 27 states were subject to the 

Worker Protection Rule. The Economic Analysis for the Worker Protection Rule (EPA, 2000) 

was based on 27 states; it excluded the District of Columbia and certain other territories because 

of a lack of data, and thus underestimated both the costs and benefits of the rule. At the time the 

previous ICR (EPA, 2007) was prepared, New Jersey had since obtained an approved OSHA 

state plan for public sector employees. However, in the previous ICR, calculations were still 

based on 27 states, because EPA felt that calculating the burden for 27 entities (26 states, and an 

additional entity to represent the combined District of Columbia and territories) would correct 

the original underestimation for the District of Columbia and territories without state plans as 

well as compensate for the loss of one state subject to the WPR. 

For this ICR, respondent burden calculations are based on 26 entities, because Illinois has 

since adopted an approved OSHA state plan for public sector employees. Therefore, the number 

of affected entities was estimated following the methodology outlined in Appendices A and B of 
11

the economic analysis (EPA, 2000), but adjusted downward to account for Illinois adopting an 

OSHA approved state plan. All affected construction, custodial, and brake and clutch workers, 

crews, and projects located in Illinois were calculated following the methodology outlined in 

Chapter 2 and Appendices A and B of the economic analysis (EPA, 2000) and removed from the 

total annual response estimates. However, burden may be slightly overestimated, as the 

Economic Analysis noted that the District of Columbia and territories probably account for fewer 

affected buildings and workers than any of the other states. 

Typically, respondents will need three categories of labor to comply with the ICR 

requirements: supervisory, employee (e.g., asbestos abatement worker/custodial worker or brake 

and clutch repair mechanic), and clerical. In addition, exposure monitoring and developing a 

respiratory protection plan will require an industrial hygienist’s time.

The estimated burden hours and cost estimates for this ICR are based on data and 

methods discussed in the Economic Analysis for this rule and on OSHA ICRs for its 

Construction and General Industry Standards for Asbestos (U.S. EPA, 2000; OSHA, 2000a,b).

Table 1. Hourly Burden per Respondent

Collection Activity

Hourly Burden per Respondent

Clerical Employees Supervisory Industrial 

Hygienist Total

A) Read And Interpret Regulation - - 3.00 - 3.00

B) Respirator Program

1) Develop Program, Large Gov’s a- - - 4.00 4.00

2) Fit Testing

a) Full-Face Respirators - 0.25 0.25 - 0.50

b) Half-Mask-Face Respirators - 0.17 0.17 - 0.33

3) Maintain Records for Fit Tests 0.08 - - - 0.08

C) Exposure Monitoring

1) Initial Exposure Assessment

a) Construction - - - 2.00 2.00

b) Brake and Clutch Repair - - - 2.00 2.00

2) Maintain Records 0.08 - - - 0.08

3) Post Monitoring Results, 

Brake/Clutch 0.08 - - - 0.08

D) Hazard Communication

1) Evaluate Risk - - 0.75 - 0.75

2) Notify Employees

a) Construction - - 0.08 - 0.08

b) Brake and Clutch Repair - - 0.08 - 0.08

3) Notify Other Employees/ 

Tenants - - 0.08 - 0.08

E) Training

1) Provide Training

a) Class II - 32.00 - - 32.00

b) Class III - 16.00 - - 16.00
12

Collection Activity

Hourly Burden per Respondent

Clerical Employees Supervisory Industrial 

Hygienist Total

c) Class IV - 2.00 - - 2.00

2) Maintain Records 0.08 - - - 0.08

F) Medical Surveillance

1) Medical Exams - 0.75 0.75 - 1.50

2) Initial Questionnaire - 0.50 0.50 - 1.00

3) Periodic Questionnaire - 0.17 0.17 - 0.33

4) Information to Physicians 0.08 - - - 0.08

5) Physician’s Written Opinion 0.08 - - - 0.08

6) Maintain Records 0.08 - - - 0.08

G) Access to Records

1) Employee Access 0.08 - - - 0.08

2) EPA Access

a) Construction 0.08 - 0.08 - 0.17

b) Brake and Clutch Repair 0.08 - 0.08 - 0.17

H) Competent Person

1) Training

a) Class I and II b- - 14.00 - 14.00

b) Class III and IV b- - 3.00 - 3.00

2) Maintain Records 0.08 - - - 0.08

Total 0.92 51.83 23.00 8.00 83.75

Notes: Except where noted, these estimates reflect annual burden estimate for each response.

a) This burden is only incurred once every five years. EPA adjusted the number of responses in Table 2 to annualize total burden 

estimates in Table 3.

b) This is the annualized number of hours for this requirement. The Class II and Class IV competent person training occurs once every 

five years. 
13

Table 2. Total Annual Response Estimates

Collection Activity

Total Annualized Responses

Clerical Employees Supervisory Industrial 

Hygienist Total

A) Read And Interpret Regulation a0 0 375 0 375

B) Respirator Program

1) Develop Program, Large Gov’s b0 0 0 144 144

2) Fit Testing

a) Full-Face Respirators 0 38 38 0 76

b) Half-Mask-Face Respirators 0 2,610 2,610 0 5,220

3) Maintain Records for Fit Tests 2,648 0 0 0 2,648

C) Exposure Monitoring

1) Initial Exposure Assessment

a) Construction 0 0 0 4,081 4,081

b) Brake and Clutch Repair 0 0 0 1,296 1,296

2) Maintain Records 11,922 0 0 0 11,922

3) Post Monitoring Results, 

Brake/Clutch 2,874 0 0 0 2,874

D) Hazard Communication

1) Evaluate Risk 0 0 4,111 0 4,111

2) Notify Employees

a) Construction 0 0 458,116 0 458,116

b) Brake and Clutch Repair 0 0 11,496 0 11,496

3) Notify Other Employees/ 

Tenants 0 0 458,116 0 458,116

E) Training

1) Provide Training

a) Class II 0 1,945 0 0 1,945

b) Class III 0 805 0 0 805

c) Class IV 0 46,883 0 0 46,883

2) Maintain Records 49,633 0 0 0 49,633

F) Medical Surveillance

1) Medical Exams 0 1,740 1,148 0 2,888

2) Initial Questionnaire 0 83 55 0 138

3) Periodic Questionnaire 0 1,657 1,093 0 2,750

4) Information to Physicians 2,888 0 0 0 2,888

5) Physician’s Written Opinion 2,888 0 0 0 2,888

6) Maintain Records 2,888 0 0 0 2,888

G) Access to Records

1) Employee Access 5,534 0 0 0 5,534

2) EPA Access

a) Construction 4,602 0 4,602 0 9,204

b) Brake and Clutch Repair 29 0 29 0 57

H) Competent Person

1) Training

a) Class I and II 0 0 640 0 640
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Collection Activity

Total Annualized Responses

Clerical Employees Supervisory Industrial 

Hygienist Total

b) Class III and IV 0 0 26,479 0 26,479

2) Maintain Records 27,119 0 0 0 27,119

Total 113,024 55,761 968,907 5,521 1,143,213

Notes:

a) This burden was incurred by all supervisors over the three year period of the initial ICR. EPA assumes that five percent of the 

annual number of respondents from the initial ICR will incur the burden each year to account for turnover by supervisors. The number 

of responses in Table 2 (375) is five percent of the total number of townships (22,488) divided by 3 (22,488/3 =7,496).

b) This is the annualized number of responses. EPA assumes that respirator programs will require updating once every five years. 

Thus, this is calculated by dividing the total number of affected respondents (721 large governments with industrial hygienists on staff) 

by five. 
15

Table 3. Total Annual Burden Estimates

Collection Activity

Total Annual Burden Hours

Clerical Employees Supervisory Industrial 

Hygienist Total a

A) Read And Interpret Regulation 0 0 1,124 0 1,124

B) Respirator Program

1) Develop Program, Large Gov’s 0 0 0 577 577

2) Fit Testing

a) Full-Face Respirators 0 10 10 0 19

b) Half-Mask-Face Respirators 0 435 435 0 870

3) Maintain Records for Fit Tests 221 0 0 0 221

C) Exposure Monitoring

1) Initial Exposure Assessment

a) Construction 0 0 0 8,161 8,161

b) Brake and Clutch Repair 0 0 0 2,592 2,592

2) Maintain Records 994 0 0 0 994

3) Post Monitoring Results, 

Brake/Clutch 239 0 0 0 239

D) Hazard Communication

1) Evaluate Risk 0 0 3,083 0 3,062

2) Notify Employees

a) Construction 0 0 38,176 0 38,176

b) Brake and Clutch Repair 0 0 958 0 958

3) Notify Other Employees/ 

Tenants 0 0 38,176 0 38,176

E) Training

1) Provide Training

a) Class II 0 62,240 0 0 62,240

b) Class III 0 12,886 0 0 12,886

c) Class IV 0 93,766 0 0 93,766

2) Maintain Records 4,136 0 0 0 4,136

F) Medical Surveillance

1) Medical Exams 0 1,305 861 0 2,166

2) Initial Questionnaire 0 41 27 0 69

3) Periodic Questionnaire 0 276 182 0 458

4) Information to Physicians 241 0 0 0 241

5) Physician’s Written Opinion 241 0 0 0 241

6) Maintain Records 241 0 0 0 241

G) Access to Records

1) Employee Access 461 0 0 0 461

2) EPA Access

a) Construction 383 0 383 0 767

b) Brake and Clutch Repair 2.4 0 2.4 0 5

H) Competent Person

1) Training

a) Class I and II 0 0 8,960 0 8,960
16

Collection Activity

Total Annual Burden Hours

Clerical Employees Supervisory Industrial 

Hygienist Total a

b) Class III and IV 0 0 79,437 0 79,437

2) Maintain Records 2,260 0 0 0 2,260

Total 9,419 170,959 171,815 11,330 363,523

Note: a Totals may not sum due to rounding.

Reporting requirements vary among the different burden categories. Some categories 

impose annual paperwork burdens at the State or local government level while others impose 

paperwork burdens at the project or employee level1. EPA estimates that 22,488 State and local 

governments will be affected by these information collection activities and that these are the 

respondents for the ICR. However, many of these respondents will not be affected by all of the 

information collection requirements. Furthermore, the estimates presented here reflect the 

incremental hours and costs relative to the asbestos WPR that was in place prior to this rule. In 

the sections that follow, EPA discusses (a) each burden category, (b) the level at which the 

burden is applied, and (c) the data and assumptions used to derive burden estimates.

Activity-by-Activity Burden Estimation Methods

A. Reading and interpreting the regulation.

In the initial ICR, EPA assumed that at least one person at the State or local government 

would need to read and interpret the requirements of the rule. EPA expected that this person 

would be a construction supervisor. The supervisor would read the relevant sections of the 

Federal Register Notice as well as the relevant cross-referenced sections of OSHA’s 

Construction and General Industry Standards. Approximately half of the regulatory text, 

however, consists of technical appendices that will not be of direct importance to the supervisor. 

For example, most projects will not need to employ fit testing methods, and monitoring methods 

presumably will be performed by a contracted specialist. Given these assumptions, EPA 

projected that, on average, the supervisor would need three hours to read and understand the 

regulation. EPA expected that some supervisors would require more time to read and interpret 

the regulations while some would require less time. Thus, EPA assumed that on average a 

supervisor in each State or local government would need to spend three hours on this activity. 

This requirement, however, was assumed to be incurred only in the first year of the rule. To 

provide an annualized estimate of the burden over the three-year ICR period, EPA divided the 

total number of respondents (25,312 State and local governments (EPA, 2000) by three. This 

provided an annualized estimate of 8,437 responses. Thus, this activity was assumed to require 

25,312 hours on an annualized basis (8,437 responses × 3 hours).

 

1

Except for brake and clutch repair workers, the estimated numbers of employees reflect the numbers of 

full-time equivalents (FTEs). The estimated numbers of brake and clutch repair employees reflect the actual 

numbers of workers.
17

 Although the initial ICR assumed that this activity would be undertaken by supervisors 

only during the first year of the rule, the current ICR still needs to account for turnover by

supervisors. EPA is assuming that there will be a turnover of five percent of all supervisors 

annually and that the new supervisors will need to read and interpret the regulation. Thus, for 

purposes of this analysis, five percent of the annual respondents will spend three hours reading 

and interpreting the rule annually. This ICR also adjusts the number of annual respondents 

downward to account for one less state (Illinois) without an OSHA-approved state plan. Thus, 

this analysis assumes the total number of respondents to be 22,488 and an annualized estimate of 

7,496 responses (22,488 / 3). Therefore, this activity is assumed to require 1,124 hours on an 

annualized basis (7,496 responses × 5 percent × 3 hours).

B. Respirator Program.

The respiratory protection program under the rule encompasses three paperwork 

activities: (a) developing written guidance for implementing the respirator requirements of the 

rule, (b) fit testing, and (c) maintaining records of the fit tests.

Written standard operating procedures covering the care, use, and selection of respirators 

must be established for each workplace in which respirators are used. Much of the information 

needed to develop these procedures is specified in the OSHA asbestos standard for construction, 

as amended by OSHA’s 1998 respiratory protection standard (63 FR 1152; January 8, 1998). 

EPA assumed that large governments2 would have an industrial hygienist on staff who would 

need four hours to comply with this requirement. EPA assumes that small governments, on the 

other hand, will not have an industrial hygienist on staff and will instead contract out this service. 

Using the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) definition of small government, 21,767 affected 

governments (96.79 percent of the 22,488 total) would be classified as small, leaving 721 large 

governments with an industrial hygienist on staff. EPA further assumes that the respirator 

program will need updating every five years. Thus, dividing the total number of large 

governments by five yields 144 responses annually. Multiplying by the burden per response (4 

hours) results in an estimated annual burden of 577 hours of industrial hygienists’ time.

Fit testing imposes a requirement on both the worker being fit-tested and the worker’s 

supervisor who conducts the fit test. EPA estimates that fit tests for full-face respirators will 

require 15 minutes and half-mask respirators will require a fit test lasting 10 minutes. EPA 

further estimates that 38 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff will require full-face fit tests and 2,610 

FTE staff will require half-mask fit tests, annually. Thus, fit tests for full-face respirators will 

require 10 hours for both workers and supervisors (0.25 hours per fit test × 38 fit tests) and halfmask respirator fit tests will require 435 hours for both workers and supervisors (0.1667 hours × 

2,610 fit tests). In total, workers and supervisors will need to spend 445 hours each on fit-testing 

each year.

 

2

As defined by the Regulatory Flexibility Act, a small government is any specified government entity, 

excluding States, with jurisdiction over a population of less than 50,000. For purposes of this analysis, a large 

government would be any government entity not classified as small.
18

Maintaining records of the fit tests is assumed to require five minutes of clerical time for 

each fit test. Thus, a total of 2,648 fit tests will occur annually (38 for full-face respirators and 

2,610 for half-mask respirators), requiring 221 hours of clerical labor time each year (0.0833 

hours × 2,648 fit tests).

C. Exposure Monitoring.

The exposure monitoring section of the rule requires affected projects to perform periodic 

exposure monitoring unless a negative exposure assessment has been made. For the 

construction-related activities, this will require affected crews (i.e., groups of workers) to have 

an initial exposure assessment. EPA estimates that this will require two hours of an industrial 

hygienist’s time every three years. There are a total of 27,144 crews that must be evaluated, 

resulting in an annual average of 9,048 crews. As with developing respirator programs, EPA 

assumes that only large governments incur this as a paperwork burden3. Furthermore, EPA 

assumes that large governments will incur a disproportionate amount of the hours associated 

with this requirement. Specifically, EPA assumes that the number of crews employed by large 

governments is proportional to the populations of large governments. Based on data in the 

Economic Analysis for this rule, EPA estimates that 54.90 percent of the total population in the 

25 affected States, the District of Columbia and certain other U.S. territories resides in small 

local government jurisdictions4. Thus, EPA assumes that the remainder (45.10 percent) reside in 

large government jurisdictions. This implies that 4,081 annual responses are generated under 

this requirement (9,048 crews × 45.10 percent) in the construction sector. Multiplying by the 

burden per response (2 hours) results in an annual burden of 8,161 industrial hygienist hours.

Later

For brake and clutch repair activities (which are classified as a general industry activity), 

this provision will require affected repair shops to establish an exemption from periodic exposure 

monitoring. EPA estimates that this will require two hours of an industrial hygienist’s time 

annually. As noted above, only large governments with on-staff industrial hygienists will incur a 

paperwork burden under this rule. As with the number of crews above, EPA assumes that large 

governments will operate a disproportionate number of the affected brake and clutch shops. 

Specifically, EPA assumes that the number of affected brake and clutch shops in large 

governments is proportional to the population residing in large governmental jurisdictions. Thus, 

EPA estimates that 45.10 percent of all affected brake and clutch shops are owned by large State 

and local governments. Thus, the annual burden for this requirement is based on establishing 

exemptions at 1,296 repair shops (45.10 percent of the 2,874 affected repair shops) for an annual 

burden of 2,592 industrial hygienist hours.

 

3

EPA assumes that small local governments hire contractors to perform industrial hygiene tasks such as this.

4Total is calculated using the total state population and total population in small governments provided in Table 6-3 

of the Economic Analysis, and subtracting the total and small government population located in Illinois. (Total 

population of the 26 states = 129,415-11,846 = 117,569. Total population in small governments of the 26 states = 

74,625-10,078 = 64,547. Percent of the population in small governments = 64,547/117,569 = 54.90% )
19

In addition to performing the initial exposure assessment, the rule requires that records of 

the findings from the assessment be kept on file. EPA estimates that this activity will require 

five minutes of clerical time for each assessment. Although some of the assessments are 

performed by non-staff industrial hygienists (i.e., those for small local governments), records 

from all assessments will need to be kept on file. Thus, there are a total of 11,922 annual 

assessments for which records must be kept (9,048 in the construction sector and 2,874 in the 

brake and clutch sector). Multiplying by the burden per response (five minutes) yields an 

estimated annual clerical burden of 994 hours.

As part of the brake and clutch repair assessment, the rule requires that the results of any

exposure monitoring conducted pursuant to the rule be posted for employees to review. 

Following OSHA’s ICRs, EPA assumes that it will require five minutes of clerical time to post 

the results. All 2,874 repair shops will need to have results posted annually (i.e., shops owned by

both small and large governments), resulting in an annual burden of 239 clerical hours. 

D. Hazard Communication - Notification Requirements

The rule contains three notification requirements that will impose paperwork burdens: (a) 

evaluating the risk associated with Class I and II work, (b) notifying employees engaged in 

asbestos-related work about the nature of the work, and (c) notifying other employees (i.e., 

employees not engaged in asbestos-related work) and building occupants about the occurrence of 

asbestos-related work.

The rule requires competent persons to evaluate the risk associated with asbestos-related 

construction projects. EPA assumes that this only imposes a paperwork burden on Class I and II 

projects. EPA assumes that other covered activities (Class III and IV projects and new 

construction activities) can be evaluated without any incremental burden. Following OSHA’s 

Asbestos Construction Standard ICR, EPA assumes that this will impose a burden of 45 minutes 

of supervisory time for each Class I and II project. A total 4,111 Class I and II projects are 

covered by the rule, implying a total annual burden of 3,083 supervisory hours (0.75 hours × 

4,111 projects).

The rule also requires employers to notify employees that will be performing asbestosrelated work prior to beginning the project. For construction activities, EPA assumes that this 

will require 5 minutes of a construction supervisor’s time for all affected projects. EPA excludes 

Class IV custodial projects from this burden estimate because custodial activities are assumed to 

occur continuously over the course of the year and are not generally divided into discrete 

“projects.”5 Based on data in the Economic Analysis, EPA estimates that 458,116 construction 

projects will require these notifications. Multiplying the estimated number of projects by five 

minutes (0.0833 hours) yields an estimated 38,176 construction supervisor hours to comply with 

this requirement (458,116 projects × 0.0833 hours).

 

5

In providing costs for the Economic Analysis for the rule, EPA did estimate a number of projects for custodial 

work. That estimate, however, was used only to estimate materials usage for some of the compliance requirements.
20

For brake and clutch repair, EPA assumes that this requirement will be incurred four 

times (e.g., quarterly) each year at each brake and clutch repair shop. Furthermore, EPA 

assumes that compliance with this requirement will impose a five minute burden on brake and 

clutch repair supervisors. There are 2,874 repair shops, so the annual burden for this requirement 

among brake and clutch repair shops will be 958 hours (2,874 shops × 0.0833 hours × 4 times 

annually).

Finally, the rule requires employers to notify other employees (i.e., those not performing 

the asbestos-related work) and tenants about the occurrence of asbestos-related work in the 

building. EPA assumes that this will be incurred only by construction projects and will impose a 

burden of five minutes of supervisory time per project. Using the methodology outlined in the 

Economic Analysis for the rule, EPA estimates that 458,116 projects will be affected by this 

requirement. Multiplying by the burden per response (five minutes), results in an estimated 

burden of 38,176 hours of supervisory time annually to comply with this requirement (458,116 

projects × 0.0833 hours).

E. Training Program.

The rule requires affected construction workers to be trained based on the Class of work 

they perform. Training requirements for Class I abatement workers are not incremental to the 

rule and thus do not impose an incremental paperwork burden. The annual training requirements 

are 32 hours for Class II workers, 16 hours for Class III workers, including new construction 

projects, and 2 hours for Class IV workers. EPA estimates that training will be required for 

1,945 Class II workers, 805 Class III workers, and 46,883 Class IV workers. This implies annual 

training requirements of 62,240 hours for Class II workers (32 hours × 1,945 workers), 12,886 

hours for Class III workers (16 hours × 805 workers), and 93,776 hours for Class IV workers (2 

hours × 46,883 workers). The total annual employee hours required for training is 168,892.

Records of the training must be kept on file for each worker who is trained. EPA 

assumes that this will require five minutes of clerical time per worker trained. A total of 49,633 

workers will be trained annually (1,945 Class II workers + 805 Class III workers + 46,883 Class 

IV workers), requiring 4,136 clerical hours annually to maintain these records (49,633 × 0.0833 

hours).

The rule also requires employers to maintain training materials on file for employees to 

access. The burden associated with this requirement has been included in the burden estimate 

under Employee Access to Records, below.

F. Medical Surveillance. 

The rule requires a medical exam for Class I, II, or III employees, including new 

construction workers, and for workers who are exposed at or above the PEL for more than 30 

days annually. The medical surveillance section of the rule will impose five paperwork activities 

on affected entities: (1) medical exams, (2) initial and periodic questionnaires, (3) providing 

information to physicians, (4) obtaining the physician’s written opinion, and (5) maintaining 
21

records of the medical exam. In estimating the paperwork burden for this requirement, EPA 

does not include the physician’s time as part of the burden estimate. EPA assumes that the 

physicians performing these activities are not part of the affected entities’ staff, but provide these 

services under contract.

EPA assumes that all Class II and III construction workers will need to undergo medical 

exams each year. Although Class I workers will also require medical exams, the 1987 EPA 

asbestos WPR covers these activities and thus medical exams are not incremental for Class I 

workers under the revised rule. Based on the Economic Analysis for this rule, EPA estimates 

that 2,695 workers will require medical exams. Of this total, 1,093 are supervisors (one for each 

crew; 640 Class II crews and 453 in Class III) and 1,657 are non-supervisory construction 

workers. To account for turnover, EPA inflated each of these estimates by five percent. Thus, 

each year, a total of 2,888 workers, including 1,148 supervisors and 1,740 non-supervisory

construction workers, will require medical exams. EPA assumes that these exams will require 45 

minutes each, imposing an annual burden of 2,166 hours (1,305 hours for construction workers 

and 861 hours for supervisors).

The rule also requires that workers undergoing medical exams fill out medical 

questionnaires designed to assess current and past asbestos-related risk. For a first-year worker’s 

initial exam under the rule, the worker must fill out an initial medical questionnaire. For 

subsequent exams, the worker fills out an abbreviated form of that questionnaire (i.e., the 

periodic questionnaire). Both of these questionnaires can be found in OSHA’s Construction 

Standard (29 CFR 1926.1101, Appendix D). EPA estimates the annual number of initial exams 

given to first-year workers for this three-year ICR period as five percent of the number of initial 

exams that took place during the first three-year period of the ICR. Thus, 55 supervisors (1,093 

× .05) and 83 non-supervisory construction workers (1,657 × .05) will fill out initial 

questionnaires annually. EPA assumes that completing the initial questionnaire imposes a 

burden of one half-hour. Thus, completing initial questionnaires will impose an annual burden 

of 27 hours on supervisory construction workers (55 workers x .5 hour) and 41 hours on nonsupervisory construction workers (83 workers x .5 hour).

EPA assumes that all workers who undergo a non-initial exam will be required to 

complete a periodic questionnaire each year. Thus, EPA estimates that 1,093 supervisors and 

1,657 non-supervisory workers will complete the periodic questionnaire each year. EPA 

assumes that the periodic questionnaire will take 10 minutes to complete. Thus, this requirement 

imposes a burden of 182 hours on supervisors (1,093 workers × 0.1667 hours) and 276 hours on 

non-supervisory construction workers (1,657 workers × 0.1667 hours).

The rule requires employers to provide examining physicians with a number of pieces of 

information, including:

 A copy of the OSHA Construction Standard including Appendices D, E, and I of the 

Standard;

 A description of the employee’s duties;

 The employee’s representative exposure level;
22

 A description of any personal protective equipment used by the employee; and 

 Information from previous medical exams that is not otherwise available to the 

physician.

EPA assumes that providing this information will impose a five-minute burden for each annual 

medical exam and that affected government entities will use clerical labor to comply with this 

requirement. There are a total of 2,888 medical exams (initial and non-initial) performed 

annually (1,148 for supervisory construction workers and 1,740 for non-supervisory construction 

workers). Thus, this requirement will impose an annual burden of 241 clerical hours.

The rule requires employers to obtain a written opinion from the physician for each 

medical exam. EPA assumes that obtaining the physician’s written opinion will impose a fiveminute burden for each annual medical exam and that affected government entities will use 

clerical labor to comply with this requirement. There are a total of 2,888 medical exams 

performed annually. Thus, obtaining the physician’s written opinion will impose an annual 

burden of 241 clerical hours.

The rule requires employers to maintain medical records for each employee. EPA 

assumes that maintaining medical records will impose a five-minute burden for each annual 

medical exam and that affected government entities will use clerical labor to comply with this 

requirement. There are a total of 2,888 medical exams performed annually. Thus, EPA 

estimates that maintaining medical records will impose an annual burden of 241 clerical hours.

G. Access to Records.

The rule requires affected employers (a) to allow employees access to a variety of records 

and (b) to allow the EPA to inspect those records. 

EPA assumes that allowing employees to access their own records will require five 

clerical minutes for each occurrence. EPA estimates that 55,335 employees will be affected by

the rule and that 10 percent of those will access their own records each year. Thus, employees 

will access records 5,534 times annually. This results in a total annual burden of 461 clerical 

hours.

EPA assumes that its access to employer records will require five minutes for both a 

clerical worker and a supervisor for each time the Agency accesses records. For the construction 

sector, EPA assumes that this will occur in approximately five percent of Class I projects and 

one percent of new construction and Class II, III, and IV projects. For brake and clutch work, 

EPA assumes that one-percent of all brake and clutch repair shops will be inspected annually. 

Based on these assumptions, EPA will access the records of 4,602 construction projects each 

year and the records of 29 brake and clutch repair shops. Thus EPA will access records 4,631

times annually. This results in a total annual burden of 383 hours of both clerical and 

supervisory time for construction-related work and a total annual burden of 2.4 hours of both 

clerical and supervisory time for brake and clutch repair.
23

H. Competent Person.

The rule requires all construction work sites that are covered by the rule to be supervised 

by an individual trained as a competent person. This will require affected State and local 

governments to train one person from each work crew as a competent person. EPA assumes that 

competent person training for Class I crews is not incremental to the rule. For Class II work, 

EPA competent person training will require a 40-hour training course every five years with an 

eight-hour course in all other years. The average annual training hours for Class II competent 

persons during the three-year period of the ICR can be calculated as follows: 8 hours + 32 

hours/5 years = 14.4, rounded to 14 hours per year. The 32 hours is the additional training 

beyond the 8 hours of training that occurs each year (40 hours – 8 hours = 32 hours) which is 

annualized over a five-year period (32/5 = 6.4, rounded to 6), and then added to the annual 

training requirement of 8 hours, for a total of 14 hours average training per year. This can be 

applied to the 640 supervisors that must be trained as Class II competent persons, for an annual 

burden of 8,960 hours. 

For Class III and IV workers, including new construction workers, EPA assumes that 

competent person training will require a 16-hour training course once every five years. Thus, the 

average annual burden for training Class III and IV competent persons is 3 hours (16 hours/ 5 

years rounded to 3 hours). This can be applied to 26,479 supervisors that must be trained as 

Class III or IV competent persons, for an annual burden of 79,437 supervisor hours.

In addition to training, records must be kept to document that the persons have been 

trained. EPA assumes that for each person trained, affected State and local governments will 

incur a burden of five minutes of clerical time. Based on the estimates above, a total of 27,119

competent persons will be trained annually (640 under Class II and 26,479 under Class III and 

IV). Thus, maintaining records of competent person training will require 2,260 clerical hours 

(27,119 competent persons x (5min./60/min.)) annually.

Summary of Burden Estimates

Table 3 summarizes the total burdens associated with each of the categories discussed 

above. EPA estimates that the total annual respondent burden for this ICR will be 363,523 

hours. The ICR affects a total 22,488 respondents (i.e., all affected State and local 

governments). The total number of annual responses is estimated to be 1,143,213 (see Table 2), 

a decrease in 120,910 responses from the last ICR, and an average of about 51 responses per 

respondent. The burden per respondent is 16.16 hours ([363,523 burden hours]/[22,488 

respondents]) and the average burden per response is 0.32 hours ([363,523 burden hours]/[

1,143,213 responses]) .

6(b) Estimating Respondent Costs

Table 4 provides an estimate of respondent costs, based on the burden estimates (Table 3) 

and the following hourly labor cost assumptions:
24

• Clerical labor costs $22.21 per hour,

• Construction employee (non-supervisory) labor costs $31.35 per hour,

• Brake and clutch repair employee labor costs $27.80 per hour,

• Construction supervisor labor costs $45.37 per hour,

• Brake and clutch repair supervisor labor costs $43.80 per hour, and

• Industrial hygienist labor costs $54.67 per hour.

These hourly labor costs reflect both wage and non-wage benefits for these categories of 

employees in year 2008 dollars. The derivation of the labor costs appear in Attachment D to the 

ICR. Cost estimates in Table 4 are derived by multiplying the respondent burden hours for each 

requirement by the appropriate hourly labor cost from above.

Table 4. Total Annual Cost of Respondent Burden Hours

Collection Activity

Total Annual Hourly Industry Burden 

Clerical Employees Supervisory Industrial 

Hygienist Total

I) Read And Interpret Regulation $0 $0 $50,994 $0 $50,994

II) Respirator Program

A) Develop Program, Large Gov’s $0 $0 $0 $31,545 $31,545

B) Fit Testing

1) Full-Face Respirators $0 $298 $431 $0 $729

2) Half-Mask-Face Respirators $0 $13,639 $19,735 $0 $33,374

C) Maintain Records for Fit Tests $4,908 $0 $0 $0 $4,908

III) Exposure Monitoring

A) Initial Exposure Assessment

1) Construction $0 $0 $0 $446,162 $446,162

2) Brake and Clutch Repair $0 $0 $0 $141,705 $141,705

B) Maintain Records $22,074 $0 $0 $0 $22,074

C) Post Monitoring Results, Brake/Clutch $5,307 $0 $0 $0 $5,307

IV) Hazard Communication

A) Evaluate Risk $0 $0 $139,871 $0 $139,871

B) Notify Employees

1) Construction $0 $0 $1,731,984 $0 $1,731,984

2) Brake and Clutch Repair $0 $0 $41,958 $0 $41,958

C) Notify Other Employees/ Tenants $0 $0 $1,731,984 $0 $1,731,984

V) Training

A) Provide Training

1) Class II $0 $1,951,498 $0 $0 $1,951,498

2) Class III $0 $404,033 $0 $0 $404,033

3) Class IV $0 $2,939,977 $0 $0 $2,939,977

B) Maintain Records $91,847 $0 $0 $0 $91,847

VI) Medical Surveillance
25

Collection Activity

Total Annual Hourly Industry Burden 

Clerical Employees Supervisory Industrial 

Hygienist Total

A) Medical Exams $0 $40,917 $39,062 $0 $79,980

B) Initial Questionnaire $0 $1,299 $1,240 $0 $2,539

C) Periodic Questionnaire $0 $8,660 $8,267 $0 $16,926

D) Information to Physicians $5,344 $0 $0 $0 $5,344

E) Physician’s Written Opinion $5,344 $0 $0 $0 $5,344

F) Maintain Records $5,344 $0 $0 $0 $5,344

VII) Access To Records

A) Employee Access $10,240 $0 $0 $0 $10,240

B) EPA Access

1) Construction $8,516 $0 $17,399 $0 $25,915

2) Brake and Clutch Repair $53 $0 $105 $0 $158

VIII) Competent Person

A) Training

1) Class I and II $0 $0 $406,501 $0 $406,501

2) Class III and IV $0 $0 $3,603,945 $0 $3,603,945

B) Maintain Records $50,186 $0 $0 $0 $50,186

Total $209,164 $5,360,320 $7,793,475 $619,411 $13,982,371

 Note: Totals may not sum due to rounding.

Based on the above hourly labor cost data, EPA has calculated the total respondent cost 

to be approximately $14 million annually. This translates into a per respondent cost of $621.776. 

The total respondent cost has decreased from the last ICR because of the reduced number of 

respondents, while the per-respondent burden has increased because of labor cost increases since 

the previous ICR (see Attachment D). 

6(c) Estimating Agency Burden and Cost

Table 5 shows the estimated Agency burden associated with this ICR. EPA has 

determined that only one Agency activity will create a burden under the rule: inspecting projects. 

Projects can be inspected for two reasons: (a) as part of the neutral administrative inspection 

program or (b) in response to a complaint. In the previous ICR, EPA provided separate estimates 

for each category. However, the data in the Economic Analysis do not allow EPA to make such 

a distinction in this ICR because of the expanded scope of the rule.

For the construction sector, EPA assumes that five percent of Class I projects and one 

percent of new construction and Class II, III, and IV projects will be inspected annually. For 

brake and clutch work, EPA assumed that one percent of all brake and clutch repair shops will be 

inspected annually. EPA further assumes that inspections of Class I and Class II construction 

 

6

This estimate is based on 22,488 affected State and local governments that comprise the set of 

respondents. 
26

projects and brake and clutch establishments will require one hour of an inspector’s time and that 

inspections of Class III and IV construction projects (including new construction projects) will 

require 15 minutes. EPA used these assumptions in combination with estimates of the numbers 

of projects and brake and clutch establishments to generate estimates of the time required to 

comply:

• Based on an estimated 519 Class I construction projects, EPA will inspect 26 Class I

projects annually (519 projects × 5 percent) requiring 26 hours for Class I 

construction project inspections.

• Based on an estimated 3,592 Class II construction projects, EPA will inspect 36 Class 

II projects annually (3,592 projects × 1 percent) requiring 36 hours for Class II 

construction project inspections.

• Based on an estimated 453,515 non-custodial Class III and IV construction projects, 

including new construction projects, EPA will inspect 4,535 non-custodial Class III 

and IV projects annually (453,515 projects × 1 percent) requiring 1,134 hours for 

non-custodial Class III and IV construction project inspections based on an estimated 

2,874 brake and clutch repair shops, EPA will inspect 29 brake and clutch repair 

shops annually (2,874 shops × 1 percent) requiring 29 hours for brake and clutch 

repair shop inspections.

In total, EPA will incur an annual requirement of 1,224 hours associated with inspections.

A GS-9, Step 1 base salary of $39,795 was used to calculate costs for inspections7. The 

annual salary was then inflated by a factor of 1.6 to account for overhead and benefits8. Thus, 

the fully loaded annual labor cost for Federal employees who will conduct the inspections under 

this ICR is $63,672. Based on a 2,080 hour work year, the fully loaded hourly labor cost is 

$30.61 for a GS-9 employee.

Table 5. Annual Agency Burden and Cost Estimate

Activity Burden Hours Cost

Inspections (GS-9-Step 1) 1,224 $37,481 

Total 1,224 $37,481 

 

7

Salary figure taken from: U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), 2008. 2008 General Schedule (Not 

Including Locality Rates of Pay), January. Because 25 different states, the District of Columbia and certain 

territories are covered by this rule, it is not possible to include a single locality pay raise adjustment that would apply 

to all of them. Therefore, EPA used OPM’s general schedule as an estimate of the annual salary.

8

U.S. EPA, 1996. Draft ICR Handbook, EPA’s Guide to Writing Information Collection Requests Under the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, p. A-36 September, 1996.
27

6(d) Bottom Line Burden Hour and Costs

The total annual respondent and Agency tallies for this information collection are as 

follows:

Respondent Burden Hours: 363,523

Respondent Cost: $13,982,371

Agency Burden Hours: 1,224

Agency Cost: $37,481

6(e) Reasons for Change in Burden

This request reflects a decrease of 40,228 hours (from 403,751 hours to 363,523 hours) in 

the total estimated respondent burden from that currently in the OMB inventory, representing a 

decrease of approximately 10 percent. The principal reason for this decrease is because Illinois 

has adopted an OSHA-approved state plan since the last published ICR, reducing the number of 

affected states from 26 to 25 (and the District of Columbia). This reduced the number of 

respondents by approximately 11 percent, from 25,312 to 22,488 respondents. All affected 

construction, custodial, and brake and clutch workers, crews, and projects located in Illinois were 

calculated following the methodology outlined in Chapter 2 and Appendices A and B of the 

economic analysis (EPA, 2000) and removed from the total annual response estimates. While the 

total burden has been reduced from the last ICR, the burden per respondent has increased to 

16.16 hours, from 15.95 hours.

6(f) Burden Statement

The annual public burden for this collection of information, which is approved under 

OMB Control No. 2070-0072, is estimated to average 0.32 hours per response. According to the 

Paperwork Reduction Act, “burden” means the total time, effort, or financial resources expended 

by persons to generate, maintain, retain, or disclose or provide information to or for a Federal 

agency. For this collection it includes the time needed to review instructions; develop, acquire, 

install, and utilize technology and systems for the purposes of collecting, validating, and 

verifying information, processing and maintaining information, and disclosing and providing 

information; adjust the existing ways to comply with any previously applicable instructions and 

requirements; train personnel to be able to respond to a collection of information; search data 

sources; complete and review the collection of information; and transmit or otherwise disclose 

the information. An Agency may not conduct or sponsor such a request and a person or facility 

is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB 

control number. The OMB control numbers for EPA’s regulations in title 40 of the CFR, after 

appearing in the Federal Register, are listed in 40 CFR part 9 and included on the related 

collection instrument or form, if applicable.

To comment on the Agency’s need for this information, the accuracy of the provided 

burden estimates, and any suggested methods for minimizing respondent burden, including the 
28

use of automated collection techniques, EPA has established a public docket for this ICR under 

Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OPPT-2010-0487. The docket is available for public viewing at the 

Pollution Prevention and Toxics Docket in the EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC). The EPA/DC 

Public Reading Room is located in the EPA West Building, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., 

NW., Washington, DC. The EPA/DC Public Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., 

Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the EPA/DC 

Public Reading Room is (202) 566-1744, and the telephone number for the Pollution Prevention 

and Toxics Docket is (202) 566-0280. An electronic version of the public docket is available 

through the Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) at www.regulations.gov. Use FDMS 

to submit or view public comments, access the index listing of the contents of the public docket, 

and to access those documents in the public docket that are available electronically. Once in the 

system, select “search,” then key in the docket ID number identified above. Also, you can send 

comments to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and 

Budget, 725 17th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20503, Attention: Desk Office for EPA. Please 

include the EPA Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OPPT-2010-0487 and OMB control number 2070-

0072 in any correspondence.
29

References for Section 6

OSHA, 2000a. Supporting Statement for the Information Collection Requirements of the

Asbestos Standard (Construction), OMB Approval Number 1218-0134.

OSHA, 2000b. Supporting Statement for the Information Collection Requirements of the

Asbestos Standard (General Industry), OMB Approval Number 1218-0133.

U.S. EPA, 2000. U.S. EPA, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics Final Asbestos Worker

Protection Rule Economic Analysis, Economic and Policy Analysis Branch, Economics,

Exposure and Technology Division, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics,

September 25.

U.S. EPA, 2007.. U.S. EPA, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, ICR No. 1246.10.

[Information Collection Request for] Reporting and Recordkeeping for Asbestos

Abatement Worker Protection: Supporting Statement for Request for OMB Review under

the Paperwork Reduction Act, February 1, 2007..