[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 207 (Thursday, October 27, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62002-62003]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-21479]



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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.

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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, 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 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 Sec.  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 
asbestos-containing 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 time-weighted 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

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building/facility owners regarding the content to ACMs and PACMs; 
making specified records (e.g., exposure-monitoring 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 asbestos-control 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 for-profit 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]
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