62002 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 207 / Thursday, October 27, 2005 / Notices 

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 

Occupational Safety and Health 

Administration 

[Docket No. ICR–1218–0134 (2006)] 

Asbestos in Construction 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. 

SUMMARY: OSHA solicits comments 

concerning its request for an extension 

of the information collection 

requirements contained in the Asbestos 

in Construction Standard (29 CFR 

1926.1101). The standard protects 

employees from adverse health effects 

from occupational exposure to Asbestos, 

including lung cancer, mesothelioma, 

asbestosis (an emphysema-like 

condition) and gastrointestinal cancer. 

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–

1218–0134(2006), by any of the 

following methods: 

Regular mail, express delivery, handdelivery, 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 also may 

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, U.S. Department 

of Labor, 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 

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 cost) 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 final rule for the Standards 

Improvement Project—Phase II (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 two 

revisions to collections of information 

contained in the Asbestos in 

Construction Standard. The revisions 

included modifying the time the 

employer has to provide their 

employees with exposure-monitoring 

results in 1926.1101(f)(5)(ii) from ‘‘as 

soon as possible following receipt of the 

results’’ to ‘‘as soon as possible but no 

later than 5 working days after the 

receipt of the results,’’ and removing the 

requirement to send the certification 

and evaluation documentation required 

under § 1926.1101(g)(6)(iii) to OSHA’s 

Directorate of Technical Support. The 

reduction in burden hours was taken in 

the prior ICR. 

The information collection 

requirements specified in the Asbestos 

in Construction Standard protect 

employees from the adverse health 

effects that may result from asbestos 

exposure. The major information 

collection requirements of the Asbestos 

in Construction Standard include: 

Implementing an exposure-monitoring 

program that informs employees of their 

exposure-monitoring results; and at 

multi-employer worksites, notification 

of other onsite employers by employers 

establishing regulated areas for the type 

of work performed with asbestoscontaining materials (ACMs) and/or 

presumed asbestos-containing materials 

(PACMs); the requirements that pertain 

to regulated areas; and the measures 

they can use to protect their employees 

from asbestos overexposure. Other 

provisions associated with paperwork 

requirements include: evaluating and 

certifying alternative control methods 

for Class I and Class II asbestos work 

and informing laundry personnel of the 

requirement to prevent release of 

airborne asbestos above the timeweighted average and excursion limit; 

notification by employers and building/ 

facility owners of designated personnel 

and employees regarding the presence, 

location, and quantity of ACMs and/or 

PACMs; using information, data, and 

analyses to demonstrate that PACM 

does not contain asbestos; posting signs 

in mechanical rooms/areas that 

employees may enter and that contain 

ACMs and PACMs, informing them of 

the identity and location of these 

materials and work practices that 

prevent disturbing the materials; posting 

warning signs demarcating regulated 

areas; and affixing warning labels to 

asbestos-containing products and to 

containers holding such products. 

Additional provisions of the Standard 

that contain paperwork requirements 

include: Developing specific 

information and training programs for 

employees; providing medical 

surveillance for employees potentially 

exposed to ACMs and/or PACMs, 

including administering an employee 

medical questionnaire, providing 

information to the examining physician, 

and providing the physician’s written 

opinion to the employee; maintaining 

records of objective data used for 

exposure determinations, employee 

exposure-monitoring and medical 

surveillance records, training records, 

the record (i.e., information, data, and 

analyses) used to demonstrate that 

PACM does not contain asbestos, and 

notifications made and received by 

Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 207 / Thursday, October 27, 2005 / Notices 62003 

building/facility owners regarding the 

content to ACMs and PACMs; making 

specified records (e.g., exposuremonitoring and medical surveillance 

records) available to designated parties; 

and transferring exposure-monitoring 

and medical surveillance records to the 

National Institute for Occupational 

Safety and Health on cessation of 

business. 

These paperwork requirements permit 

employers, employees and their 

designated representatives, OSHA, and 

other specified parties to determine the 

effectiveness of an employer’s asbestoscontrol program. It provides notification 

to building owners, subsequent building 

owners, contractors and employees of 

the presence of asbestos so that 

precautions can be taken to protect 

workers. It provides for monitoring and 

medical surveillance to assure that 

exposures are kept low and early 

symptoms are detected. Accordingly, 

the requirements ensure that employees 

exposed to asbestos receive all of the 

protection afforded by the Standard. 

II. Special Issues for Comment 

OSHA has a particular interest in 

comments on the following issues: 

—Whether the information collection 

requirements are necessary for the 

proper performance of the Agency’s 

functions, including whether the 

information is useful; 

—The accuracy of the Agency’s estimate 

of the burden (time and costs) of the 

information collection requirements, 

including the validity of the 

methodology and assumptions used; 

—The quality, utility, and clarity of the 

information collected; and 

—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 

approval of the collection of information 

requirements necessitated by the 

Asbestos in Construction Standard (29 

CFR 1926.1101). The agency 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 

information collection requirements. 

Type of Review: Extension of 

currently approved information 

collection requirements. 

Title: Asbestos in Construction 

Standard (29 CFR 1926.1101). 

OMB Number: 1218–0134. 

Affected Public: Business or other forprofit organizations; Federal 

government; State, local or tribal 

governments. 

Number of Respondents: 286,821. 

Frequency: On occasion. 

Total Responses: 53,719,202. 

Average Time per Response: Varies 

from 5 minutes ot maintain records to 

17.3 hours to train a competent person. 

Estimated Total Burden Hours: 

5,569,658. 

Estimated Cost (Operation and 

Maintenance): $30,730,200. 

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 paged 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 information such 

as social security numbers should not be 

submitted. 

V. Authority and Signature 

Jonathan L. Snare, Acting Assistant 

Secretary of Labor for Occupational 

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. 05–21479 Filed 10–26–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4510–26–M 

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 

Occupational Safety and Health 

Administration 

[Docket No. ICR–1218–0195 (2006)] 

The Asbestos in Shipyards Standard; 

Extension of the Office of Management 

and Budget’s Approval of Information 

Collection (Paperwork) Requirements 

AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health 

Administration (OSHA), Labor. 

ACTION: Request for public comments. 

SUMMARY: OSHA solicits public 

comment concerning its request for an 

extension of the information collection 

requirements contained in the Asbestos 

in Shipyards Standard (29 CFR 

1915.1001). This Standard regulates 

occupational exposure to Asbestos, 

thereby preventing serious illness (e.g., 

asbestosis, an emphysema-like 

condition, mesothelioma, and 

gastrointestinal cancer) among shipyard 

employees. 

DATES: Comments must be submitted by 

the following dates: 

Hard copy: Your comment 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–

1218–0195 (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