60_Day_FRN

Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 173 / Friday, September 6, 2024 / Notices
Standards and Guidance, OSHA, U.S.
Department of Labor; telephone (202)
693–2222.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Occupational Safety and Health
Administration
[Docket No. OSHA–2011–0027]

Respiratory Protection Standard;
Extension of the Office of Management
and Budget’s (OMB) Approval of
Information Collection (Paperwork)
Requirements
Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA), Labor.
ACTION: Request for public comments.
AGENCY:

OSHA solicits public
comments concerning the proposal to
extend the Office of Management and
Budget’s (OMB) approval of the
information collection requirements
specified in the Respiratory Protection
Standard.

SUMMARY:

Comments must be submitted
(postmarked, sent, or received) by
November 5, 2024.
ADDRESSES:
Electronically: You may submit
comments and attachments
electronically at https://
www.regulations.gov, 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 https://
www.regulations.gov. Documents in the
docket are listed in the https://
www.regulations.gov index; however,
some information (e.g., copyrighted
material) is not publicly available to
read or download through the websites.
All submissions, including copyrighted
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–2011–0027) 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 birthdates.
For further information on submitting
comments, see the ‘‘Public
Participation’’ heading in the section of
this notice titled SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION.

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DATES:

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Seleda Perryman, Directorate of

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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 (PRA)
(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, 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 (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 following sections describe who
uses the information collected under
each requirement, as well as how they
use it. The purpose of these
requirements is to provide protection for
the health of workers exposed to
airborne contaminants, physical
hazards, and biological agents.
The Respiratory Protection Standard
(29 CFR 1910.134; hereafter, ‘‘the
Standard’’) contains information
collection requirements that require
employers to: develop a written
respirator program; conduct worker
medical evaluations and provide followup medical evaluations to determine the
worker’s ability to use a respirator;
provide the physician or other licensed
healthcare professional with
information about the worker’s
respirator and the conditions under
which the worker will use the
respirator; and administer fit tests for
workers who will use negative- or
positive-pressure, tight-fitting
facepieces. In addition, employers must
ensure that workers store emergency-use
respirators in compartments clearly
marked as containing emergency-use
respirators. For respirators maintained

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for emergency use, employers must
label or tag the respirator with a
certificate stating the date of the
inspection, the name of the individual
who did the inspection, the findings of
the inspection, required remedial
action, and the identity of the respirator.
The Standard also requires employers
to ensure that cylinders used to supply
breathing air to respirators have a
certificate of analysis from the supplier
stating that the breathing air meets the
requirements for Type 1—Grade D
breathing air; such certification assures
employers that the purchased breathing
air is safe. Compressors used to supply
breathing air to respirators must have a
tag containing the most recent change
date and the signature of the individual
authorized by the employer to perform
the change. Employers must maintain
this tag at the compressor. These tags
provide assurance that the compressors
are functioning properly.
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 to protect workers,
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, and
transmission techniques.
III. Proposed Actions
OSHA is requesting that OMB extend
the approval of the information
collection requirements contained in the
Respiratory Protection Standard. The
agency is requesting an adjustment
increase in burden from 8,400,365 to
8,502,430 hours, a difference of 102,065
hours. This increase is due to an
increase in the number of employers
using respirators that are covered by the
Standard. Also, the agency is requesting
an increase in cost of $8,352,662 going
from $406,397,822 to $416,350,792.
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 collection.

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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 173 / Friday, September 6, 2024 / Notices

Title: Respiratory Protection Standard.
OMB Control Number: 1218–0099.
Affected Public: Business or other forprofits.
Number of Respondents: 733,538.
Number of Responses: 28,796,953.
Frequency of Responses: On occasion.
Average Time per Response: Varies.
Estimated Total Burden Hours:
8,502,430.
Estimated Cost (Operation and
Maintenance): $416,350,792.

Signed at Washington, DC, on August 29,
2024.
James S. Frederick,
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for
Occupational Safety and Health.

IV. Public Participation—Submission of
Comments on This Notice and Internet
Access to Comments and Submissions

Agency Information Collection
Activities; Comment Request;
Authorization for Release of Medical
Information for Black Lung Benefits
(CM–936)

You may submit comments in
response to this document as follows:
(1) electronically at https://
www.regulations.gov, 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 (Docket No. OSHA–2011–0027).
You may supplement electronic
submission by uploading document files
electronically.
Comments and submissions are
posted without change at https://
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 https://www.regulations.gov index,
some information (e.g., copyrighted
material) is not publicly available to
read or download from this website. All
submission, including copyrighted
material, are available for inspection
and copying at the OSHA Docket Office.
Information on using the https://
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 at
(202) 693–2350, (TTY (877) 889–5627)
for information about materials not
available from the website, and for
assistance in using the internet to locate
docket submissions.

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V. Authority and Signature
James S. Frederick, 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).

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[FR Doc. 2024–20044 Filed 9–5–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510–26–P

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Office of Workers’ Compensation
Programs.

Division of Coal Mine Workers’
Compensation, Office of Workers’
Compensation Programs.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:

The Department of Labor
(DOL) is soliciting comments
concerning a proposed extension for the
authority to conduct the information
collection request (ICR) titled,
‘‘Authorization for Release of Medical
Information for Black Lung Benefits
(CM–936)’’. This comment request is
part of continuing Departmental efforts
to reduce paperwork and respondent
burden in accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(PRA).

SUMMARY:

Consideration will be given to all
written comments received by
November 5, 2024.
ADDRESSES: A copy of this ICR with
applicable supporting documentation;
including a description of the likely
respondents, proposed frequency of
response, and estimated total burden
may be obtained free by contacting
Anjanette Suggs by telephone at 202–
354–9660 or by email at
[email protected].
Submit written comments about, or
requests for a copy of, this ICR by mail
or courier to the U.S. Department of
Labor, Office of Workers’ Compensation
Programs, Room S3323, 200
Constitution Avenue NW, Washington,
DC 20210; by email: suggs.anjanette@
dol.gov.
DATES:

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Contact Anjanette Suggs by telephone at
202–354–9660 or by email at
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The DOL,
as part of continuing efforts to reduce
paperwork and respondent burden,
conducts a pre-clearance consultation
program to provide the general public
and Federal agencies an opportunity to

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comment on proposed and/or
continuing collections of information
before submitting them to the OMB for
final approval. This program helps to
ensure 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 can be properly
assessed.
The Black Lung Benefits Act, as
amended, 30 U.S.C. 901 et seq., and 20
CFR 725.405 require that all relevant
medical evidence be considered before
a decision can be made regarding a
claimant’s eligibility for benefits. By
signing the CM–936 form, the claimant
authorizes physicians, hospitals,
medical facilities or organizations, and
the National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health to release medical
information about the miner to the
Department of Labor’s Office of
Workers’ Compensation Programs. The
form contains information required by
medical institutions and private
physicians to enable them to release
pertinent medical information. This
information collection is currently
approved for use through March 31,
2025.
Interested parties are encouraged to
provide comments to the contact shown
in the ADDRESSES section. Written
comments will receive consideration,
and summarized and included in the
request for OMB approval of the final
ICR. In order to help ensure appropriate
consideration, comments should
mention 1240–0034.
Submitted comments will also be a
matter of public record for this ICR and
posted on the internet, without
redaction. The DOL encourages
commenters not to include personally
identifiable information, confidential
business data, or other sensitive
statements/information in any
comments.
The DOL is particularly interested in
comments that:
• Evaluate whether the proposed
collection of information is necessary
for the proper performance of the
functions of the agency, including
whether the information will have
practical utility.
• Evaluate the accuracy of the
agency’s estimate of the burden of the
proposed collection of information,
including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used.
• 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

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