Notice2023-16221
Proposed Data Collection Submitted for Public Comment and Recommendations
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
August 1, 2023
Issuing agencies
Health and Human Services DepartmentCenters for Disease Control and Prevention
Abstract
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as part of its continuing effort to reduce public burden and maximize the utility of government information, invites the general public and other federal agencies the opportunity to comment on a continuing information collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This notice invites comment on a proposed information collection project titled Health Hazard Evaluations/Technical Assistance and Emerging Problems. This data collection is designed to assist the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in responding to requests for Health Hazard Evaluations (HHEs) to identify chemical, biological or physical hazards in workplaces throughout the United States.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 146 (Tuesday, August 1, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 146 (Tuesday, August 1, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50155-50157]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-16221]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
[60Day-23-0260; Docket No. CDC-2023-0065]
Proposed Data Collection Submitted for Public Comment and
Recommendations
AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of
Health and Human Services (HHS).
ACTION: Notice with comment period.
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SUMMARY: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as part
of its continuing effort to reduce public burden and maximize the
utility of government information, invites the general public and other
federal agencies the opportunity to comment on a continuing information
collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This
notice invites comment on a proposed information collection project
titled Health Hazard Evaluations/Technical Assistance and Emerging
Problems. This data collection is designed to assist the National
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in responding to
requests for Health Hazard Evaluations (HHEs) to identify chemical,
biological or physical hazards in workplaces throughout the United
States.
DATES: CDC must receive written comments on or before October 2, 2023.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CDC-2023-
0065 by either of the following methods:
<bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>. Follow
the instructions for submitting comments.
<bullet> Mail: Jeffrey M. Zirger, Information Collection Review
Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road
NE, MS H21-8, Atlanta, Georgia 30329.
Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name
and Docket Number. CDC will post, without change, all relevant comments
to <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>.
Please note: Submit all comments through the Federal eRulemaking
portal (<a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>) or by U.S. mail to the address listed
above.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request more information on the
proposed project or to obtain a copy of the information collection plan
and instruments, contact Jeffrey M. Zirger,
[[Page 50156]]
Information Collection Review Office, Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road NE, MS H21-8, Atlanta, Georgia 30329;
Telephone: 404-639-7570; Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#3f50525d7f5c5b5c11585049"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="a8c7c5cae8cbcccb86cfc7de">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), federal agencies must obtain approval from
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for each collection of
information they conduct or sponsor. In addition, the PRA also requires
federal agencies to provide a 60-day notice in the Federal Register
concerning each proposed collection of information, including each new
proposed collection, each proposed extension of existing collection of
information, and each reinstatement of previously approved information
collection before submitting the collection to the OMB for approval. To
comply with this requirement, we are publishing this notice of a
proposed data collection as described below.
The OMB is particularly interested in comments that will help:
1. Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency,
including whether the information will have practical utility;
2. Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of
the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used;
3. Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected;
4. Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those
who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated,
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic
submissions of responses; and
5. Assess information collection costs.
Proposed Project
Health Hazard Evaluations/Technical Assistance and Emerging
Problems (OMB Control No. 0920-0260, Exp. 3/31/2024)--Revision--
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Background and Brief Description
In accordance with its mandates under the Occupational Safety and
Health Act of 1970 and the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977,
NIOSH responds to requests for Health Hazard Evaluations (HHE) to
identify chemical, biological or physical hazards in workplaces
throughout the United States. Each year, NIOSH receives approximately
250 such requests although that number has been lower in the most
recent years presumably due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Most HHE requests
come from workplaces in the following industrial sectors: services,
manufacturing, health and social services, transportation, and
construction.
A printed HHE request form is available in English and in Spanish.
The form is also available on the internet and differs from the printed
version only in format and in the fact that it can be submitted
directly from the website. The request form takes an estimated 12
minutes to complete. The form provides the mechanism for employees,
employers, and other authorized representatives to supply the
information required by the regulations governing the NIOSH HHE program
(42 CFR 85.3-1). NIOSH then reviews the HHE request to determine if an
on-site evaluation is needed. The primary purpose of an on-site
evaluation is to help employers and employees identify and eliminate
occupational health hazards. For approximately 25% of the requests
received NIOSH determines an on-site evaluation is needed. In
approximately 70% of these on-site evaluations, employees are
interviewed in an informal manner to help further define concerns.
Interviews may take approximately 15 minutes per respondent. The
interview questions are specific to each workplace and its suspected
diseases and hazards. However, interviews are based on standard medical
practices. In approximately 30% of on-site evaluations, questionnaires
are distributed or administered by NIOSH staff to employees.
Questionnaires may require approximately 30 minutes to complete. The
survey questions are specific to each workplace, and its suspected
diseases and hazards; however, items in the questionnaires are derived
from standardized or widely used medical and epidemiologic data
collection instruments.
Approximately two (less than 1%) of the onsite evaluations involve
medical tests or the collection of biological samples that would
require informed consent. The estimated time to complete the informed
consent process is 30 minutes. If 30 employees are monitored at each of
the two work sites, the burden from this activity is 30 hours. Roughly
70% of the on-site evaluations involve employee exposure monitoring in
the workplace. Employees participating in on-site evaluations by
wearing a sampling or monitoring device to measure personal workplace
exposures are offered the opportunity to receive notification of their
exposure results. To indicate their preference and, if interested,
provide contact information, employees complete a contact information
post card or form. Completing the contact card or form may take five
minutes or less. The number of employees monitored for workplace
exposures per on-site evaluation is estimated to be 25 per site.
NIOSH distributes interim and final reports of health hazard
evaluations, excluding personal identifiers, to the following:
requesters, employers, employee representatives; the Department of
Labor (Occupational Safety and Health Administration or Mine Safety and
Health Administration, as appropriate); state health departments; and,
as needed, other state and federal agencies. NIOSH also administers a
followback program to assess the effectiveness of its HHE program in
reducing workplace hazards. This program entails the distribution of
followback surveys to employer and employee representatives at all the
workplaces where NIOSH conducted an on-site evaluation. In a small
number of instances, a followback on-site evaluation may be completed.
The first followback survey is sent shortly after the first visit for
an on-site evaluation and takes about 10 minutes to complete. A second
followback survey is sent after the final report is completed and
requires about 20 minutes to complete. At 12 months, a third followback
survey is sent, which takes about 15 minutes to complete.
For requests where NIOSH does not conduct an on-site evaluation,
the requestor receives the first followback survey after our response
letter is sent and a second one 12 months after our response. The first
survey takes about 10 minutes to complete, and the second survey takes
about 15 minutes to complete. Because of the number of investigations
conducted each year, the need to respond quickly to requests for
assistance, the diverse and unpredictable nature of these
investigations, and its followback program to assess evaluation
effectiveness, NIOSH requests a consolidated clearance for data
collections performed within the domain of its HHE program. In
consideration of this planned continuation, the program is submitting
this Revision to include the next three years from the approval date.
The total estimated burden hours are 1745 hours. There is no cost to
respondents other than their time.
[[Page 50157]]
Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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Average
Number of Number of burden per Total
Type of respondents Form name respondents responses per response burden (in
respondent (in hours) hours)
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Employees and Representatives.... Health Hazard 175 1 12/60 35
Evaluation Request
Form.
Employers........................ Health Hazard 75 1 12/60 15
Evaluation Request
Form.
Employees........................ Health Hazard 1,470 1 15/60 368
Evaluation
specific interview
example.
Employees........................ Health Hazard 2,100 1 30/60 1,050
Evaluation
specific
questionnaire
example.
Employees........................ HHE specific 60 1 30/60 30
informed consent
form.
Employees........................ Contact information 1,225 1 5/60 102
post card.
Employees and Representatives; First Followback 140 1 10/60 23
Employers--Year 1 (on-site Survey.
evaluation).
Employees and Representatives; Second Followback 140 1 20/60 47
Employers--Year 1 (on-site Survey.
evaluation).
Employees and Representatives; Third Followback 140 1 15/60 35
Employers--Year 2 (on-site Survey.
evaluation).
Employees and Representatives; First Followback 94 1 10/60 16
Employers--Year 1 (without on- Survey.
site evaluation).
Employees and Representatives; Second Followback 94 1 15/60 24
Employers--Year 2 (without on- Survey.
site evaluation).
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Total........................ ................... .............. .............. ........... 1,745
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Jeffrey M. Zirger,
Lead, Information Collection Review Office, Office of Public Health
Ethics and Regulations, Office of Science, Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2023-16221 Filed 7-31-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P
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