[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 79 (Friday, April 24, 2015)]

[Notices]

[Pages 23004-23006]

From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [http://www.gpo.gov/]

[FR Doc No: 2015-09524]

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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[60Day-15-15ZI; Docket No. CDC-2015-0024]

Proposed Data Collection Submitted for Public Comment and 

Recommendations

AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of 

Health and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION: Notice with comment period.

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SUMMARY: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as part 

of its continuing efforts to reduce public burden and maximize the 

utility of government information, invites the general public and other 

Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or 

continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995. This notice invites comment on the proposed 

information collection entitled Metal and Nonmetal Miner Health Program 

(MNMHP). The MNMHP proposes to gather health data on metal and nonmetal 

miners to identify opportunities for reducing the incidence and 

severity of disease.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before June 23, 2015.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CDC-2015-

0024 by any of the following methods:

 Federal eRulemaking Portal: Regulation.gov. Follow the instructions 

for submitting comments.

 Mail: Leroy A. Richardson, Information Collection Review Office, 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road NE., MSD74, Atlanta, Georgia 30329.

 Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 

and Docket Number. All relevant comments received will be posted 

without change to Regulations.gov, including any personal information 

provided. For access to the docket to read background documents or 

comments received, go to Regulations.gov.

 Please note: All public comment should be submitted through the 

Federal eRulemaking portal (Regulations.gov) or by U.S. mail to the 

address listed above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request more information on the 

proposed project or to obtain a copy of the information collection plan 

and instruments, contact the Information Collection Review Office, 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road NE., MSD74, Atlanta, Georgia 30329; phone: 404-639-7570; Email: omb@cdc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), Federal agencies must obtain approval from 

the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for each collection of 

information they conduct or sponsor. In addition, the PRA also requires 

Federal agencies to provide a 60-day notice in the Federal Register 

concerning each proposed collection of information, including each new 

proposed collection, each proposed extension of existing collection of 

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information, and each reinstatement of previously approved information 

collection before submitting the collection to OMB for approval. To 

comply with this requirement, we are publishing this notice of a 

proposed data collection as described below.

 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; (d) ways to 

minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, 

including through the use of automated collection techniques or other 

forms of information technology; and (e) estimates of capital or startup costs and costs of operation, maintenance, and purchase of services 

to provide information. Burden means the total time, effort, or 

financial resources expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, 

disclose or provide information to or for a Federal agency. This 

includes the time needed to review instructions; to develop, acquire, 

install and utilize technology and systems for the purpose of 

collecting, validating and verifying information, processing and 

maintaining information, and disclosing and providing information; to 

train personnel and to be able to respond to a collection of 

information, to search data sources, to complete and review the 

collection of information; and to transmit or otherwise disclose the 

information.

Proposed Project

 Metal and Nonmetal Miner Health Program (MNMHP)--New--National 

Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Centers for 

Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

[[Page 23005]]

Background and Brief Description

 This is a new information collection request seeks data collection 

approval for a public health surveillance project. The proposed 

information collection will provide much needed health data pertaining 

to an estimated 66,000 workers in the metal and nonmetal (MNM) mining 

industry in the United States. Additionally, approximately 81,000 

contractors worked in the metal, nonmetal, and sand/stone/gravel mining 

sectors in 2013; this information collection will provide health data 

on those contractors working in the metal and nonmetal mining sectors.

 Metal and nonmetal (MNM) mining is an important industry throughout 

the United States, providing materials for the manufacture of many 

common items, such as electronics and medications, and employing 

approximately 25% of the total U.S. mining workforce. Work in this 

industry exposes miners to recognized hazards including noise, heat, 

repetitive stress, sleep deprivation, fumes, diesel exhaust, silica and 

other mine dusts, and radon gas, but the extent to which modern mining 

practices have mitigated these hazards is unknown. Little is known 

about the health status of this population of workers, in part because 

no comprehensive health surveillance system exists for the MNM mining 

sector.

 The Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 authorized NIOSH to 

``conduct such studies, research, experiments, and demonstrations as 

may be appropriate to improve working conditions and practices in coal 

or other mines.'' Surveillance of general occupational illnesses, 

injuries, and exposures is an important part of NIOSH responsibilities 

as authorized by the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 CFR 

671).

 Comprehensive health surveillance data are critical in estimating 

and reducing prevalence of occupational illness. A National Academies 

review of NIOSH research programs in 2007 emphasized that mining 

production is expected to increase and incorporate new technologies in 

the next decade, and that an informed assessment of health and safety 

issues is necessary to ensure that NIOSH research remains relevant. 

This program will address a number of high priority goals set by NIOSH 

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to advance and coordinate research across the Institute. These goals 

include the following: Prevent and reduce work-related airways 

diseases; prevent and reduce work-related interstitial lung diseases; 

advance cross-cutting issues that affect all work-related respiratory 

diseases, in particular surveillance, exposure assessment, and emerging 

issues; reduce the incidence of musculoskeletal disorders in mine 

workers; reduce the incidence and mortality of work-related 

cardiovascular disease; and improve the health and safety of working 

people through research and surveillance to better understand work 

organization characteristics and their associations with health and 

safety outcomes.

 NIOSH proposes to implement a health surveillance program to assess 

the health status and burden of disease among MNM mine workers. This 

program will provide current information on a sector of the mining 

workforce that is not available elsewhere, thereby closing a current 

knowledge gap. The information will enable NIOSH to develop targeted 

workplace interventions and health programs directed toward a high risk 

population of workers. Mining researchers will be able to prioritize 

research on occupational illnesses. The mining industry will be able to 

develop, adapt, and promote policies to reduce unhealthy exposures and 

improve overall miner health.

 Data collection will take place at selected mine sites and in 

mining communities in the United States, focusing initially on the 

western states of the United States where metal mining is concentrated. 

NIOSH will collaborate with health and safety leaders from western MNM 

mines, labor, academic researchers, and other NIOSH researchers to 

identify mines interested in participating in the health assessments. A 

mobile health clinic will visit each participating site for a number of 

days, during which NIOSH will solicit voluntary participation from mine 

employees and contractors. Program staff will collaborate with mine 

operators and labor representatives to determine the best method to 

recruit participants.

 Data collection from consenting individuals working, or having 

previously worked, in the MNM mining sectors will include: Completion 

of a questionnaire, measurements of height, weight and blood pressure, 

collection of a fingerstick blood sample for measurement of cholesterol 

and hemoglobin A1C levels, pulmonary function testing, and a chest 

radiograph. The purpose of the questionnaire is to determine prevalence 

of certain health conditions and risk factors for disease, and to 

characterize miners' working conditions and workplace exposures. 

Information will be collected on demographics, occupation, work status, 

working conditions and occupational exposures, work stress, 

musculoskeletal disorders, hearing, sleep and fatigue, chronic disease 

and chronic disease risk factors, and respiratory health. Responding to 

any of the questions in the questionnaire will be optional; 

participants may choose to opt out of any portion of the questionnaire, 

or any of the individual biometric tests. In such cases, participants 

will still be eligible for remaining tests in which they choose to 

participate.

 All data collection activities will be conducted in full compliance 

with the CDC regulations to maintain the privacy of data obtained on 

persons and to protect the rights and welfare of human subjects, as 

contained in Title 28 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Parts 22 and 

46.

 Overall, there are no direct costs to MNMHP participants. The total 

estimated annualized burden hours are 5,213. This estimate is based on 

the following:

 Consent form signature: Miners who elect to participate 

will be asked to read and sign a consent form describing the purpose of 

the research, risks and benefits of participation, what to expect for 

participants, data security, and voluntary participation. The consent 

has been modified to be readable at approximately an eighth grade 

level. The consent will take approximately 5 minutes to read and sign.

 Questionnaire completion: Miners who elect to participate 

in the MNMHP will complete an electronic questionnaire, which takes an 

average of approximately 23 minutes, with a range of 19-30 minutes. Up 

to 5% of miners may prefer to complete the questionnaire in hardcopy 

format, which is estimated to take up to 25% longer to complete.

 Measurements of height, weight and blood pressure: Miners 

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will be asked to sit quietly for approximately 5 minutes, after which 

their blood pressure will be measured. Afterward, their height and 

weight will be measured. In total, these measurements take 

approximately 10 minutes. No forms are required.

 Collection of a fingerstick blood sample for measurement 

of cholesterol and hemoglobin A1C levels: Miners will be asked to 

provide a fingerstick blood sample, which will be used to measure 

cholesterol and hemoglobin A1C (for diabetes). The sample collection 

will take approximately 5-10 minutes, and the results will be available 

in approximately 5-10 minutes. However, the miners will proceed to 

other testing stations (chest radiography and pulmonary function 

testing) while waiting for the results of their fingerstick blood 

tests, and therefore no

[[Page 23006]]

extra time is required beyond the blood sample collection. No forms are 

required.

 Pulmonary function testing: This test requires 

approximately 15-20 minutes to complete. No forms are required.

 Chest radiograph: Chest radiography will take 

approximately 5 minutes. No forms are required.

 B Reader Physicians: Physicians provide classifications of 

chest radiographs by completing a standard NIOSH chest radiograph 

classification form, which uses the International Labour Office 

classification system for determination of pneumoconiosis. Each image 

requires two readings, and according to the Coal Workers' Health 

Surveillance Program (CWHSP), approximately 7% of the images require at 

least one additional reading. The CWHSP estimates that it takes each B 

Reader approximately three minutes to complete each form.

 Estimated Annualized Burden Hours

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 Average

 Number of Number of burden/ Total burden

 Type of respondent Form name respondents responses per response (in (in hrs)

 respondent hrs)

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Miners........................ Form # 2,375 1 30/60 1,188

 questionnaire.

Miners........................ Form # 125 1 40/60 83

 questionnaire

 (hardcopy).

Miners........................ Height, weight, 2,500 1 10/60 417

 blood pressure--

 No form

 required.

Miners........................ Fingerstick--No 2,500 1 10/60 417

 form required.

Miners........................ Spirometry Test-- 2,500 1 20/60 833

 No form

 required.

Miners........................ Radiograph--No 2,500 1 10/60 417

 form required.

Miners........................ Consent form.... 2,500 1 5/60 208

B Reader Physician............ Form 2.8........ 10 550 3/60 275

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 Total..................... ................ .............. .............. .............. 3,838

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Leroy A. Richardson,

Chief, Information Collection Review Office, Office of Scientific 

Integrity, Office of the Associate Director for Science, Office of the 

Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

[FR Doc. 2015-09524 Filed 4-23-15; 8:45 am]

 BILLING CODE 4163-18-P

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