Notice2026-03834
Formaldehyde Standard; Extension of the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) Approval of Information Collection (Paperwork) Requirements
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
February 26, 2026
Issuing agencies
Labor DepartmentOccupational Safety and Health Administration
Abstract
OSHA solicits public comments concerning its proposal to extend the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval of the information collection requirements specified in its Formaldehyde Standard.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 38 (Thursday, February 26, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 38 (Thursday, February 26, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9656-9658]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-03834]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
[Docket No. OSHA-2009-0041]
Formaldehyde Standard; Extension of the Office of Management and
Budget's (OMB) Approval of Information Collection (Paperwork)
Requirements
AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Labor.
ACTION: Request for public comments.
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SUMMARY: OSHA solicits public comments concerning its proposal to
extend the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval of the
information collection requirements specified in its Formaldehyde
Standard.
DATES: Comments must be submitted (postmarked, sent, or received) by
April 27, 2026.
ADDRESSES:
Electronically: You may submit comments and attachments
electronically at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, which is the Federal
eRulemaking Portal. Follow the instructions online for submitting
comments.
Docket: To read or download comments or other material in the
docket, go to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. Documents in the docket are
listed in the <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> index; however, some
information (e.g., copyrighted material) is not publicly available to
read or download through the websites. All submissions, including
copyrighted
[[Page 9657]]
material, are available for inspection through the OSHA Docket Office.
Contact the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-2350 (TTY (877) 889-5627)
for assistance in locating docket submissions.
Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and OSHA
docket number (OSHA-2009-0041) for the Information Collection Request
(ICR). OSHA will place all comments, including any personal
information, in the public docket, which may be made available online.
Therefore, OSHA cautions interested parties about submitting personal
information such as social security numbers and birth dates.
For further information on submitting comments, see the ``Public
Participation'' heading in the section of this notice titled
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Belinda Cannon, Directorate of
Standards and Guidance, OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor; telephone (202)
693-2222.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The Department of Labor, as part of the 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 (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 (OSH Act) (29 U.S.C. 651 et
seq.) authorizes information collection by employers as necessary or
appropriate for enforcement of the OSH Act or for developing
information regarding the causes and prevention of occupational
injuries, illnesses, and accidents (29 U.S.C. 657). The OSH Act also
requires that OSHA obtain such information with a minimum burden upon
employers, especially those operating small businesses, and to reduce
to the maximum extent feasible unnecessary duplication of efforts in
obtaining said information (29 U.S.C. 657).
The following sections describe who uses the information collected
under each requirement, as well as how they use it. The purpose of
these requirements are to help employers protect workers from slip,
trip, and fall hazards.
The standard protects workers from the adverse health effects from
occupational exposure to formaldehyde, including an itchy, runny, and
stuffy nose; a dry or sore throat; eye irritation; headaches; and
cancer of the lung, buccal cavity (mouth), and pharynx (throat).
Formaldehyde solutions can damage the skin and burn the eyes. The
standard specifies a number of collections of information. The
following is a brief description of the collections of information
contained in the Formaldehyde Standard. The standard requires employers
to conduct worker exposure monitoring to determine workers' exposure to
formaldehyde, notify workers of their formaldehyde exposures, provide
medical surveillance to workers, provide examining physicians with
specific information, ensure that workers receive a copy of their
medical examination results, maintain workers' exposure monitoring and
medical records for specific periods, and provide access to these
records by the affected workers and their authorized representatives.
II. Special Issues for Comment
OSHA has a particular interest in comments on the following issues:
<bullet> Whether the proposed information collection requirements
are necessary for the proper performance of the agency's functions to
protect workers, including whether the information is useful;
<bullet> 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;
<bullet> The quality, utility, and clarity of the information
collected; and
<bullet> Ways to minimize the burden on employers who must comply;
for example, by using automated or other technological information, and
transmission techniques.
III. Proposed Actions
OSHA is requesting that OMB extend the approval of the information
collection requirements contained in the Formaldehyde Standard. OSHA is
seeking an adjustment increase in burden going from 266,812 to 277,695
hours, a total increase of 10,883 hours. The increase is due to an
increase in the number of workers affected going from 1,858,364 to
1,953,732, an increase of 95,368 workers. Total capital costs increased
from $54,153,624 to $59,913,352, an increase of $5,759,728. The
increase is attributed to the rise in the number of covered workers
undergoing exposure monitoring and medical examinations. Also, the
costs to conduct a medical exam increased going from $259.12 to
$269.48, and for contract industrial hygiene services to conduct
exposure-monitoring sampling increased from $55.99 to $60.64.
OSHA will summarize the comments submitted in response to this
notice and will include this summary in the request to OMB to extend
the approval of the information collection requirements.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved data collection.
Title: Formaldehyde Standard (29 CFR 1910.1048).
OMB Control Number: 1218-0145.
Affected Public: Business or other for-profits.
Number of Respondents: 80,905.
Number of Responses: 1,045,878.
Frequency of Responses: On occasion.
Average Time per Response: Varies.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 277,695.
Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $59,913,352.
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 <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, which is the Federal
eRulemaking Portal; or (2) by facsimile (fax), if your comments,
including attachments, are not longer than 10 pages you may fax them to
the OSHA Docket Office at 202-693-1648. All comments, attachments, and
other material must identify the agency name and the OSHA docket number
for the ICR (OSHA-2009-0041). You may supplement electronic submission
by uploading document files electronically.
Comments and submissions are posted without change at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. Therefore, OSHA cautions commenters about
submitting personal information such as social security numbers and
dates of birth. Although all submissions are listed in the <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> index, some information (e.g., copyrighted
material) is not publicly available to read or download from this
website. All submissions, including copyrighted material, are available
for inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office. Information on
using the <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> website to submit comments and
access the docket is available at the website's ``User Tips'' link.
Contact the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-2350, (TTY (877) 889-5627)
for information about materials not
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available from the website, and for assistance in using the internet to
locate docket submissions.
V. Authority and Signature
Amanda Laihow, Principal Deputy 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. 8-2020
(85 FR 58393).
Signed at Washington, DC, on February 23, 2026.
Amanda Laihow,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety
and Health.
[FR Doc. 2026-03834 Filed 2-25-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-26-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on February 26, 2026.
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