[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 239 (Thursday, December 13, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70866-70867]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-24140]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
[30Day-08-06AO]
Agency Forms Undergoing Paperwork Reduction Act Review
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) publishes a
list of information collection requests under review by the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) in compliance with the Paperwork Reduction
Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). To request a copy of these requests, call
the CDC Reports Clearance Officer at (404) 639-5960 or send an e-mail
to [email protected]. Send written comments to CDC Desk Officer, Office of
Management and Budget, Washington, DC or by fax to (202) 395-6974.
Written comments should be received within 30 days of this notice.
Proposed Project
Evaluation of an Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Program for
the Small Business Wood Pallet Industry--New--National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC).
Background and Brief Description
The Federal Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, Section
501, enables CDC/NIOSH to carry out research relevant to the health and
safety of workers. The goal of this project is to determine whether
receipt of a NIOSH informational manual about occupational safety and
health (OSH) concerns specific to pallet manufacturing and recycling
will motivate owners or managers to take actions resulting in a safer
workplace. The theoretical basis of the study follows the
Transtheoretical Model (TTM) of Prochaska and DiClemente [1984]. This
model states that change is defined by 5 stages: (1) Pre-
contemplation--people are unaware of problems and are not thinking
seriously about changing within the next 6 months, (2) contemplation--
the stage where people become aware that a problem exists and intend to
take action within the next 6 months, (3) preparation--investigating
options and intending to take action in the next 30
[[Page 70867]]
days, (4) action--people institute environmental changes and change
their overt behavior, and (5) maintenance--people continue the gains
obtained during the action stage for longer than 6 months.
Small business entrepreneurship is a vital component of the U.S.
economy. OSH activities, including research, regulation, enforcement,
and intervention historically have not focused on small businesses
despite their predominance and relatively large numbers of employees
overall. Few small business establishments provide on-site occupational
health units, medical screening tests, pre-placement physicals, or
employ or use industrial hygiene or safety personnel/consultants. As a
consequence, prevention of occupational injury and illness is often
difficult in small business establishments because they generally have
few safety and health resources, do not hire staff devoted to safety
and health activities, and often lack the ability to identify
occupational hazards and conduct surveillance.
The pallet manufacturing industry has higher injury rates than
general industry. The incidence rate for non-fatal injuries in the wood
pallet and skid (SIC 2448) manufacturing industry was 226% greater than
that for general industry. The type of injuries sustained at wood
pallet manufacturers and their rates of increase [2002] compared to
general industry included amputations (2220% higher), cuts and
punctures (378% higher), fractures (237% higher), bruises (221% higher)
sprains and strains (133% higher) and back pain (305% higher).
Through this study, NIOSH will evaluate the feasibility and
effectiveness of providing carefully constructed OSH information to one
segment of small business pallet makers. The informational manual will
be divided into eight chapters targeting specific hazards relevant to
pallet work and will provide the owners/managers with suggestions for
controlling those hazards. Chapters were selected based on prior NIOSH
site visits to a sample of pallet makers and in consultation with the
National Wood Pallet and Container Association. The chapters include:
An introduction to OSH, developing a site-specific safety program,
controlling noise, improving ventilation, saw safety, forklift safety,
preventing build up of carbon monoxide, and prevention of
musculoskeletal injury through ergonomics.
This project will utilize two groups--a treatment group and a
control group--in a pre-post design. One hundred eighty pallet
companies will be randomly selected and assigned to two groups from a
list of small pallet businesses in the United States that was provided
by a market research firm. Both groups will participate in a baseline
survey conducted by telephone. The treatment group will then receive
the NIOSH informational manual by mail and the control group will not
receive the manual until the conclusion of the study. Five months after
the mailing, both groups will participate in a follow-up telephone
survey designed to assess whether receipt and use of the material
encouraged owners/managers to contemplate, plan, or initiate OSH
changes at their facility. The questionnaire will determine whether
owners/managers have progressed from baseline along the stage of change
continuum because of receipt and use of the NIOSH material, or if some
other factor is influencing their safety and health actions. It is
possible that improvements in OSH may occur due to other influences and
not from the informational manual. For example, it is possible that
some event will occur that will make the entire industry more aware of
OSH. Use of a similar control group will help in this determination.
Data collection will occur within a 12 month period. However, the
entire NIOSH study will occur over a two-year period. There will be no
cost to respondents except their time to participate in the telephone
survey. The total estimated annualized burden hours are 40.
Estimated Annualized Burden Table
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Number of Average burden
Type of respondents Form name Number of responses per per response
respondents respondent (in hours)
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Pallet company safety and health Initial Questionnaire 9 1 3/60
managers. (screening only).
Initial Questionnaire 48 1 12/60
(complete).
Treatment Group....................... Follow-up Questionnaire. 45 1 15/60
Pallet company safety and health Initial Questionnaire 9 1 3/60
managers. (screening only).
Initial Questionnaire 48 1 12/60
(complete).
Control Group......................... Follow-up Questionnaire* 45 1 9/60
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Dated: December 6, 2007.
Maryam I. Daneshvar,
Acting Reports Clearance Officer, Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.
[FR Doc. E7-24140 Filed 12-12-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P