[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 207 (Friday, October 25, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57488-57490]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-23296]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. OSHA-2012-0034]


Hexavalent Chromium Standards; 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 the proposal to 
extend OMB approval of the information collection requirements 
specified in the Hexavalent Chromium standards for General Industry, 
Shipyard Employment, and Construction.

DATES: Comments must be submitted (postmarked, sent, or received) by 
December 24, 2019.

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

[[Page 57489]]

using this method, you must submit a copy of your comments and 
attachments to the OSHA Docket Office, Docket No. OSHA-2012-0034, 
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 OSHA 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 the 
OSHA docket number (OSHA-2012-0034) for the Information Collection 
Request (ICR). All comments, including any personal information you 
provide, such as social security numbers and dates of birth, 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 above address. 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 through the website. All submissions, 
including copyrighted material, are available for inspection and 
copying at the OSHA Docket Office. You may also contact Theda Kenney at 
(202) 693-2222 to obtain a copy of the ICR.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Seleda Perryman 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 a continuing effort to reduce 
paperwork and respondent (i.e., employer) burden, conducts a 
preclearance process 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) (44 U.S.C. 
3506(c)(2)(A)). This program ensures that information is in the desired 
format, the reporting burden (time and costs) is minimal, the 
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 (see 29 U.S.C. 657). The OSH Act also requires OSHA to 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 effort in obtaining said 
information (see 29 U.S.C. 657).
    The information collection requirements in the Hexavalent Chromium 
standards for General Industry (29 CFR 1910.1026), Shipyard Employment 
(29 CFR 1915.1026), and Construction (29 CFR 1926.1126) (the 
``standards'') protect workers from the adverse health effects that may 
result from occupational exposure to hexavalent chromium. The major 
information collection requirements in the standards include conducting 
worker exposure monitoring, notifying workers of their chromium 
exposures, implementing medical surveillance of workers, providing 
examining physicians with specific information, implementing a 
respiratory protection program, notifying laundry personnel of chromium 
hazards, and maintaining workers' exposure monitoring and medical 
surveillance records for specific periods.

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;
     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 decrease of 72,001 burden 
hours (from 493,968 to 421,967 burden hours). The agency estimates an 
overall increase in the estimated number of covered establishments in 
specific industry sectors. However, due to the identification of a 
calculation error in the previous ICR, the burden hours associated with 
the establishment increase is off-set by a burden hour reduction 
associated with employee time to conduct quarterly exposure monitoring. 
In addition, there is an estimated decrease of $3,273,026 in operation 
and maintenance costs from $46,712,927 to $43,439,901. The decrease in 
these costs was due to a lower wage for contractors than the one used 
previously. This resulted in operating and maintenance costs that were 
lower than that reported in the previous ICR.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Title: Hexavalent Chromium (Cr(VI)) Standards for General Industry 
(29 CFR 1910.1026), Shipyard Employment (29 CFR 1915.1026), and 
Construction (29 CFR 1926.1126).
    OMB Control Number: 1218-0252.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profits.
    Number of Respondents: 78,321.
    Frequency: On occasion; Quarterly; Semi-annually; Annually.
    Average Time per Response: Various.
    Estimated Number of Responses: 923,898.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 421,967.
    Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $43,439,901.

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 (fax); or (3) by hard copy. All 
comments, attachments, and other material must identify the agency name 
and the OSHA docket number (Docket No. OSHA-2012-0034) for the 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 electronic comments by 
your name, date, and the docket number so that 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

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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 
dates 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 through 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 through the website, and for assistance in using the internet 
to locate docket submissions.

V. Authority and Signature

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

    Signed at Washington, DC, on October 18, 2019.
Loren Sweatt,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety 
and Health.
[FR Doc. 2019-23296 Filed 10-24-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-26-P


