2008 Note To Reviewer

1219-0007

NOTE TO REVIEWER:

Terms of Clearance on the 2004 Notice of Action:

This information collection request is approved for an

additional three years, consistent with the following term

of clearance: MSHA clarify in the instructions to the form

and any other appropriate publicly available materials that

the ILO classification currently in use (ILO 1/0) is being

utilized as a threshold for reporting, rather than as an

indication that a definitive diagnosis of a specific

occupational illness or injury

In accordance with the NOA, the following paragraph was added to the instruction page of MSHA Form7000-1 to clarify the ILO classification:

“Diagnosis of an "occupational illness or disease" under Part 50 does not automatically mean a disability or impairment for which the miner is eligible for compensation, nor does the Agency intend for an operator's compliance with Part 50 to be equated with an admission of liability for the reported illness or disease.   If a chest x-ray for a miner with a history of exposure to silica or other pneumoconiosis-causing dusts is rated at 1/0 or above, utilizing the International Labor Office (ILO) classification system, it is MSHA's policy that such a finding is, for Part 50 reporting, a diagnosis of an occupational illness, in the nature of silicosis or other pneumoconiosis and, consequently, reportable to MSHA”