[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 124 (Thursday, June 28, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35489-35490]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-12504]



[[Page 35489]]

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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[60 Day-07-07BD]


Proposed Data Collections Submitted for Public Comment and 
Recommendations

    In compliance with the requirement of Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 for opportunity for public comment on 
proposed data collection projects, the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention (CDC) will publish periodic summaries of proposed projects. 
To request more information on the proposed projects or to obtain a 
copy of the data collection plans and instruments, call 404-639-5960 
and send comments to Maryam I. Daneshvar, CDC Acting Reports Clearance 
Officer, 1600 Clifton Road, MS-D74, Atlanta, GA 30333 or send an e-mail 
to [email protected].
    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information shall have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways 
to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, 
including through the use of automated collection techniques or other 
forms of information technology. Written comments should be received 
within 60 days of this notice.

Proposed Project

    Building Related Asthma Research in Public Schools--New--National 
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Background and Brief Description

    The mission of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and 
Health (NIOSH) is to promote safety and health at work for all people 
through research and prevention. The Occupational Safety and Health 
Act, Public Law 91-596 (section 20[a][1]) authorizes the National 
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to conduct 
research to advance the health and safety of workers. NIOSH is 
conducting a longitudinal study among teachers and staff in public 
schools. The goals of this study are (1) To document the time course of 
changes in respiratory health, sick leave, and quality of life in 
relation to building remediation for water incursion and dampness 
problems and (2) to validate the reporting of building-related lower 
respiratory symptoms in school staff with bronchial hyper-
responsiveness by the use of serial spirometry to look for building-
related patterns of airflow variability.
    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sponsored the 
Institute of Medicine to make an exhaustive review of the published 
literature relating exposures in damp buildings to health consequences. 
The committee findings, summarized in Damp Indoor Spaces and Health 
(Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Science 2004), 
concluded that sufficient evidence exists for associating the presence 
of mold or other agents in damp buildings to nasal and throat symptoms, 
cough, wheeze, asthma symptoms in sensitized asthmatics, and 
hypersensitivity pneumonitis in susceptible persons. Identification of 
specific causal agents for these health outcomes in damp environments 
requires more investigation, and more research and demonstration 
projects are needed to evaluate interventions in damp buildings.
    NIOSH is proposing to conduct an initial cross-sectional 
respiratory health survey in three schools. The study will then 
continue with two additional years of longitudinal follow-up, which 
will be used to assess respiratory health and environmental conditions 
in relation to time and intervention status in the three schools. NIOSH 
will study one school with no history of building leaks and good 
control of internal moisture sources, one school with previous building 
leaks and water damage but with subsequent renovation before the start 
of the study, and one school with current building leaks and dampness 
problems with renovation scheduled during the study. The questionnaire 
will be administered each year to approximately 255 respondents by an 
interviewer who will record the responses directly into a computer. It 
will include sections on the participant's medical history, work 
history, and home environment. All participants from the initial cross-
sectional survey meeting an epidemiologic definition of asthma and 
reporting that the symptoms improve away from the school will be asked 
to perform spirometry and a methacholine challenge test, or if 
obstructed, a bronchodilator test, both of which are standard medical 
tests for asthma; NIOSH anticipates about 45 respondents for these 
tests. Of those 45, 20 participants who are positive for either test 
will also be asked to participate in the serial spirometry study, which 
will cover three weeks during the school term and an additional three 
weeks during the summer break. Participation in all surveys is 
completely voluntary. There are no costs to the respondents other than 
their time.

                                        Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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                                                                  Number of      Average burden
                  Form name                      Number of      responses per     per response     Total Burden
                                                respondents       respondent       (in hours)       (in hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Health questionnaire........................              255                1                1              255
Health questionnaire and lung function                     25                1                2               50
 testing....................................
Health questionnaire, lung function testing,               20                1               39              780
 serial spirometry..........................
                                             -------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total...................................  ...............  ...............  ...............            1,085
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[[Page 35490]]

    Dated: June 22, 2007.
Maryam I. Daneshvar,
Acting Reports Clearance Officer, Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention.
[FR Doc. E7-12504 Filed 6-27-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P