28872 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 110 / Thursday, June 6, 1996 / Notices

Other Requirements

Paperwork Reduction Act

Projects funded through a cooperative

agreement that involve collection of

information from ten or more

individuals will be subject to review

under the Paperwork Reduction Act.

Human Subjects

If the proposed project involves

research on human subjects, the

applicant must comply with the

Department of Health and Human

Services Regulation, 45 CFR Part 46,

regarding the protection of human

subjects. Assurance must be provided to

demonstrate that the project will be

subject to initial and continuing review

by an appropriate institutional review

committee. In addition to other

applicable committees, Indian Health

Service (IHS) institutional review

committees also must review the project

if any component of IHS will be

involved or will support the research. If

any American Indian community is

involved, its tribal government must

also approve that portion of the project

applicable to it. The applicant will be

responsible for providing assurance in

accordance with the appropriate

guidelines provided in the application

kit.

Women and Minority Inclusion Policy

It is the policy of the CDC to ensure

that women and racial and ethnic

groups will be included in CDC

supported research projects involving

human subjects, whenever feasible and

appropriate. Racial and ethnic groups

are those defined in OMB Directive No.

15 and include American Indian,

Alaskan Native, Asian, Pacific Islander,

Black and Hispanic. Applicants shall

ensure that women, racial and ethnic

minority population are appropriately

represented for research involving

human subjects. Where clear and

compelling rationale exist that inclusion

is inappropriate or not feasible, this

situation must be explained as part of

the application. In conducting the

review of applications for scientific

merit, review groups will evaluate

proposed plans for inclusion of

minorities and both sexes as part of the

scientific assessment and assigned

score. This policy does not apply to

research studies when the investigator

cannot control the race, ethnicity and/

or sex of subjects. Further guidance on

this policy is contained in the Federal

Register, Vol. 60, No. 179, Friday,

September 15, 1995, pages 47947–

47951.

Application Submission and Deadline

The original and two copies of the

application PHS Form 5161–1 (Revised

7/92, OMB Control Number 0937–0189)

must be submitted to Ron Van Duyne,

Grants Management Officer, Grants

Management Branch, Procurement and

Grants Office, Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention (CDC), Mailstop

E13, 255 East Paces Ferry Road, NE.,

Room 300, Atlanta, Georgia 30305, on or

before July 10, 1996.

1. Deadline: Applications shall be

considered as meeting the deadline if

they are either:

(a) Received on or before the deadline

date; or

(b) Sent on or before the deadline date

and received in time for submission to

the independent review group.

(Applicants must request a legibly dated

U.S. Postal Service postmark or obtain

a legibly dated receipt from a

commercial carrier or U.S. Postal

Service. Private metered postmarks shall

not be acceptable as proof of timely

mailing.)

2. Late Applications: Applications

which do not meet the criteria in 1. (a)

or 1. (b) above are considered late

applications. Late applications will not

be considered in the current

competition and will be returned to the

applicant.

Where To Obtain Additional

Information

To receive additional written

information call (404) 332–4561. You

will be asked to leave your name,

address, and telephone number and will

need to refer to Announcement 646.

You will receive a complete program

description and information on

application procedures and application

forms. If you have questions after

reviewing the contents of all the

documents, business management

technical assistance may be obtained

from Oppie Byrd, Grants Management

Specialist, Grants Management Branch,

Procurement and Grants Office, Centers

for Disease Control and Prevention

(CDC), 255 East Paces Ferry Road, NE.,

Room 300, Mailstop E–13, Atlanta, GA

30305, telephone (404) 842–6546,

Internet: oxb3@opspgo1.em.cdc.gov, fax

(404) 842–6513.

Programmatic technical assistance for

surveillance may be obtained from Janet

Ehlers, R.N., M.S.N., Occupational

Health Nurse, National Institute for

Occupational Safety and Health, Centers

for Disease Prevention and Control

(CDC), Division of Surveillance, Hazard

Evaluations and Field Studies, 4676

Columbia Parkway, R–21, Cincinnati,

OH 45226, telephone (513) 841–4205,

fax (513) 841–4489, Internet:

jje0@nioshe2.em.cdc.gov.

Programmatic technical assistance for

intervention may be obtained from Teri

Palermo, R.N., Public Health Advisor,

National Institute for Occupational

Safety and Health, Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention (CDC), Division

of Respiratory Disease Studies, Office of

the Director, 1095 Willowdale Road,

Mailstop 219, Morgantown, WV 26505–

2888, telephone (304) 285–5836, fax

(304) 285–5723, Internet:

btp0@niords1.em.cdc.gov.

Please refer to Announcement 646

when requesting information and

submitting an application.

There may be delays in mail delivery

as well as difficulty in reaching the CDC

Atlanta offices during the 1996 Summer

Olympics (July 19 - August 4).

Therefore, CDC suggests the following to

get more timely responses to any

questions: use Internet/email, follow all

instructions in this announcement, and

leave messages on the contact person’s

voice mail.

Potential applicants may obtain a

copy of Healthy People 2000 (Full

Report, Stock No. 017–001–00474–0) or

Healthy People 2000 (Summary Report,

Stock No. 017–001–00473–1) referenced

in the Introduction through the

Superintendent of Documents,

Government Printing Office,

Washington, DC 20402–9325, telephone

(202) 512–1800.

Dated: May 30, 1996.

Diane D. Porter,

Acting Director, National Institute for

Occupational Safety and Health Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

[FR Doc. 96–14172 Filed 6–5–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4163–19–P

[Announcement 649]

National Institute for Occupational

Safety and Health; Prevention of

Silicosis in Surface Miners

Introduction

The Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention (CDC) announces the

availability of fiscal year (FY) 1996

funds for a cooperative agreement

program for prevention of silicosis in

surface miners. The CDC is committed

to achieving the health promotion and

disease prevention objectives of Healthy

People 2000, a national activity to

reduce morbidity and mortality and

improve the quality of life. This

announcement is related to the priority

area of Occupational Safety and Health.

(For ordering a copy of Healthy People

2000, see the Section Where to Obtain

Additional Information.)
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 110 / Thursday, June 6, 1996 / Notices 28873

Authority

This program is authorized under

Section 22(e)(7) of the Occupational

Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C.

671(e)(7)) and Section 501(g) of the

Federal Mine Safety and Health Act (30

U.S.C. 951(g)).

Smoke-Free Workplace

The CDC strongly encourages all grant

recipients to provide a smoke-free

workplace and promote the nonuse of

all tobacco products, and Public Law

103–227, the Pro-Children Act of 1994,

prohibits smoking in certain facilities

that receive Federal funds in which

education, library, day care, health care,

and early childhood development

services are provided to children.

Eligible Applicants

Applications may be submitted by

public and private, non-profit and forprofit organizations and governments

and their agencies. Thus, universities,

colleges, research institutions, hospitals,

other public and private organizations,

State and local governments or their

bona fide agents, federally recognized

Indian tribal governments, Indian tribes

or Indian tribal organizations, and

small, minority- and/or women-owned

businesses are eligible to apply.

Note: Organizations described in Section

501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of

1986 which engage in lobbying activities are

not eligible for the receipt of Federal grants

or cooperative agreements.

Availability of Funds

Approximately $85,000 is available in

FY 1996 to fund one award. It is

expected that the award will begin on or

about September 30, 1996, and will be

made for a 12-month budget period

within a project period of up to three

years. The funding estimate may vary

and is subject to change.

Continuation awards within the

project period will be made on the basis

of satisfactory progress and the

availability of funds.

Purpose

The purpose of this project is to

contribute to silicosis prevention efforts

through:

1. Identification of high silicosis-risk

populations in both the metal/nonmetal

and coal surface mining communities;

2. Identification and assessment of

effectiveness of interventions to limit or

prevent silica exposure that have been

implemented in the mines with high

silicosis risk (e.g.worker training

programs, changes in work practices,

modifications of maintenance practices,

engineering controls, etc.) ; and

3. Development of recommendations

for modifications of existing

interventions and/or innovative new

interventions to prevent silica exposure,

with a plan for evaluating intervention

effectiveness.

Program Requirements

In conducting activities to achieve the

purpose of this program, the recipient

will be responsible for the activities

under A. (Recipient Activities), and

CDC/NIOSH will be responsible for the

activities listed under B. (CDC/NIOSH

Activities).

A. Recipient Activities

1. Conduct a study to identify high

silicosis-risk populations of metal/

nonmetal and surface miners; including

small and large employers, contractors,

unionized and nonunionized

operations.

2. Evaluate current work practices and

exposure conditions at targeted

operations where silicosis risk is high.

This evaluation should include an

assessment of the effectiveness of

current training efforts, maintenance

programs, engineering controls and

work practices.

3. Recommend new or modified

training efforts, maintenance programs,

engineering controls or driller work

practices which will reduce worker

exposures to silica.

4. Evaluate the effectiveness of new

interventions.

5. Publish results of the study.

B. CDC/NIOSH Activities

1. Provide scientific, epidemiologic,

engineering, environmental, and clinical

technical assistance (as needed) to the

recipient for successful completion of

this project.

2. Assist in the development of the

overall plan or study design for this

project.

3. Collaborate with the recipient on

the methods for collection, tabulation,

analysis, and publication of data related

to the project.

4. In consultation with Mine Safety

and Health Administration (MSHA)

obtain and provide available, relevant

information on MSHA sampling results,

survey data, training videos, etc.

5. Assist in development of

recommendations for interventions.

Evaluation Criteria

Applications will be reviewed and

evaluated according to the following

criteria:

1. The qualifications and efficient use

of current and proposed project

personnel, with assurance of a major

time commitment of the program

director to the program. Technical

qualifications of importance include,

but are not limited to, experience in

conducting investigations of the mining

industry, knowledge of the technical

aspects of drilling, and experience with

worker education and training (to

include evaluations of worker training

program effectiveness). (35%)

2. The adequacy of the applicant’s

facilities and resources for purposes of

evaluating surface mine driller training.

Important qualifications include

program/facility history of developing

and implementing worker training

programs. (10%)

3. The adequacy of the project plan or

methodology. The proposed plan and

methods should demonstrate a clear

understanding and application of the

goals and objectives for this program.

Novel approaches and ideas that

contribute to attainment of the

program’s goals and objectives are

encouraged. Important components

include the method of identification of

high silicosis-risk surface mine drilling

operations, identification of case study

subjects, the plan for assessment of

effectiveness of the intervention

strategies being used and how closely

the project’s objectives fit the objectives

for which applications were invited.

(40%)

The degree to which the applicant has

met the CDC policy requirements

regarding the inclusion of women,

ethnic, and racial groups in the

proposed research. This includes:

a. The proposed plan for the inclusion

of both sexes and racial and ethnic

minority populations for appropriate

representation.

b. The proposed justification when

representation is limited or absent.

c. A statement as to whether the

design of the study is adequate to

measure differences when warranted.

d. A statement as to whether the plans

for recruitment and outreach for study

participants include the process of

establishing partnerships with

community(ies) and recognition of

mutual benefits will be documented.

4. Efficient use of resources and

uniqueness of program. Evidence of

collaboration with outside organizations

(e.g., labor, universities, government

agencies) using shared resources

towards common goals and the

demonstrated ability to solicit and

receive financial resources from outside

the organization. (15%)

5. Human Subjects (Not Scored)

Whether or not exempt from the

Department of Health and Human

Services (DHHS) regulations, are

procedures adequate for protection of

human subjects? Recommendations on
28874 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 110 / Thursday, June 6, 1996 / Notices

the adequacy of protections include: (1)

Protections appear adequate, and there

are no comments to make or concerns to

raise, or (2) protections appear adequate,

but there are comments regarding the

protocol, or (3) protections appear

inadequate and the Objective Review

Group has concerns related to human

subjects; or (4) disapproval of the

application is recommended because

the research risks are sufficiently

serious and protection against the risks

are inadequate as to make the entire

application unacceptable.

6. Budget and Justification. (Not

Scored)

The budget will be evaluated to the

extent that it is reasonable, clearly

justified, and consistent with the

intended use of the funds.

Executive Order 12372 Review

This program is not subject to the

Executive Order 12372,

Intergovernmental Review of Federal

Programs.

Public Health System Reporting

Requirements

This program is not subject to the

Public Health System Reporting

Requirements.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Number

The Catalog of Federal Domestic

Assistance Number for this program is

93.283.

Other Requirements

Paperwork Reduction Act

Projects that involve the collection of

information from ten or more

individuals and funded by this

cooperative agreement will be subject to

review and approval by the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB) under

the Paperwork Reduction Act.

Human Subjects

If the proposed project involves

research on human subjects, the

applicant must comply with the

Department of Health and Human

Services Regulations, 45 CFR Part 46,

regarding the protection of human

subjects. Assurance must be provided to

demonstrate the project will be subject

to initial and continuing review by an

appropriate institutional review

committee. The applicant will be

responsible for providing assurance in

accordance with the appropriate

guidelines and form provided in the

application kit.

In addition to other applicable

committees, Indian Health Service (IHS)

institutional review committees also

must review the project if any

component of IHS will be involved or

will support the research. If any

American Indian community is

involved, its tribal government must

also approve that portion of the project

applicable to it.

Women and Minority Inclusion Policy

It is the policy of the CDC to ensure

that women and racial and ethnic

groups will be included in CDC

supported research projects involving

human subjects, whenever feasible and

appropriate. Racial and ethnic groups

are those defined in OMB Directive No.

15 and include American Indian,

Alaskan Native, Asian, Pacific Islander,

Black and Hispanic. Applicants shall

ensure that women, racial and ethnic

minority populations are appropriately

represented in applications for research

involving human subjects. Where clear

and compelling rationale exist that

inclusion is inappropriate or not

feasible, this situation must be

explained as part of the application. In

conducting the review of applications

for scientific merit, review groups will

evaluate proposed plans for inclusion of

minorities and both sexes as part of the

scientific assessment and assigned

score. This policy does not apply to

research studies when the investigator

cannot control the race, ethnicity and/

or sex of subjects. Further guidance to

this policy is contained the Federal

Register, Vol. 60, No. 179, Friday,

September 15, 1995, pages 47947–

47951.

Application Submission and Deadline

The original and two copies of the

application PHS Form 5161–1 (Revised

7/92, OMB Number 0937–0189) must be

submitted to Ron Van Duyne, Grants

Management Officer, Grants

Management Branch, Procurement and

Grants Office, Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention (CDC), 255 East

Paces Ferry Road, NE., Room 300,

Mailstop E–13, Atlanta, GA 30305, on or

before July 26, 1996.

1. Deadline: Applications shall be

considered as meeting the deadline if

they are either:

(a) Received on or before the deadline

date; or

(b) Sent on or before the deadline date

and received in time for submission to

the objective review group. (Applicants

must request a legibly dated U.S. Postal

Service postmark or obtain a legibly

dated receipt from a commercial carrier

or U.S. Postal Service. Private metered

postmarks shall not be acceptable as

proof of timely mailing.)

2. Late Applications: Applications

which do not meet the criteria in 1.(a)

or 1.(b) above are considered late

applications. Late applications will not

be considered in the current

competition and will be returned to the

applicant.

Where To Obtain Additional

Information

To receive additional written

information call (404) 332–4561. You

will be asked to leave your name,

address, and telephone number and will

need to refer to Announcement 649.

You will receive a complete program

description and information on

application procedures and application

forms. If you have questions after

reviewing the contents of the package,

business management technical

assistance may be obtained from Oppie

Byrd, Grants Management Specialist,

Grants Management Branch,

Procurement and Grants Office, Centers

for Disease Control and Prevention

(CDC), 255 East Paces Ferry Road, NE.,

Room 300, Mailstop E–13, Atlanta, GA

30305, telephone (404) 842–6546,

Internet: oxb3@opspgo1.em.cdc.gov, fax

(404) 842–6513.

Programmatic technical assistance

may be obtained from Joseph Cocalis,

National Institute for Occupational

Safety and Health, Centers for Disease

and Control Prevention (CDC), 1095

Willowdale Road, Mailstop H–120,

Morgantown, WV 26505–2888,

telephone (304) 285–5754, Internet:

jgc6@niords1.em.cdc.gov, fax (304) 285–

5820.

Please refer to Announcement 649

when requesting information and

submitting an application.

There may be delays in mail delivery

as well as difficulty in reaching the CDC

Atlanta offices during the 1996 Summer

Olympics (July 19—August 4).

Therefore, CDC suggests the following to

get more timely responses to any

questions: use Internet/email, follow all

instructions in this announcement, and

leave messages on the contact person’s

voice mail.

Copies of the NIOSH Alert, Preventing

Silicosis and Deaths in Rock Drillers,

can be obtained by contacting the

NIOSH Publications Dissemination

Office, 4676 Columbia Parkway,

Cincinnati, Ohio 45226, telephone (513)

533–8287.

Potential applicants may obtain a

copy of Healthy People 2000 (Full

Report, Stock No. 017–001–00474–0) or

Healthy People 2000 (Summary Report,

Stock No. 017–001–00473–1) referenced

in the Introduction Section through the

Superintendent of Documents,

Government Printing Office,

Washington, DC 20402–9325, telephone

(202) 512–1800.
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 110 / Thursday, June 6, 1996 / Notices 28875

Dated: May 30, 1996.

Diane D. Porter,

Acting Director, National Institute for

Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

[FR Doc. 96–14170 Filed 6–5–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4163–19–P

[Announcement 624]

National Institute for Occupational

Safety and Health Work Organization

Interventions To Prevent Work-Related

Musculoskeletal Disorders in Office

and Video Display Terminal Work

Introduction

The Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention (CDC) announces the

availability of fiscal year (FY) 1996

funds for a cooperative agreement

program to develop work organization

interventions to prevent

musculoskeletal disorders in office and

video display terminal (VDT) workers.

The CDC is committed to achieving

the health promotion and disease

prevention objectives of Healthy People

2000, national activity to reduce

morbidity and mortality and improve

the quality of life. This announcement

is related to the priority area of

Occupational Safety and Health. (For

ordering a copy of Healthy People 2000,

see the section WHERE TO OBTAIN

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.)

Authority

This program is authorized under

Sections 20(a) and 22(e)(7) of the

Occupational Safety and Health Act [29

U.S.C. 669(a) and 671(e)(7)].

Smoke-Free Workplace

The CDC strongly encourages all grant

recipients to provide a smoke-free

workplace and promote the nonuse of

all tobacco products, and Public Law

103–227, the Pro-Children Act of 1994,

prohibits smoking in certain facilities

that receive Federal funds in which

education, library, day care, health care,

and early childhood development

services are provided to children.

Eligible Applicants

Applications may be submitted by

public and private, non-profit and forprofit organizations and governments,

and their agencies. Thus, universities,

colleges, research institutions, hospitals,

other public and private organizations,

State and local health departments or

their bona fide agents, federally

recognized Indian tribal governments,

Indian tribes or Indian tribal

organizations, and small, minority- and/

or women-owned businesses are eligible

to apply.

Availability of Funds

Approximately $140,000 is available

in FY 1996 to fund one award. It is

expected that the award will begin on or

about September 30, 1996, and will be

made for a 12-month budget period

within a project period of one year. The

funding estimate is subject to change.

Applications should be focused on

the research priorities described in the

section ‘‘FUNDING PRIORITIES’’ that

includes new research priorities

developed in a process which resulted

in defining a National Occupational

Research Agenda. Proposals in these

areas will compete for the available

funds as noted in the previous

paragraph.

Purpose

The purpose of this cooperative

agreement is to utilize the special

resources of the extramural research

community to conduct studies. The

funded project will focus on worksite

primary prevention efforts, replicating

and extending the CDC/NIOSH

interventions described in the

BACKGROUND Section of the Program

Announcement. This could include: (a)

replication/validation of CDC/NIOSH

findings on work-rest schedules and

task rotation, (b) extension of these

interventions to other types of VDT and

office tasks, and (c) examination of other

types of work organization

interventions.

Prior studies have indicated that some

types of VDT jobs may pose higher risk

for stress and work-related

musculoskeletal disorders (WRMD),

particularly jobs involving highly

repetitive and narrow tasks (e.g., data

entry or teleoperator tasks). Such jobs

are of particular interest for this project.

Project results, in combination with

NIOSH findings, will provide the basis

for recommendations regarding effective

work organization strategies for

reducing WRMDs, and improving

performance in repetitive VDT work.

Project results will also improve our

understanding of mechanisms

mediating between work organization

variables and musculoskeletal disorders

in VDT work.

Program Requirements

In conducting activities to achieve the

purpose of this program, the recipient

will be responsible for the activities

under A. (Recipient Activities) and

CDC/NIOSH will be responsible for

activities under B. (CDC/NIOSH

Activities):

A. Recipient Activities

1. Evaluate the effectiveness of work

organization interventions in reducing

WRMDs and in improving productivity

among VDT workers. Both physical and

psychological symptoms will be

evaluated.

2. Develop a study protocol that

reviews the pertinent literature on VDTrelated musculoskeletal disorders and

work organization, describes the study

methodology, the data to be collected,

and the proposed analysis of the data.

Present the protocol to a panel of peer

reviewers and revise the protocol as

required for final approval.

3. Prepare necessary documentation

for reviews and/or clearances required

by CDC/NIOSH. (Depending on what is

proposed, it may be necessary to obtain

NIOSH peer review, Human Subjects

Review Board, or OMB approvals on

some protocols.)

4. Perform data collection and

management. Data is to include

measures of worker symptomatology

and performance and can additionally

include records data on factors such as

absenteeism, health care utilization, etc.

Symptomatology can include

musculoskeletal discomfort, upper

extremity musculoskeletal disorders,

and indicators of negative mental health

(e.g., depression, anxiety, tension).

Performance indicators can include

measures such as keystrokes/hour,

forms/hour, and errors.

5. Prepare a final report summarizing

the study methodology, results

obtained, and conclusions reached.

Develop recommendations regarding

effective work organization

interventions to reduce stress, fatigue,

and WRMDs among VDT workers.

6. Report study results to the

scientific community via presentations

at professional conferences and articles

in peer-reviewed journals.

B. CDC/NIOSH Activities

1. Provide scientific, epidemiologic,

work organization, ergonomic, and

medical collaboration for the successful

completion of this project.

2. Identify reviews and/or clearances

that must be fulfilled by the recipient,

and identify and convene a Peer Review

Panel to review draft study protocol.

3. Provide assistance in all stages of

the study including study design,

survey instrument design, collection,

tabulation, and analysis of data,

interpretation of the results and

preparation of the written reports.

4. Provide electromyograph (EMG) or

other instrumentation and data

collection assistance in investigating

physiological mechanisms in VDT

WRMDs.