Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 218 / Wednesday, November 12, 1997 / Proposed Rules 60673

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Mine Safety and Health Administration

30 CFR Part 50

Draft Program Policy Letter on

Reporting Occupational Illness

AGENCY: Mine Safety and Health

Administration, Labor.

ACTION: Request for comments.

SUMMARY: The Mine Safety and Health

Administration (MSHA) voluntarily

requests comments on a draft Program

Policy Letter (PPL) that restates the

reporting requirements of 30 CFR part

50 as they apply to occupational

illnesses among miners, including

retired or inactive miners. MSHA is

publishing this notice to afford an

opportunity for interested persons to

comment on the draft PPL before it is

issued.

DATES: Submit comments on or before

January 12, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to

George M. Fesak, Program Evaluation

and Information Resources, Mine Safety

and Health Administration, 4015

Wilson Boulevard, Room 715,

Arlington, Virginia 22203. Commenters

are encouraged to submit comments on

a computer disk or via e-mail to

gfesak@msha.gov, along with an original

hard copy.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

George Fesak or Jay Mattos, 703–235–

8378.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Paperwork Reduction Act

The information collection

requirements associated with this policy

are approved by the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB) under

OMB control number 1219–0007.

II. Background

MSHA updates its policies for

enforcement of safety and health

regulations through Program Policy

Letters (PPL’s). These PPL’s are Agency

interpretations of what existing MSHA

regulations require; they are not new

regulations. Therefore, PPL’s do not

impose new requirements, but explain

or clarify how regulations work or apply

in a particular situation. These PPL’s are

used by MSHA inspectors, miners, mine

operators, and mining equipment

manufacturers as guidance in

determining how best to comply with

MSHA regulations. Once adopted, the

policy statements are published in the

MSHA Program Policy Manual and

given wide distribution.

To increase public participation in

selected draft PPL’s, MSHA is

voluntarily requesting comments and

suggestions from the public, especially

from people who would be directly

affected by the selected PPL’s. By this

notice, MSHA is affording an

opportunity for public comment on a

draft PPL that restates the reporting

requirements for occupational illnesses.

The text of the draft PPL follows this

supplemental information. MSHA will

consider all timely submitted comments

before finalizing the PPL.

III. Discussion of Draft Policy

The mining industry has made

significant improvements over the last

few decades in protecting the health and

safety of the men and women who work

in the nation’s mines. Significant

progress has been made in reducing the

number of fatal mining accidents and

cases of occupational illness, but some

miners continue to suffer from workrelated illnesses such as black lung

disease, occupational asthma, silicosis,

asbestos-related diseases, and

musculoskeletal disorders, conditions

which can disable miners and

sometimes lead to premature death.

In order for the mining community to

accurately assess the risks to miners’

health, accurate information on miningrelated illnesses and deaths is essential.

The primary way for MSHA to receive

data on occupational illnesses is

through the reporting requirements of

30 CFR part 50. Reports under part 50

provide MSHA with comprehensive

information about the nature and extent

of work-related illnesses in the mining

industry. Part 50 occupational illness

reports alert MSHA to potential health

hazards and expedite corrective action

to reduce or eliminate hazards. They

also allow MSHA to verify that current

health hazard controls are effective, to

tailor its health-related education and

training efforts, and to provide effective

technical assistance to miners and

operators.

Some work-related illnesses, such as

cyanide poisoning, are acute illnesses.

Other occupational illnesses may take

years to detect or develop and may not

be recognized until after a miner leaves

employment. As a result, a miner may

be retired or otherwise off-work or

deceased before an occupational illness

is diagnosed or an award of

compensation is made. Reporting the

occupational illnesses of retired and

former miners, along with active miners,

is essential for providing a true picture

of health conditions and practices in the

mining industry, as well as for

evaluating the effectiveness of controls

in preventing work-related disease.

Section 50.20(a) requires mine

operators, including independent

contractors, to submit a report to MSHA

when they are notified or otherwise

learn that a miner has an illness which

may have resulted from work in a mine,

or for which an award of compensation

has been made. Within 10 working days

of becoming aware of such a diagnosis

or award of compensation, the operator

is required to report the occurrence by

completing and mailing a Form 7000–1

to MSHA. An intent to contest the

award or diagnosis does not relieve the

mine operator of the responsibility to

file the required report within 10

working days. (However, an operator

need not report to MSHA within 10

working days any chest x-ray result if

the operator is actively seeking a more

definitive second opinion in a timely

manner and has supporting

documentation.)

Since 1978, when MSHA’s part 50

requirements took effect, some mine

operators have reported cases of

occupational illness in retired and

inactive miners formerly employed at

the operators’ mines. For example, in

the past 5 years, one mine operator

reported a case of lung disease to the

Agency, stating that the ‘‘former

employee has been informed by his

doctor that he has contracted an

occupational disease.’’ Another mine

operator reported to MSHA that an

‘‘employee has received an award from

workers comp for exposure to coal dust

* * * employee is now retired from this

mine.’’ A third mine operator reported

cases of noise-induced hearing loss

among retired miners. MSHA is

concerned, however, that other mine

operators have limited their reporting to

miners who are still working when an

occupational illness is diagnosed and

that some mine operators have not

reported all known work-related

illnesses to the Agency. As an example,

MSHA has learned of a miner who left

his work and died while awaiting a lung

transplant for silicosis; his illness was

not reported to the Agency. Limiting

reporting to currently employed miners

understates the risk of work-related

illness in mining and impairs MSHA’s

ability to take necessary corrective

action to reduce hazards and protect the

health of miners.

MSHA previously clarified the issue

of reporting responsibilities on retired

or inactive miners in 1987 by issuing

Program Information Bulletin (PIB) No.

87–4C/87–2M for the purpose of ‘‘* * *

clarify[ing] operator compliance

responsibilities for reporting

occupational illnesses * * *’’ The PIB

stated that the reporting requirements of

30 CFR part 50 apply ‘‘* * * regardless
60674 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 218 / Wednesday, November 12, 1997 / Proposed Rules

of whether the individual is currently

working as a miner.’’ The PIB was

distributed to the entire mining

community including every coal, metal,

and nonmetal mine operator in the

United States, as well as to key officials

of trade and labor associations in the

mining community. The text of the PIB

is included as Appendix I of this notice.

A list of the individuals to whom the

PIB was distributed can be obtained

from the Agency.

The 1987 PIB was never formally

withdrawn, but neither was it

incorporated into MSHA’s Program

Policy Manual, which was first issued

in 1988. This may have caused

confusion among some mine operators

and even certain MSHA personnel about

the responsibility to report cases of

occupational illness in retired or

otherwise inactive miners. This PPL

will eliminate any ambiguity about the

reporting requirements under part 50.

Beginning on the effective date of the

PPL, MSHA will observe a grace period

of 90 days to allow for unreported cases

of occupational illness in retired or

inactive miners from the previous 5

years to be submitted to MSHA in

accordance with 30 CFR part 50 without

penalty. This grace period will be

announced at the time the PPL is issued.

MSHA is issuing this PPL to restate its

occupational illness reporting

requirements. The purpose of the PPL is

to eliminate possible confusion about

the reporting requirements as they apply

to occupational illnesses among miners,

including retired or inactive miners.

MSHA requests written comments

regarding the PPL from interested

persons.

Draft Program Policy Letter

Subject: Reporting Occupational Illness

Scope: This Program Policy Letter

(PPL) applies to mine operators,

including independent contractors, and

Mine Safety and Health Administration

(MSHA) enforcement personnel.

Purpose: This PPL clarifies and

restates MSHA’s requirements for

reporting occupational illnesses,

including cases involving retired or

inactive miners, under 30 CFR Part 50.

Policy: Under 30 CFR 50.20(a), mine

operators and independent contractors

are required to submit a report to MSHA

when they are notified of a diagnosis or

otherwise learn that a miner has an

illness which may have resulted from

work in a mine, or for which an award

of compensation has been made. These

reporting requirements apply regardless

of the employment status of the miner

(i.e., active, retired, otherwise off-work,

or deceased) at the time of the diagnosis

or award. Within 10 working days of

becoming aware of such a compensation

award or diagnosis, the operator is

required to report the occurrence by

completing and mailing a Form 7000–1

to MSHA. An intent to contest the

award or diagnosis does not relieve the

mine operator of the responsibility to

file the required report within 10

working days. (The limited exception is

that an operator need not report to

MSHA within 10 working days any

chest x-ray result for which the operator

is actively seeking a more definitive

second opinion in a timely manner and

has supporting documentation, as stated

in Program Policy Manual Vol. III, 50.2.)

Effective Date: After considering

comments from the public, MSHA

anticipates that this PPL will take effect

on March 12, 1998 and will be

incorporated into MSHA’s Program

Policy Manual.

Authority: Section 103(h) of the Federal

Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977.

J. Davitt McAteer,

Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and

Health.

Appendix I

[Note: This is the text of the Program

Information Bulletin that was widely

distributed to the mining community in

1987. No changes have been made to the text.

It is reprinted here solely for the convenience

of miners, mine operators, and independent

contractors.]

August 31, 1987

MSHA Program Information Bulletin No. 87–

4C and 87–2M

Subject: Reporting Occupational Illnesses to

MSHA

The purpose of this Bulletin is to clarify

operator compliance responsibilities for

reporting occupational illnesses under the

Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977.

Title 30, Code of Federal Regulations, Part

50 requires mine operators to report

occupational illnesses of miners. A miner is

defined as ‘‘any individual working in a

mine,’’ and occupational illness is defined as

‘‘an illness or disease which may have

resulted from work at a mine or for which an

award of compensation is made.’’ Illnesses

that are reportable include noise-induced

hearing loss, silicosis, coal workers’

pneumoconiosis (black lung), poisoning by

toxic materials, and cancer. Part 50 further

requires that the operator mail a completed

Form 7000–1 to the Mine Safety and Health

Administration (MSHA) within 10 working

days after a miner is diagnosed as having an

occupational illness.

Industry reporting activity for occupational

illnesses suggests there is operator

uncertainty about the relationship between

Part 50 reporting obligations and the

information provided to the operator through

Federal and State occupational illness

compensation programs.

In order to ensure that data reported by

mine operators reflects the incidence of

occupational illnesses associated with the

mining industry, the reporting requirements

of Part 50 apply when compensation

programs provide an operator notice that an

individual has been awarded compensation

for or is diagnosed as having an occupational

illness resulting from employment in a mine,

regardless of whether the individual is

currently working as a miner. Thus, within

10 days of becoming aware of any such

compensation award or diagnosis, the

operator must report the occurrence by

completing and mailing a Form 7000–1 to

MSHA.

Accordingly, effective 30 days after the

issuance date of this Bulletin, MSHA will

require that operators report occupational

illnesses consistent with the Part 50

regulations and the clarification provided by

this bulletin. MSHA’s district and subdistrict

offices will be pleased to provide additional

guidance or assistance regarding the

reporting of occupational illnesses and the

proper completion of the Form 7000–1.

Roy. L Bernard,

Administrator, Metal and Nonmetal Mine

Safety and Health.

Jerry L. Spicer,

Administrator, Coal Mine Safety and Health.

Inquiries

William H. Sutherland, Chief, Division of

Health, Coal Mine Safety and Health, (703)

235–1358

Marvin W. Nichols, Jr., Chief, Division of

Health, Metal and Nonmetal Mine Safety

and Health, (703) 235–8307

Distribution

All Mine Operators, Coal and Metal and

Nonmetal Coal District Managers, Mine

Safety and Health Metal and Nonmetal

District Managers, Mine Safety and Health

Principal Officials, Headquarters

Superintendent, National Academy

[FR Doc. 97–29635 Filed 11–10–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4510–43–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

40 CFR Part 63

[AD–FRL–5919–7]

RIN 2060–AE–81

National Emission Standards for

Hazardous Air Pollutants for Polyether

Polyols Production

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule; Reopening of

public comment period.

SUMMARY: The EPA is announcing a 30-

day reopening of the public comment

period for the proposed ‘‘National

Emission Standards for Hazardous Air

Pollutants for Polyether Polyols

Production.’’ As initially published in

the Federal Register on September 4,