Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 100 / Tuesday, May 25, 2010 / Notices 29385 

Avenue, SE., Room WI2–140, 

Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 

p.m., Monday through Friday, except 

Federal holidays. 

Issued on: May 19, 2010. 

Larry W. Minor, 

Associate Administrator for Policy and 

Program Development. 

[FR Doc. 2010–12616 Filed 5–24–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Railroad Administration 

Safety Advisory 2010–01 

AGENCY: Federal Railroad 

Administration (FRA), Department of 

Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notice of Safety Advisory; 

Safety Appliance Securement, Potential 

Failure of Welded and/or Notched 

Vertical Hand Brake Supports on FTTX 

Flatcars. 

SUMMARY: FRA is issuing Safety 

Advisory 2010–01 in order to provide 

guidance to interested parties 

concerning the inspection and repair of 

FTTX series flatcars that have welded 

vertical hand brake supports that have 

been modified to accommodate a 10- 

inch wide hand brake step. FRA’s Office 

of Railroad Safety Motive Power and 

Equipment (MP&E) Division has been 

notified that approximately 1,851 FTTX 

series flatcars that are owned by TTX 

Company (TTX) may have a notch cut 

into the vertical hand brake supports, 

which compromises the safety of the 

hand brake support angles. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tom 

Blankenship, Mechanical Engineer, 

MP&E Division (RRS–14); FRA Office of 

Safety Assurance and Compliance, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, 

DC 20590, telephone: (202) 493–6446. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May 

29, 2008, at approximately 10:17 a.m. 

(CST), a railroad employee was riding a 

cut of four cars while attempting to set 

the hand brake on Flatcar GVSR 209000. 

During this task, the hand brake support 

angles, which had been previously 

welded, suddenly broke; this may have 

contributed to the employee falling 

under the rolling equipment, resulting 

in a fatality. Preliminary details of this 

incident indicate that the welded 

vertical hand brake support angles had 

an ‘‘old break’’ condition that allowed 

the remaining weld to fail when force 

was applied to the hand brake. Field 

investigation of the failed vertical hand 

brake support indicated that the hand 

brake and/or brackets were improperly 

applied or not mechanically fastened to 

the car. See Title 49 Code of Federal 

Regulations (CFR) Sections 

231.1(a)(4)(iii) and 231.27(a)(4)(iii), and 

Safety Appliance Defect Code 

231.110.B3, requiring hand brake 

housing to be securely fastened to a car. 

As a result of this fatality, FRA issued 

Safety Advisory 2008–02 stating that 

additional flatcars may have vertical 

hand brake supports that could be 

subject to a similar type of failure. 

Recognizing the need to ensure safety, 

FRA recommended that railroads and 

car owners operating flatcars that have 

a vertical hand brake support that is 

welded to the carbody carefully inspect 

the cars to determine the adequacy of 

any welded securement. Further, any 

car found with a defective condition 

should be immediately handled for 

repair in accordance with 49 U.S.C. 

20303, and repaired in accordance with 

accepted industry practice or by using 

approved fasteners as outlined in 49 

CFR 231.1(a)(4)(iii). Welding, where 

present, must be done in accordance 

with industry practice, as specified in 

American Welding Society (AWS) 

Standards D1 and D15. 

Regional FRA inspectors have 

recently observed flatcars in TTX 

ownership with FTTX reporting marks, 

which may also pose a significant safety 

risk on account of notched vertical 

handbrake supports. The vertical 

handbrake supports appear to have been 

‘‘notched’’ in order to apply a 

nonstandard 10-inch brake step in place 

of the 8-inch brake step that was 

originally designed for the cars. Cars 

tentatively identified that may have the 

nonstandard 10-inch brake step include, 

but are not limited to, the following car 

series: 

Known cars 

Possible 

series involved 

FTTX 961917 ............................ 961370– 

961917 

FTTX 971554 ............................ 971049– 

971613 

FTTX 972703, 972762, 972235 972047– 

972946 

FTTX 940540 ............................ 940182– 

940872 

FTTX 963325 ............................ 963325 

FRA has contacted the Association of 

American Railroads (AAR) and the car 

owner, TTX, to alert AAR and its 

member railroads of the potential safety 

risk these cars may pose in service. TTX 

and AAR have issued an Early Warning 

(EW–5240) in accordance with AAR 

Rule 125, which includes inspection 

instructions, temporary repair of 

affected cars, and the recommended 

disposition of subject cars. 

Recommended Action: Due to the 

application of nonstandard 10-inch 

wide brake steps, the strength of the 

vertical hand brake stanchions may 

have been compromised on the abovenoted FTTX flatcars. As with the GVSR 

flatcar, there is a potential for cracked 

vertical stanchions. FRA recommends 

and has requested that TTX furnish FRA 

with the following information for the 

FTTX cars involved: 

1. The number of cars in TTX 

ownership (to include the reporting 

marks with number series) that may 

have a welded vertical handbrake 

support; 

2. The location of each car that is in 

service or storage; 

3. Each car that has been designated 

for scrapping, identified by car number 

and storage location; 

4. A full description, calculations, and 

drawings/sketches for the proposed 

‘‘temporary fix’’; 

5. Any cars that have a ‘‘notched 

stanchion,’’ and any cars with 

improperly applied hand brakes, must 

be handled in accordance with 49 

U.S.C. 20303. Repairs to subject cars 

must be performed in accordance with 

accepted industry practice or by using 

approved fasteners, as outlined in 49 

CFR 231.27(a)(4)(iii). Welding, where 

present, must be performed to an 

acceptable manufacturing welding 

industry standard (AWS) within a 

certified weld facility that typically 

makes weld repairs to freight cars; and 

6. A concise ‘‘action plan’’ that 

includes the following: 

a. Schedule of car inspections 

covering those TTX cars potentially at 

risk; 

b. Description of car disposition 

(scrap, temporary repair, or permanent 

repair); 

c. Schedule of when all cars will have 

permanent repairs completed. Schedule 

to include number of cars that will be 

repaired on a monthly basis, and 

projected versus actual cars repaired; 

d. List of all cars that have or will 

have a welded repair. The list should 

include the name of the AWS-qualified 

shop that will make the repair for each 

car; and 

e. A final proposed permanent repair 

with attached drawings and procedures. 

At this time, FRA further recommends 

that AAR and TTX continue to inspect 

and repair all of the above-noted series 

flatcars, and immediately handle for 

repair those cars found with defective 

fastening conditions in accordance with 

EW–5240 via the following steps: 

1. Empty Cars. Conduct a visual 

inspection of the vertical hand brake 

supports for cracks or evidence of a 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES
29386 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 100 / Tuesday, May 25, 2010 / Notices 

stanchion that had previously been 

cracked and then weld repaired. 

a. Any stanchion found with a crack 

in vertical stanchion, or cracked and 

then weld repaired stanchion, should be 

handled in accordance with the 

following: withhold car from loading; 

repair car per TTX Company Drawing 

No. 17057 (Rev. E), Handbrake 

Temporary Stanchion Repair; alert car 

owner; and request disposition of car. 

Report car as MW (Activity Code)—Car 

moving on AAR approved owners 

instructions–also includes move to 

scrap. 

b. If no defects are found, the car may 

remain in service. Report car as MR 

(Activity Code)—Car inspected; 

returned to service. 

2. Loaded Cars. Conduct a visual 

inspection of the vertical hand brake 

supports for cracks or evidence of a 

stanchion that had previously been 

cracked and then weld repaired. 

a. Any stanchion found with a crack 

in vertical stanchion, or cracked and 

then weld repaired stanchion should be 

handled in accordance with the 

following: repair car per TTX Company 

Drawing No. 17057 (Rev. E), Handbrake 

Temporary Stanchion Repair; move car 

to destination and unload; withhold car 

from further loading; alert car owner; 

and request disposition of car. Report 

car as MW—Car moving on AAR 

approved owners instructions—also 

includes move to scrap. 

b. If no defects are found, the car may 

remain in service. Report car as MR— 

Car inspected; returned to service. 

3. Temporary Repair. The temporary 

repair is fully documented in the TTX 

Company Drawing identified above. The 

repair reinforces the vertical stanchions 

with 1⁄2′′ plates. These doubler plates are 

mechanically fastened to the vertical 

stanchions and are also mechanically 

fastened into the end sill of the car. 

Disposition requests noted in the above 

procedures should be directed to Mr. 

Rick Clement at TTX. His direct phone 

number is (312) 984–3849. His e-mail 

address is Rick_Clement@ttx.com. 

FRA may modify this Safety Advisory 

2010–01, issue additional safety 

advisories, or take other appropriate 

action necessary to ensure the highest 

level of safety on the Nation’s railroads. 

Issued in Washington, DC on May 19, 

2010. 

Jo Strang, 

Associate Administrator for Railroad Safety/ 

Chief Safety Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2010–12556 Filed 5–24–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Office of Thrift Supervision 

Consumer Protections for Depository 

Institution Sales of Insurance 

AGENCY: Office of Thrift Supervision 

(OTS), Treasury. 

ACTION: Notice and request for comment. 

SUMMARY: The Department of the 

Treasury, as part of its continuing effort 

to reduce paperwork and respondent 

burden, invites the general public and 

other Federal agencies to comment on 

proposed and continuing information 

collections, as required by the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 

U.S.C. 3507. The Office of Thrift 

Supervision within the Department of 

the Treasury will submit the proposed 

information collection requirement 

described below to the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) for 

review, as required by the Paperwork 

Reduction Act. Today, OTS is soliciting 

public comments on its proposal to 

extend this information collection. 

DATES: Submit written comments on or 

before July 26, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: Send comments, referring to 

the collection by title of the proposal or 

by OMB approval number, to 

Information Collection Comments, Chief 

Counsel’s Office, Office of Thrift 

Supervision, 1700 G Street, NW., 

Washington, DC 20552; send a facsimile 

transmission to (202) 906–6518; or send 

an e-mail to 

infocollection.comments@ots.treas.gov. 

OTS will post comments and the related 

index on the OTS Internet Site at 

http://www.ots.treas.gov. In addition, 

interested persons may inspect 

comments at the Public Reading Room, 

1700 G Street, NW., by appointment. To 

make an appointment, call (202) 906– 

5922, send an e-mail to 

public.info@ots.treas.gov, or send a 

facsimile transmission to (202) 906– 

7755. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: You 

can request additional information 

about this proposed information 

collection from Suzanne McQueen (202) 

906–6459, Office of Thrift Supervision, 

1700 G Street, NW., Washington, DC 

20552. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: OTS may 

not conduct or sponsor an information 

collection, and respondents are not 

required to respond to an information 

collection, unless the information 

collection displays a currently valid 

OMB control number. As part of the 

approval process, we invite comments 

on the following information collection. 

Comments should address one or 

more of the following points: 

a. Whether the proposed collection of 

information is necessary for the proper 

performance of the functions of OTS; 

b. The accuracy of OTS’s estimate of 

the burden of the proposed information 

collection; 

c. Ways to enhance the quality, 

utility, and clarity of the information to 

be collected; 

d. Ways to minimize the burden of the 

information collection on respondents, 

including through the use of 

information technology. 

We will summarize the comments 

that we receive and include them in the 

OTS request for OMB approval. All 

comments will become a matter of 

public record. In this notice, OTS is 

soliciting comments concerning the 

following information collection. 

Title of Proposal: Consumer 

Protection for Depository Institution 

Sales of Insurance. 

OMB Number: 1550–0106. 

Regulation Requirements: 12 CFR part 

536. 

Form Number: N/A. 

Description: These information 

collections are required under section 

305 of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act 

(GLB Act), Public Law 106–102. Section 

305 of the GLB Act required the Office 

of the Comptroller of the Currency, 

Board of Governors of the Federal 

Reserve System, Federal Deposit 

Insurance Corporation, and Office of 

Thrift Supervision to prescribe joint 

consumer protection regulations. OTS’s 

regulations are found at 12 CFR part 

536. The regulations apply to retail sales 

practices, solicitations, advertising, and 

offers of any insurance product by a 

depository institution or by other 

persons performing these activities at an 

office of the institution or on behalf of 

the institution. Section 305 requires 

those performing such activities to 

disclose certain information to 

consumers and to obtain consumers’ 

acknowledgements. 

Type of Review: Extension of a 

currently approved collection. 

Affected Public: Businesses or other 

for-profit. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

765. 

Estimated Burden Hours per 

Responses: 1.5 minutes. 

Estimated Number of Responses: 

629,660. 

Estimated Frequency of Response: On 

occasion. 

Estimated Total Burden: 15,742 

hours. 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES