1219-0003 60-Day FRN Published 3-21-2023

17020

Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 54 / Tuesday, March 21, 2023 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Mine Safety and Health Administration
[OMB Control No. 1219–0003]

Proposed Extension of Information
Collection; Radiation Sampling and
Exposure Records
Mine Safety and Health
Administration, Labor.
ACTION: Request for public comments.
AGENCY:

The Department of Labor, as
part of its continuing effort to reduce
paperwork and respondent burden,
conducts a pre-clearance consultation
program to provide the general public
and Federal agencies with an
opportunity to comment on proposed
collections of information in accordance
with the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995. This program helps to ensure that
requested data can be provided in the
desired format, reporting burden (time
and financial resources) is minimized,
collection instruments are clearly
understood, and the impact of collection
requirements on respondents can be
properly assessed. Currently, the Mine
Safety and Health Administration
(MSHA) is soliciting comments on the
information collection for Radiation
Sampling and Exposure Records.
DATES: All comments must be received
by the Office of Standards, Regulations,
and Variances on or before May 22,
2023.
SUMMARY:

Comments concerning the
information collection requirements of
this notice may be sent by any of the
methods listed below. Please note that
late, untimely filed comments will not
be considered.
• Federal E-Rulemaking Portal:
https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
on-line instructions for submitting
comments for docket number MSHA–
2022–0072.
• Mail/Hand Delivery: DOL–MSHA,
Office of Standards, Regulations, and
Variances, 201 12th Street South, Suite
4E401, Arlington, VA 22202–5452.
Before visiting MSHA in person, call
202–693–9455 to make an appointment,
in keeping with the Department of
Labor’s COVID–19 policy. Special
health precautions may be required.
• MSHA will post all comments as
well as any attachments, except for
information submitted and marked as
confidential, in the docket at https://
www.regulations.gov.

ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1

ADDRESSES:

S.
Aromie Noe, Director, Office of
Standards, Regulations, and Variances,
MSHA, at
[email protected]

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

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(email); (202) 693–9440 (voice); or (202)
693–9441 (facsimile). These are not tollfree numbers.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Section 103(h) of the Federal Mine
Safety and Health Act of 1977 (Mine
Act), 30 U.S.C. 813(h), authorizes
MSHA to collect information necessary
to carry out its duty in protecting the
safety and health of miners. Further,
section 101(a) of the Mine Act, 30 U.S.C.
811, authorizes the Secretary of Labor to
develop, promulgate, and revise as may
be appropriate, improved mandatory
health or safety standards for the
protection of life and prevention of
injuries in coal and metal and nonmetal
mines.
Under the authority of Section 103 of
the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act
of 1977, MSHA is required to issue
regulations requiring operators to
maintain accurate records of employee
exposures to potentially toxic materials
or harmful physical agents which are
required to be monitored or measured
under any applicable mandatory health
or safety standard promulgated under
this Act.
Airborne radon and radon daughters
exist in every uranium mine and in
several other underground mining
commodities. Radon is radioactive gas.
It diffuses into the underground mine
atmosphere through the rock and the
ground water. Radon decays in a series
of steps into other radioactive elements,
which are solids, called radon
daughters. Radon and radon daughters
are invisible and odorless. Decay of
radon and its daughters results in
emissions of alpha energy.
Medical doctors and scientists have
associated high radon daughter
exposures with lung cancer. The health
hazard arises from breathing air
contaminated with radon daughters
which are in turn deposited in the
lungs. The lung tissues are sensitive to
alpha radioactivity.
The amounts of airborne radon
daughters to which most miners can be
exposed with no adverse effects have
been established and are expressed as
working levels (WL). The current MSHA
standard is a maximum personal
exposure of 4 working level months per
year.
Excess lung cancer in uranium
miners, just as coal workers’
pneumoconiosis, silicosis, and other
debilitating occupational diseases, has
been recognized for many years. Thus,
an adequate base of accurate exposure
level data is essential to control miners’
exposures and permit an evaluation of
the effectiveness of existing regulations.

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30 CFR 57.5037 (Radon daughter
exposure monitoring) establishes the
procedures to be used by the mine
operator in sampling mine air for the
presence and concentrations of radon
daughters. Operators are required to
conduct weekly sampling where
concentrations of radon daughters
exceed 0.3 WL. Sampling is required biweekly where uranium mines have
readings of 0.1 to 0.3 WL and every 3
months in non-uranium underground
mines where the readings are 0.1 to 0.3
WL. Mine operators are required to keep
records of all mandatory samplings.
Records must include the sample date,
location, and results, and must be
retained at the mine site or nearest mine
office for at least 2 years.
30 CFR 57.5040 (Exposure records)
requires mine operators to calculate and
record individual exposures to radon
daughters on MSHA Form 4000–9
‘‘Record of Individual Exposure to
Radon Daughters.’’ The calculations are
based on the results of the weekly
sampling required by 30 CFR 57.5037
(Radon daughter exposure monitoring).
Records must be maintained by the
operator and submitted to MSHA
annually.
II. Desired Focus of Comments
MSHA is soliciting comments
concerning the proposed information
collection related to Radiation Sampling
and Exposure Records. MSHA is
particularly interested in comments
that:
• Evaluate whether the collection of
information is necessary for the proper
performance of the functions of the
Agency, including whether the
information has practical utility;
• Evaluate the accuracy of MSHA’s
estimate of the burden of the collection
of information, including the validity of
the methodology and assumptions used;
• Suggest methods to enhance the
quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and
• 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 submission of
responses.
The information collection request
will be available on https://
www.regulations.gov. MSHA cautions
the commenter against providing any
information in the submission that
should not be publicly disclosed. Full
comments, including personal
information provided, will be made

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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 54 / Tuesday, March 21, 2023 / Notices
available on www.regulations.gov and
www.reginfo.gov.
The public may also examine publicly
available documents at DOL–MSHA,
Office of Standards, Regulations, and
Variances, 201 12th Street South, Suite
4E401, Arlington, VA 22202–5452. Sign
in at the receptionist’s desk on the 4th
floor via the East elevator. Before
visiting MSHA in person, call 202–693–
9455 to make an appointment, in
keeping with the Department of Labor’s
COVID–19 policy. Special health
precautions may be required.
Questions about the information
collection requirements may be directed
to the person listed in the FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT section of this
notice.

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III. Current Actions
This information collection request
concerns provisions for Radiation
Sampling and Exposure Records. MSHA
has updated the data with respect to the
number of respondents, responses,
burden hours, and burden costs
supporting this information collection
request from the previous information
collection request.
Type of Review: Extension, without
change, of a currently approved
collection.
Agency: Mine Safety and Health
Administration.
OMB Number: 1219–0003.
Affected Public: Business or other forprofit.
Number of Respondents: 4.
Frequency: On occasion.
Number of Responses: 404.
Annual Burden Hours: 402 hours.
Annual Respondent or Recordkeeper
Cost: $20.
MSHA Form: MSHA Form 4000–9,
Record of Individual Exposure to Radon
Daughters.
Comments submitted in response to
this notice will be summarized in the
request for Office of Management and
Budget approval of the proposed
information collection request; they will
become a matter of public record and
will be available at https://
www.reginfo.gov.
Song-ae Aromie Noe,
Certifying Officer, Mine Safety and Health
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2023–05716 Filed 3–20–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510–43–P

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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Mine Safety and Health Administration
[OMB Control No. 1219–0048]

Proposed Extension of Information
Collection; Respirator Program
Records
Mine Safety and Health
Administration, Labor.
ACTION: Request for public comments.
AGENCY:

The Department of Labor, as
part of its continuing effort to reduce
paperwork and respondent burden,
conducts a pre-clearance consultation
program to provide the general public
and Federal agencies with an
opportunity to comment on proposed
collections of information in accordance
with the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995. This program helps to ensure that
requested data can be provided in the
desired format, reporting burden (time
and financial resources) is minimized,
collection instruments are clearly
understood, and the impact of collection
requirements on respondents can be
properly assessed. Currently, the Mine
Safety and Health Administration
(MSHA) is soliciting comments on the
information collection for Respirator
Program Records.
DATES: All comments must be received
by MSHA’s Office of Standards,
Regulations, and Variances on or before
May 22, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Comments concerning the
information collection requirements of
this notice may be sent by any of the
methods listed below. Please note that
late, untimely filed comments will not
be considered.
• Federal E-Rulemaking Portal:
https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
on-line instructions for submitting
comments for docket number MSHA–
2022–0056.
• Mail/Hand Delivery: DOL–MSHA,
Office of Standards, Regulations, and
Variances, 201 12th Street South, Suite
4E401, Arlington, VA 22202–5452.
Before visiting MSHA in person, call
202–693–9455 to make an appointment,
in keeping with the Department of
Labor’s COVID–19 policy. Special
health precautions may be required.
MSHA will post all comments as well
as any attachments, except for
information submitted and marked as
confidential, in the docket at https://
www.regulations.gov.
SUMMARY:

S.
Aromie Noe, Director, Office of
Standards, Regulations, and Variances,
MSHA, at
[email protected]

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

PO 00000

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(email); (202) 693–9440 (voice); or (202)
693–9441 (facsimile). These are not tollfree numbers. These are not toll-free
numbers.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Section 103(h) of the Federal Mine
Safety and Health Act of 1977 (Mine
Act), 30 U.S.C. 813(h), authorizes
MSHA to collect information necessary
to carry out its duty in protecting the
safety and health of miners. Further,
section 101(a) of the Mine Act, 30 U.S.C.
811, authorizes the Secretary of Labor to
develop, promulgate, and revise as may
be appropriate, improved mandatory
health or safety standards for the
protection of life and prevention of
injuries in coal or other mines.
30 CFR 56.5005 (Surface metal and
Nonmetal Mines—Control of exposure
to airborne contaminants) and 57.5005
(Underground Metal and Nonmetal
Mines—Control of exposure to airborne
contaminants) require, whenever
respiratory equipment is used, that
metal and nonmetal mine operators
institute a respirator program governing
selection, maintenance, training, fitting,
supervision, cleaning, and use of
respirators. These requirements seek to
control miner exposure to harmful
airborne contaminants by using
engineering controls to prevent
contamination and vent or dilute the
contaminated air. However, where
accepted engineering control measures
have not been developed or when
necessary by the nature of work
involved (for example, while
establishing controls or occasional entry
into hazardous atmospheres to perform
maintenance or investigation),
employees may work for reasonable
periods of time in concentrations of
airborne contaminants exceeding
permissible levels if they are protected
by appropriate respiratory protective
equipment.
30 CFR 56.5005 and 57.5005
incorporate, by reference, requirements
of the American National Standards
Institute’s Practices for Respiratory
Protection (ANSI Z88.2–1969). These
incorporated requirements mandate that
miners who must wear respirators are
fit-tested to the respirators that they will
use. Certain records are also required to
be kept in connection with respirators,
including: written standard operating
procedures governing the selection and
use of respirators; fit-test results; and
records of emergency respirators
inspection.
II. Desired Focus of Comments
MSHA is soliciting comments
concerning the proposed information

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