[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 42 (Thursday, March 4, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9900-9901]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-4510]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
[30Day-10-09AY]
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) 395-5806.
Written comments should be received within 30 days of this notice.
Proposed Project
Laboratory Response Network (LRN)--Existing Data Collection in use
without an OMB Control Number--National Center for Preparedness,
Detection, and Control of Infectious Diseases (NCPDCID), Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Background and Brief Description
The Laboratory Response Network (LRN) was established by the
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) in accordance with Presidential Decision
Directive 39, which outlined national anti-terrorism policies and
assigned specific missions to federal departments and agencies. The
LRN's mission is to maintain an integrated national and international
network of laboratories that can respond to suspected acts of
biological, chemical, or radiological terrorism and other public health
emergencies.
When Federal, state and local public health laboratories
voluntarily join the LRN, they assume specific responsibilities and are
required to provide information to the LRN Program Office at CDC. Each
laboratory must submit and maintain complete information regarding the
testing capabilities of the laboratory. Biannually, laboratories are
required to review, verify and update their testing capability
information. Complete testing capability information is required in
order for the LRN Program Office to determine the ability of the
Network to respond to a biological or chemical terrorism event. The
sensitivity of all information associated with the LRN requires the LRN
Program Office to obtain personal information about all individuals
accessing the LRN Web site. In addition, the LRN Program Office must be
able to contact all laboratory personnel during an event so each
laboratory staff member that obtains access to the restricted LRN Web
site must provide his or her contact information to the LRN Program
Office.
As a requirement of membership, LRN Laboratories must report all
biological and chemical testing results to the LRN Program at CDC using
a CDC developed software tool called the LRN Results Messenger. This
information is essential for surveillance of anomalies, to support
response to an event that may involve multiple agencies and to manage
limited resources. LRN Laboratories must also participate in and report
results for Proficiency Testing Challenges or Validation Studies. LRN
Laboratories participate in multiple Proficiency Testing Challenges,
Exercises and/or Validation Studies every year consisting of five to
500 simulated samples provided by the LRN Program Office. It is
necessary to conduct such challenges in order to verify the testing
capability of the LRN Laboratories. The rarity of biological or
chemical agents perceived to be of bioterrorism concern prevents some
LRN Laboratories from maintaining proficiency as a result of day-to-day
testing. Simulated samples are therefore distributed to ensure
proficiency across the LRN. The results obtained from testing these
simulated samples must also be entered into Results Messenger for
evaluation by the LRN Program Office.
During a surge event resulting from a bioterrorism or chemical
terrorism attack, LRN Laboratories are also required to submit all
testing results using LRN Results Messenger. The LRN Program Office
requires these results in order to track the progression of a
bioterrorism event and respond in the most efficient and effective way
possible and for data sharing with other Federal partners involved in
the response. The number of samples tested during a response to a
possible event could range from 10,000 to more than 500,000 samples
depending on the length and breadth of the event. Since there is
potentially a large range in the number of samples for a surge event,
CDC estimates the annualized burden for this event will be 3,000,000
hours or 625 responses per respondent.
Semiannually the LRN Program Office may conduct a Special Data Call
to obtain additional information from LRN Member Laboratories in
regards to biological or chemical terrorism preparedness. Special Data
Calls are conducted using the LRN Web site.
Respondents are public health laboratorians. There are no costs to
respondents other than their time. The total estimated annualized
burden for this information collection is 3,176,400 hours.
Estimate of Annualized Burden Hours
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Average number Average burden
Forms Respondents Number of of responses per response
respondents per respondent (in hours)
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Biennial Requalification.............. Public Health 100 1 2
Laboratorians.
General Surveillance Testing Results.. Public Health 200 25 24
Laboratorians.
Proficiency Testing/Validation Testing Public Health 200 5 56
Results. Laboratorians.
Surge Event Testing Results........... Public Health 200 625 24
Laboratorians.
Special Data Call..................... Public Health 200 2 30/60
Laboratorians.
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[[Page 9901]]
Dated: February 26, 2010.
Maryam I. Daneshvar,
Acting Reports Clearance Officer, Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2010-4510 Filed 3-3-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P