77032 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 237 / Friday, December 8, 2000 / Notices

3Under the OMB regulation implementing the

PRA, burden is defined to exclude any effort that

would be expended regardless of any regulatory

requirement. 5 CFR 1320.3(b)(2).

4Projecting sales for ‘‘non-store catalogue and

mail order houses’’ and ‘‘non-store direct selling

establishments’’ (according to the 1999 Statistical

Abstract) to all merchants subject to the MTOR,

staff estimates that direct sales to consumers in

1999 would have been $109.45 billion. Thus, the

labor cost of compliance by existing and new

businesses in 1999 would have amounted to less

than .03% of sales.

companies that enter the market each

year from 1,000 to 1,985. This, too, is

based on 1999 Statistical Abstract data.

Thus, the current total of affected firms

consists of approximately 47,904

established and new companies. Accordingly, staff estimates total

industry hours to comply with the

MTOR is 2,752,500 hours [(45,919 X 50

hours) + (1,985 X 230 hours)].

This is a conservative estimate.

Arguably much of the estimated time

burden for disclosure-related

compliance would be incurred even

absent the Rule. Representatives from

industry trade associations and other

knowledgeable individials have

consistently stated that compliance with

the Rule is widely regarded by direct

marketers as being good business

practice. The Rule’s notification

requirements would be voluntarily

initiated by most merchants to meet

consumer expectations regarding timely

shipment, notification of delay, and

prompt and full refunds. Providing

consumers with notice about the status

of their orders fosters consumer loyalty

and encourages repeat purchases, which

are important to direct marketers’

success. Thus, it appears that much of

the time and expense associated with

Rule compliance may not constitute

‘‘burden’’ under the PRA 3 although the

above estimates account for it as such.

In estimating PRA burden, staff

considered ‘‘the total time, effort, or

financial resources expended by persons

to generate, maintain, retain, disclose or

provide information to or for a Federal

agency.’’5 CFR 1320.3(b)(1). This

includes ‘‘developing, acquiring,

installing, and utilizing technology and

systems for the purpose of disclosing

and providing information.’’ 5 CFR

1320.3(b)(1)(iv). Although not expressly

stated in the OMB regulation

implementing the PRA, the definition of

burden arguably includes upgrading and

maintaining computer and other

systems used to comply with a rule’s

requirements. Conversely, to the extent

that these systems are used in the

ordinary course of business

independent of the Rule, their

associated upkeep would fall outside

the realm of PRA ‘‘burden.’’

The mail order industry has been

subject to the basic provisions of the

Rule since 1976 and the telephone order

industry since 1994. Thus, businesses

have had several years (and some have

had decades) to integrate compliance

systems into their business procedures.

Since 1997 many businesses have

upgraded the information management

systems they need, in part, to comply

with the Rule, and to more effectively

track orders. These upgrades, however,

mostly were needed to deal with

growing consumer demand for

merchandise resulting, in part, from

increased public acceptance of making

purchases over the telephone and, more

recently, the Internet. Accordingly, most companies now

maintain records and provide updated

order information of the kind required

by the Rule in their ordinary course of

business. Nevertheless, staff

conservatively assumes that the time

existing and new companies devote to

compliance with the Rule remains the

same as in 1997.

Estimated labor costs: $31,136,000,

rounded to the nearest thousand.

Labor costs are derived by applying

appropriate hourly cost figures to the

burden hours described above.

According to the 1999 Statistical

Abstract, average payroll for ‘‘non-store

catalogue and mail order houses’’ and

‘‘non-store direct selling

establishments’’ rose $0.322 per hour

per year between 1991 and 1996. In

1996, average payroll was $10.34 per

hour. Assuming average payroll

continued to increase $0.322 per hour

per year, in 1999 average payroll would

have reached $11.31 per hour. Because

the bulk of the burden of complying

with the MTOR is borne by clerical

personnel, staff believes that the average

hourly payroll figure for non-store

catalogue and mail order houses and

non-store direct selling establishments

is an appropriate measure of a direct

marketer’s average labor cost to comply

with the Rule. Thus, the total annual

labor cost to new and established

businesses in 1999 for Rule compliance

is approximately $31,136,000 (2,753,000

hours × $11.31/hr.). Relative to direct

industry sales, this total is negligible.4

Estimated annual non-labor cost

burden: $0 or minimal.

The applicable requirements impose

minimal start-up costs, as businesses

subject to the Rule generally have or

obtain necessary equipment for other

business purposes, i.e., inventory and

order management, and customer

relations. For the same reason, staff

anticipates printing and copying costs to

be minimal, especially given that

telephone order merchants have

increasingly turned to electronic

communications to notify consumers of

delay and to provide cancellation

options. Staff believes that the above

requirements necessitate ongoing,

regular training so that covered entities

stay current and have a clear

understanding of federal mandates. This

training, however, would be a small

portion of and subsumed within the

ordinary training that employees receive

apart from that associated with the

information collected under the Rule.

John D. Graubert,

Acting General Counsel.

[FR Doc. 00–31337 Filed 12–7–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6750–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control And

Prevention

[60Day–01–07]

Proposed Data Collections Submitted

for Public Comment and

Recommendations

In compliance with the requirement

of section 3506 (c)(2)(A) of the

Paperwork reduction Act of 1995, the

Center for Disease Control and

Prevention is providing opportunity for

public comment on proposed data

collection projects. To request more

information on the proposed projects or

to obtain a copy of the data collection

plans and instruments, call the CDC

Reports Clearance Officer on (404) 639–

7090.

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether

the proposed collection of information

is necessary for the proper performance

of the functions of the agency, including

whether the information shall have

practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the

agency’s estimate of the burden of the

proposed collection of information; (c)

ways to enhance the quality, utility, and

clarity of the information to be

collected; and (d) ways to minimize the

burden of the collection of information

on respondents, including through the

use of automated collection techniques

for other forms of information

technology. Send comments to Anne

O’Connor, CDC Assistant Reports

Clearance Officer, 1600 Clifton Road,

MS–D24, Atlanta, GA 30333. Written

comments should be received within 60

days of this notice.

Proposed Project

National Exposure Registry—

Extension—(OMB No. 0923–0006)

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 237 / Friday, December 8, 2000 / Notices 77033

Agency for Toxic Substances and

Disease Registry (ATSDR), Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The Agency for Toxic Substances and

Disease Registry (ATSDR) is mandated

pursuant to the 1980 Comprehensive

Environmental Response Compensation

and Liability Act (CERCLA) and its 1986

Amendments, the Superfund

Amendments and Re-authorization Act

(SARA), to establish and maintain a

national registry of persons who have

been exposed to hazardous substances

in the environment and a national

registry of persons with illnesses or

health problems resulting from such

exposure. ATSDR created the National

Exposure Registry (NER) as a result of

this legislation in an effort to provide

scientific information about potential

adverse health effects people develop as

a result of low-level, long-term exposure

to hazardous substances.

The National Exposure Registry is a

program that collects, maintains, and

analyzes information obtained from

participants (called registrants) whose

exposure to selected toxic substances at

specific geographic areas in the United

States was documented. Relevant health

data and demographic information are

also included in the NER database. The

NER databases furnish the information

needed to generate appropriate and

valid hypothesis for future activities

such as epidemiologic studies. The NER

also serves as a mechanism for

longitudinal health investigations that

follow registrants over time to ascertain

adverse health effects and latency

periods.

The NER is currently composed of

four sub-registries of persons known to

have been exposed to specific

chemicals: 1,1,1,-Trichloroethane

(TCA), Trichloroethylene (TCE), 2,3,7,8-

tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (dioxin),

and benzene. In 2001, the NER will

establish a new asbestos subregistry.

Participants in each subregistry are

interviewed initially with a baseline

questionnaire. An identical follow-up

telephone questionnaire is administered

to participants every three years until

the criteria for terminating a specific

subregistry have been met. The annual

number of participants varies greatly

from year to year. Two factors

influencing the number of respondents

per year are the number of subregistry

updates that are scheduled and whether

a new subregistry will be established.

The addition of the new asbestos

subregistry is expected to add

approximately 6,000 persons to the

NER. This increase is reflected in the

following estimated burden table.

The following table is annualized to

reflect one new subregistry (asbestos)

and five updates for the requested threeyear extension of OMB No. 0923–0006.

There is no cost to registrants.

Respondents Number of

respondents

Responses

per

respondent

Average

burden per

response (in

hrs.)

Total

annualized

burden

(in hrs.)

One New Subregistry ...................................................................................... 2,000 1 0.50 1,000

Five updates .................................................................................................... 4,927 1 0.42 2,069

Total ...................................................................................................... ........................ ........................ ........................ 3,069

Dated: December 1, 2000.

John Moore,

Acting Associate Director for Policy,

Planning, and Evaluation, Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention (CDC).

[FR Doc. 00–31312 Filed 12–07–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4163–18–P

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention

[60Day–01–06]

Proposed Data Collections Submitted

for Public Comment and

Recommendations

In compliance with the requirement

of section 3506 (c)(2)(A) of the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the

Center for Disease Control and

Prevention is providing opportunity for

public comment on proposed data

collection projects. To request more

information on the proposed projects or

to obtain a copy of the data collection

plans and instruments, call the CDC

Reports Clearance Officer on (404) 639–

7090.

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether

the proposed collection of information

is necessary for the proper performance

of the functions of the agency, including

whether the information shall have

practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the

agency’s estimate of the burden of the

proposed collection of information; (c)

ways to enhance the quality, utility, and

clarity of the information to be

collected; and (d) ways to minimize the

burden of the collection of information

on respondents, including through the

use of automated collection techniques

for other forms of information

technology. Send comments to Anne

O’Connor, CDC Assistant Reports

Clearance Officer, 1600 Clifton Road,

MS-D24, Atlanta, GA 30333. Written

comments should be received within 60

days of this notice.

Proposed Project

NIOSH Research Study for the

Prevention of Work-related

Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs)—

New—National Institute for

Occupational Safety and Health

(NIOSH), Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention (CDC). The mission of

the National Institute for Occupational

Safety and Health (NIOSH) is to

promote safety and health at work for all

people through research and prevention.

There is evidence of causal

relationships between physical job

stressors (e.g., repetitive or static

exertion, forcefulness, awkward

postures) and MSDs, and some

quantitative information is available on

how much rates of MSDs change at

varying levels of exposure to each

stressor and combination of stressors

(exposure-response relationships).

Additional information would foster the

further development of effective

strategies for prevention.

A research project is proposed to

conduct a prospective cohort study to

quantify the risk for upper limb and low

back MSDs at varying levels of exposure

to physical job stressors (repetitive,

forceful exertion, awkward postures,

vibration, manual handling, etc.). This

research will involve multiple work

sites from the service and

manufacturing industries with job tasks

that represent a range of exposures to

physical job stressors that can result in

musculoskeletal disorders of the upper

limb (e.g., carpal tunnel syndrome,

hand-wrist tendinitis, medial and lateral

epicondylitis, hand-arm vibration

syndrome (HAVS)) and low back

disorders. Because of the limitations of