[Federal Register: October 7, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 193)]
[Notices]
[Page 51608-51609]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr07oc09-69]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
[60Day-09-08BG]
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 omb@cdc.gov.
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
Survey of Coal Mine Safety Interventions--NEW--National Institute
for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC).
Background and Brief Description
Since its establishment in 1970 by the Occupational Safety and
Health Act, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
(NIOSH) has been at the forefront of research and innovation on methods
to help eliminate workplace injuries, illnesses and exposures. At Mine
Safety and Health Research laboratories in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and
Spokane, Washington, NIOSH employs engineers and scientists with
experience and expertise in mine safety and health issues. These
laboratories and their researchers have gained an international
reputation for innovative solutions to many mining safety and health
problems.
Although the NIOSH Mining Program widely disseminates and
publicizes research results, recommendations, techniques and products
that emerge from the work of these laboratories, the agency has limited
knowledge about the extent to which their innovations in mine safety
and health have been implemented by individual mine operators. This is
particularly true of methods and practices that are not mandated by
formal regulations. The overarching goal of the proposed survey of
NIOSH Recommended Safety and Health Practices for Coal Mines is to
gather data from working coal mines on the adoption and implementation
of NIOSH practices to mitigate safety and occupational hazards (e.g.,
explosions, falls of ground). The information from this survey will be
used by NIOSH to evaluate the implementation of safety and health
interventions (including best practices and barriers to implementation)
in areas such as respirable coal dust control, explosion prevention,
roof support, and emergency response planning and training. Survey
results will provide NIOSH with knowledge about which recommended
practices, tools and methods have been most widely embraced by the
industry, which have not been adopted, and why. The survey results will
provide needed insight from the perspective of mine operators on the
practical barriers that may prevent wider adoption of NIOSH
recommendations and practices designed to safeguard mine workers.
In the spring of 2007, NIOSH conducted a pretest of the survey
questionnaire with nine underground coal mine operators. The pretest
instrument contained 81 questions, including five questions which
measured the respondents' impressions of the clarity, burden level and
relevance of the survey. The pretest served several important
functions, including gaining feedback on the flow of items and their
relevance to the respondents' experience, assessing the effectiveness
of the questionnaire instructions, and obtaining recommendations for
improving the questions. Data captured in the pretest were used to
identify areas for questionnaire improvement and recommendations for
maximizing the performance of the full survey.
The proposed survey will be based upon a probability sample of 300
of the approximately 665 underground coal mines in the United States. A
stratified random sample of mines will be drawn
[[Page 51609]]
to ensure representativeness on important dimensions such as mine size
and region of the country. Sampling a large proportion of the
underground coal mines will ensure low rates of sampling error and
increase confidence in the resulting survey estimates. Over-sampling
some types of mines, such as those operating longwall sections, will be
necessary to ensure enough cases are available to conduct meaningful
analysis of these mine types.
Allowing mine operators to complete the survey using the method
they find convenient is expected to enhance the overall response rate.
Therefore, both a Web-based and a print version of the questionnaire
will be provided to sampled respondents. Using these multiple methods
of administration, NIOSH expects to achieve an 80% rate of response to
the survey. In order to further reduce the overall burden on
respondents, certain types of supplementary information (e.g., the
mine's dates of operation, annual coal production) will be gathered
from publicly-available data collected by the Mine Safety and Health
Administration (MSHA).
Once the study is completed, NIOSH will provide a copy of the final
report to each sampled mining operation, and use the survey data to
improve the adoption of important safety and health practices
throughout the coal mine industry. There is no cost to respondents
other than their time.
Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number Average burden
Type of response Number of responses per per response Total burden
respondents respondent (in hours) hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Initial telephone contact with coal mines....... 300 1 5/60 25
Respondents completing paper survey............. 144 1 30/60 72
Respondents completing Web survey............... 96 1 25/60 40
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total....................................... .............. .............. .............. 137
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dated: September 30, 2009.
Maryam I. Daneshvar,
Acting Reports Clearance Officer, Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.
[FR Doc. E9-24156 Filed 10-6-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P