[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 53 (Monday, March 19, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12032-12033]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-05439]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. OSHA-2011-0060]


Methylene Chloride 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's (OMB) approval of the 
information collection requirements specified in the Methylene Chloride 
Standard (the Standard).

DATES: Comments must be submitted (postmarked, sent, or received) by 
May 18, 2018.

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 your comments and attachments 
to the OSHA Docket Office, Docket No. OSHA-2011-0060, Occupational 
Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-
3653, 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, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., ET.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the Agency name and OSHA 
docket number (OSHA-2011-0060) for the Information Collection Request 
(ICR). 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 from the website. All submissions, 
including copyrighted material, are available for inspection and 
copying at the OSHA Docket Office. You also may contact Theda Kenney at 
the phone number below to obtain a copy of the ICR.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charles McCormick or Theda Kenney, 
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 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 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 minimum burden upon 
employers, especially those operating small businesses, and to reduce 
to the maximum extent feasible unnecessary duplication of effort in 
obtaining information (29 U.S.C. 657).
    The Standard protects workers from the adverse health effects that 
may result from their exposure to methylene chloride (MC). The 
requirements in the Standard include worker exposure monitoring, 
notifying workers of their MC exposures, administering medical 
examinations to workers, providing examining physicians with specific 
program and worker information, ensuring that workers receive a copy of 
their medical examination results, maintaining workers' exposure 
monitoring and medical examination records for specific periods, and 
providing access to these records by OSHA, the National Institute for 
Occupational Safety and Health, the affected workers, and their 
authorized representatives.

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;

[[Page 12033]]

     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

    The Agency is requesting an adjustment increase in the number of 
burden hours from 54,393 to 56,276 hours (a total increase of 1,883 
hours). The increase is a result of the Agency's estimate, based on 
updated data, that the number of establishments and workers affected by 
the Standard has increased. The increase in the number of medical 
exams, and the increase in the cost of medical exams (from $180 to 
$196) has resulted in an increase of $539,194 in costs (from $4,733,010 
to $5,272,204). Due to lower prices for dosimeters, the total cost for 
exposure monitoring declined by $1,503,465 (from $14,648,715 to 
$13,145,250), despite the number of employees being monitored with 
dosimeters increasing from 51,399 to 52,581.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Title: Methylene Chloride Standard (29 CFR 1910.1052).
    OMB Control Number: 1218-0179.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profits.
    Number of Respondents: 82,927.
    Frequency of Response: Annually; semi-annually; quarterly; on 
occasion.
    Total Responses: 218,652.
    Average Time per Response: Varies from 1 hour for administering a 
medical examination to 5 minutes (.08 hour) to maintain a worker's 
medical or exposure record.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 56,276.
    Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $18,417,454.

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; or (3) by hard copy. All 
comments, attachments, and other material must identify the Agency name 
and the OSHA docket number (Docket No. OSHA-2011-0060) for this ICR. 
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 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 from this 
website. All submissions, including copyrighted material, are available 
for inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office. Information on 
using the http://www.regulations.gov website to submit comments and 
access the docket is available at the website's ``User Tips'' link. 
Contact the OSHA Docket Office for information about materials not 
available from the website, and for assistance in using the internet to 
locate docket submissions.

V. Authority and Signature

    Loren Sweatt, 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. 1-2012 (77 FR 
3912).

    Signed at Washington, DC, on March 13, 2018.
Loren Sweatt,
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2018-05439 Filed 3-16-18; 8:45 am]
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