[Federal Register: April 15, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 71)]
[Notices]
[Page 17495-17496]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr15ap09-85]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
[60Day-09-0040]
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
[[Page 17496]]
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
NCEH/ATSDR Exposure Investigations (EIs) [OMB NO: 0923-0040]--
Extension--The National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH), and the
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), and the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Background and Brief Description
This is a brief summary of a joint clearance between the NCEH and
ATSDR, (hereafter ATSDR will represent both ATSDR and NCEH). ATSDR is
mandated pursuant to the 1980 Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and its 1986 Amendments, the
Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) to prevent or
mitigate adverse human health effects and diminished quality of life
resulting from the exposure to hazardous substances in the environment.
EIs are an approach developed by ATSDR that employs targeted biologic
(e.g., urine, blood, hair samples) and environmental (e.g., air, water,
soil, or food) sampling to determine whether people are or have been
exposed to unusual levels of pollutants at specific locations (e.g.,
where people live, spend leisure time, or anywhere they might come into
contact with contaminants under investigation). After a chemical
release or suspected release into the environment, ATSDR's EIs are used
by public health professionals, environmental risk managers, and other
decision makers to determine if current conditions warrant intervention
strategies to minimize or eliminate human exposure. EIs are usually
requested by officials of a state health agency, county health
departments, the Environmental Protection Agency, the general public,
and ATSDR staff.
ATSDR has been conducting EIs since 1995 throughout the United
States. All of ATSDR's biomedical assessments and some of the
environmental investigations involve participants. Participation is
completely voluntary. To assist in interpreting the sampling results, a
survey questionnaire appropriate to the specific contaminant is
administered to participants. ATSDR collects contact information (e.g.,
name, address, phone number) to provide the participant with their
individual results. Name and address information are broken into nine
separate questions (data fields) for computer entry. General
information, which includes height, weight, age, race, gender, etc., is
also collected primarily on biomedical investigations to assist with
results interpretation. General information can account for
approximately 28 questions per investigation. Some of this information
is investigation-specific; not all of this data is collected for every
investigation. ATSDR is seeking an extension of our approved set of 61
general information questions.
ATSDR also collects information on other possible confounding
sources of chemical(s) exposure such as medicines taken, foods eaten,
hobbies, jobs, etc. In addition, ATSDR asks questions on recreational
or occupational activities that could increase a participant's exposure
potential. That information represents an individual's exposure
history. To cover those broad categories, ATSDR is seeking an extension
to our approved sets of topical questions. Of these, we use
approximately 12-15 questions about the pertinent environmental
exposures per investigation. This number can vary depending on the
number of chemicals being investigated, the route of exposure (e.g.,
breathing, eating, touching), and number of other sources of the
chemical(s) (e.g., products used, jobs).
Typically, the number of participants in an individual EI ranges
from 10 to 50. Questionnaires are generally needed in less than half of
the EIs (approximately 10-15 per year).
The subject matter for the complete set of topical questions
includes the following: (1) Media specific which includes: Air (indoor/
outdoor); water (water source and plumbing); soil, and food (gardening,
fish, game, domestic animals (e.g., chickens)). (2) Other sources such
as: Occupations; hobbies; household chemical uses and house
construction characteristics; lifestyle (e.g., smoking); medicines and/
or health conditions, and foods.
There are no costs to respondents other than their time.
Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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Number of Average burden
Respondents Number of responses per per response Total burden
respondents respondent (in hours) (in hours)
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Exposure Investigation Participants......... 750 1 30/60 375
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Dated: April 8, 2009.
Maryam I. Daneshvar,
Acting Reports Clearance Officer, Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.
[FR Doc. E9-8537 Filed 4-14-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P