[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 207 (Thursday, October 27, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62000-62001]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-21478]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. ICR-1218-0092 (2006)]


Lead in General Industry Standard; Extension of the Office of 
Management and Budget's (OMB) Approval of Information Collection 
(Paperwork) Requirements

AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Labor.

ACTION: Request for public comment.

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SUMMARY: OSHA solicits public comment concerning its request for an 
extension of the information collection requirements contained in the 
Lead in General Industry Standard (29 CFR 1910.1025).

DATES: Comments must be submitted by the following dates:
    Hard copy: Your comments must be submitted (postmarked or received) 
by December 27, 2005.
    Facsimile and electronic transmission: Your comments must be 
received by December 27, 2005.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by OSHA Docket No. ICR-
1218-0092 (2006), by any of the following methods:
    Regular mail, express delivery, hand delivery, and messenger 
service: Submit your comments and attachments to the OSHA Docket 
Office, Room N-2625, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, 
NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone (202) 693-2350 (OSHA's TTY number 
is (877) 889-5627). OSHA Docket Office and Department of Labor hours 
are 8:15 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., ET.
    Facsimile: If your comments are 10 pages or fewer in length, 
including attachments, you may fax them to the OSHA Docket Office at 
(202) 693-1648.
    Electronic: You may submit comments through the Internet at http://ecomments.osha.gov. Follow instructions on the OSHA Web page for 
submitting comments.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read or download comments or 
background materials, such as the complete Information Collection 
Request (ICR) (containing the Supporting Statement, OMB-83-I Form, and 
attachments), go to OSHA's Web page at http://www.OSHA.gov. In 
addition, the ICR, comments and submissions are available for 
inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office at the address above. 
You may also contact Todd Owen at the address below to obtain a copy of 
the ICR. For additional information on submitting comments, please see 
the ``Public Participation'' heading in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION 
section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Todd Owen, Directorate of Standards 
and Guidance, OSHA, Room N-3609, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC 20210, telephone: (202) 693-2222.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort to reduce 
paperwork and respondent (i.e., employer) burden, conducts a 
preclearance consultation program to provide the public with an 
opportunity to comment on proposed

[[Page 62001]]

and continuing information collection requirements in accordance with 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA-95) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). 
This program ensures that information is in the desired format, 
reporting burden (time and costs) is minimal, collection instruments 
are clearly understood, and OSHA's estimate of the information 
collection burden is accurate. The Occupational Safety and Health Act 
of 1970 (the Act) (29 U.S.C. 651 et seq.) authorizes information 
collection by employers as necessary or appropriate for enforcement of 
the Act or for developing information regarding the causes and 
prevention of occupational injuries, illnesses, and accidents (29 
U.S.C. 657).
    On January 5, 2005, OSHA published the Standards Improvement 
Project--Phase II, Final Rule (70 FR 1112). The final rule removed and 
revised provisions of standards that were outdated, duplicative, 
unnecessary, or inconsistent and clarified or simplified regulatory 
language. The final rule contained several revisions to collections of 
information contained in the Lead in General Industry Standard. These 
revisions included: reducing the frequency for employers to update 
their written compliance plans from six months to annually; and 
allowing employers the option to post employee exposure-monitoring 
results instead of requiring individual written notification. Those 
changes reduced paperwork burden hours while maintaining worker 
protection and improving consistency among standards. The reductions 
were taken in the prior information collection request.
    The information collection requirements specified in the Lead in 
General Industry Standard are designed to reduce occupational lead 
exposure in general industry. Lead exposure can result in both acute 
and chronic effects and can be fatal in severe cases of lead toxicity. 
The standard specifies the following requirements that impose paperwork 
burdens on employers: establishing a compliance program and notifying 
laundry personnel of lead hazards; instituting programs for exposure-
monitoring and medical surveillance (including medical examinations); 
notifying employees of exposure levels, biological-monitoring results, 
the option for multiple-physician review, and the availability of 
chelation; providing information to physicians; obtaining written 
medical opinions; implementing employee information and training 
programs (including providing employees with copies of the standard, 
and employees and other specified parties with copies of the training 
and information materials); recording medical removals; maintaining and 
transferring records of exposure-monitoring and medical surveillance 
results, medical removals, and objective data used for the initial-
exposure-monitoring exemption; and making records available to 
specified parties. These paperwork requirements permit OSHA and other 
specified parties to determine the effectiveness of an employer's 
compliance activities, thereby ensuring that they are providing 
employees with all of the protection afforded by the Standard.

II. Special Issues for Comment

    OSHA has a particular interest in comments on the following issues:
    <bullet> Whether the proposed information collection requirements 
are necessary for the proper performance of the Agency's functions, 
including whether the information is useful;
    <bullet> The accuracy of OSHA's estimate of the burden (time and 
costs) of the information collection requirements, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
    <bullet> The quality, utility, and clarity of the information 
collected; and
    <bullet> Ways to minimize the burden on employers who must comply; 
for example, by using automated or other technological information 
collection and transmission techniques.

III. Proposed Actions

    OSHA is requesting that OMB extend the approval of these collection 
of information (paperwork) requirements necessitated by the Lead in 
General Industry Standard (29 CFR 1910.1025). OSHA will summarize the 
comments submitted in response to this notice, and will include this 
summary in its request to OMB to extend the approval of these 
collection of information requirements.
    Type of Review: Extension of currently approved information 
collection requirements.
    Title: Lead in General Industry Standard.
    OMB Number: 1218-0092.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profits; Federal Government; 
State, Local or Tribal Government.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Average Time Per Response: Ranges from 1 minute to notify employees 
of their right to seek a second medical opinion to 2 hours for an 
employee to receive a medical examination.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 1,242,562.
    Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $139,869,058.

IV. Public Participation--Submission of Comments on This Notice and 
Internet Access to Comments and Submissions

    You may submit comments and supporting materials in response to 
this notice by (1) hard copy, (2) FAX transmission (facsimile), or (3) 
electronically through the OSHA Web page. Because of security-related 
problems, there may be a significant delay in the receipt of comments 
by regular mail. Please contact the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-
2350 (TTY (877) 889-5627) for information about security procedures 
concerning the delivery of submissions by express delivery, hand 
delivery and courier service.
    All comments, submissions and background documents are available 
for inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office at the above 
address. Comments and submissions posted on OSHA's Web page are 
available at http://www.OSHA.gov. Contact the OSHA Docket Office for 
information about materials not available through the OSHA Web page and 
for assistance using the Web page to locate docket submissions.
    Electronic copies of this Federal Register notice as well as other 
relevant documents are available on OSHA's Web page. Since all 
submissions become public, private infomation such as social security 
numbers should not be submitted.

V. Authority and Signature

    Jonathan L. Snare, Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for 
Occuataional Safety and Health, directed the preparation of this 
notice. The authority for this notice is the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995 (44 U.S.C. 3506 et seq.), and Secretary of Labor's Order No. 5-
2002 (67 FR 65008).

    Signed at Washington, DC, on October 21, 2005.
Jonathan L. Snare,
Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor.
[FR Doc. 05-21478 Filed 10-26-05; 8:45 am]
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