[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 224 (Monday, November 23, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61175-61176]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-28031]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
[Docket No. OSHA-2009-0028]
Personal Protective Equipment Standard for General Industry;
Extension of the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) Approval of
the Information Collection (Paperwork) Requirements
AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Labor.
ACTION: Request for public comment.
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SUMMARY: OSHA solicits comments concerning its proposal to extend the
Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval of the information
collection requirements contained in the Personal Protective Equipment
(PPE) Standard for General Industry (29 CFR part 1910, subpart I).
DATES: Comments must be submitted (postmarked, sent, or received) by
January 22, 2010.
ADDRESSES: Electronically: You may submit comments and attachments
electronically at http://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal
eRulemaking Portal. Follow the instructions online for submitting
comments.
Facsimile: If your comments, including attachments, are not longer
than 10 pages, you may fax them to the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-
1648.
Mail, hand delivery, express mail, messenger, or courier service:
When using this method, you must submit three copies of your comments
and attachments to the OSHA Docket Office, Docket No. OSHA-2009-0028,
U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health
Administration, Room N-2625, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington,
DC 20210. Deliveries (hand, express mail, messenger, and courier
service) are accepted during the Department of Labor's and Docket
Office's normal business hours, 8:15 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., e.t.
Instructions: All submissions must include the Agency name and OSHA
docket number for the ICR (OSHA-2009-0028). All comments, including any
personal information you provide, are placed in the public docket
without change, and may be made available online at http://www.regulations.gov. For further information on submitting comments see
the ``Public Participation'' heading in the section of this notice
titled SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
Docket: To read or download comments or other material in the
docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov or the OSHA Docket Office at
the address above. All documents in the docket (including this Federal
Register notice) are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index;
however, some information (e.g., copyrighted material) is not publicly
available to read or download through the Web site. All submissions,
including copyrighted material, are available for inspection and
copying at the OSHA Docket Office. You may contact Theda Kenney at the
address below to obtain a copy of the Information Collection Request
(ICR).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Theda Kenney or Todd Owen, Directorate
of Standards and Guidance, OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-3609,
200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone (202)
693-2222.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort to reduce
paperwork and respondent (i.e., employer) burden, conducts a
preclearance consultation program to provide the public with an
opportunity to comment on proposed and continuing information
collection requirements in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act
of 1995 (PRA-95) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).
This program ensures that information is in the desired format,
reporting burden (time and costs) is minimal, collection instruments
are clearly understood, and OSHA's estimate of the information
collection burden is accurate. The Occupational Safety and Health Act
of 1970 (the Act) (29 U.S.C. 651 et seq.) authorizes information
collection by employers as necessary or appropriate for enforcement of
the Act or for developing information regarding the causes and
prevention of occupational injuries, illnesses, and accidents (29
U.S.C. 657).
Subpart I specifies several paperwork requirements. The following
describes the information collection requirements in subpart I and
addresses who will use the information.
Hazard Assessment and Verification (Sec. 1910.132(d))
Paragraph (d)(1) requires employers to perform a hazard assessment
of the workplace to determine if hazards are present, or likely to be
present, that make the use of PPE necessary. Where such hazards are
present, employers must communicate PPE selection decisions to each
affected worker (paragraph (d)(1)(ii)).
[[Page 61176]]
Paragraph (d)(2) requires employers to certify in writing that they
have performed the hazard assessment. The certification must include
the date and the person certifying that the hazard assessment was
conducted, and the identification of the workplace evaluated (area or
location).
The hazard assessment assures that potential workplace hazards
necessitating PPE use have been identified and the PPE selected is
appropriate for those hazards and the affected workers. The required
certification of the hazard assessment verifies that the required
hazard assessment was conducted.
Training and Verification (Sec. 1910.132(f))
Section 1910.132(f) requires that employers provide training for
each worker who is required to wear PPE. Paragraph (f)(3) requires that
employers also provide retraining when there is reason to believe that
any previously trained worker does not have the understanding and skill
to use PPE properly. Circumstances where such retraining is required
include changes in the workplace that render prior training obsolete,
changes in the types of PPE used, and inadequacies in the worker's
knowledge or use of PPE that indicate the worker had not retained the
requisite understanding and skill.
Paragraph (f)(4) requires that employers certify that workers have
received and understood the PPE training required in Sec. 1910.132(f).
The training certification must include the name of the worker(s)
trained, the date(s) of training, and the subject of the certification
(i.e., a statement identifying the document as a certification of
training in the use of PPE).
The training certification verifies that workers have received the
necessary training and know how to properly use PPE. OSHA compliance
officers may require employers to disclose the certification records
during an Agency inspection.
The standards on PPE protection for the eyes and face (29 CFR
1910.133), head (29 CFR 1910.135, feet (29 CFR 1910.136)), and hands
(29 CFR 1910.138) do not contain any separate information collection
requirements.
II. Special Issues for Comment
OSHA has a particular interest in comments on the following issues:
Whether the proposed information collection requirements
are necessary for the proper performance of the Agency's functions,
including whether the information is useful;
The accuracy of OSHA's estimate of the burden (time and
costs) of the information collection requirements, including the
validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
The quality, utility, and clarity of the information
collected; and
Ways to minimize the burden on employers who must comply;
for example, by using automated or other technological information
collection and transmission techniques.
III. Proposed Actions
OSHA is requesting that OMB extend its approval of the information
collection requirements contained in the Personal Protective Equipment
Standard for General Industry (29 CFR part 1910, subpart I). OSHA is
proposing to decrease the burden hours in the currently approved
information collection request from 3,953,759 to 3,552,171 (a total
decrease of 401,588 hours). This decrease is due to the reduction in
the percentage of establishments with 20 or more workers affected by
the Standard.
The Agency will summarize the comments submitted in response to
this notice and will include this summary in the request to OMB.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
Title: Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for General Industry (29
CFR part 1910, subpart I).
OMB Number: 1218-0205.
Affected Public: Business or other for-profits; Federal Government;
State, Local, or Tribal Government.
Number of Respondents: 3,500,000.
Frequency of Response: On occasion.
Average Time per Response: Varies from one minute (.02 hour) to
maintain a training certification record to 29 hours to perform a
hazard assessment.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 3,552,171.
Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $0.
IV. Public Participation--Submission of Comments on This Notice and
Internet Access to Comments and Submissions
You may submit comments in response to this document as follows:
(1) Electronically at http://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal
eRulemaking Portal; (2) by facsimile (FAX); or (3) by hard copy. All
comments, attachments, and other material must identify the Agency name
and the OSHA docket number for the ICR (Docket No. OSHA-2009-0028). You
may supplement electronic submissions by uploading document files
electronically. If you wish to mail additional materials in reference
to an electronic or facsimile submission, you must submit them to the
OSHA Docket Office (see the section of this notice titled ADDRESSES).
The additional materials must clearly identify your electronic comments
by your name, date, and the docket number so the Agency can attach them
to your comments.
Because of security procedures, the use of regular mail may cause a
significant delay in the receipt of comments. For information about
security procedures concerning the delivery of materials by hand,
express delivery, messenger, or courier service, please contact the
OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-2350 (TTY (877) 889-5627).
Comments and submissions are posted without change at http://www.regulations.gov. Therefore, OSHA cautions commenters about
submitting personal information such as social security numbers and
date of birth. Although all submissions are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index, some information (e.g., copyrighted
material) is not publicly available to read or download through this
Web site. All submissions, including copyrighted material, are
available for inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office.
Information on using the http://www.regulations.gov Web site to submit
comments and access the docket is available at the Web site's ``User
Tips'' link. Contact the OSHA Docket Office for information about
materials not available through the Web site, and for assistance in
using the Internet to locate docket submissions.
V. Authority and Signature
Jordan Barab, Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational
Safety and Health, directed the preparation of this notice. The
authority for this notice is the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44
U.S.C. 3506 et seq.) and Secretary of Labor's Order No. 5-2007 (72 FR
31160).
Signed at Washington, DC, this 18th day of November 2009.
Jordan Barab,
Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and
Health.
[FR Doc. E9-28031 Filed 11-20-09; 8:45 am]
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