Notices. Request for public comments
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/register/2024/04/09/2024-07435·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
BILLING CODE 4410-29-P DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Mine Safety and Health Administration [OMB Control No. 1219-0120] Proposed Extension of Information Collection; Occupational Noise Exposure AGENCY: Mine Safety and Health Administration, Labor. ACTION: Request for public comments. SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (DOL), 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. The Mine Safety and Health Administration
(MSHA)is soliciting comments on the information collection for Occupational Noise Exposure. DATES: All comments must be received on or before June 10, 2024. ADDRESSES: Comments concerning the information collection requirements of this notice may be sent by any of the methods listed below. Please note that late comments received after the deadline will not be considered. • *Federal E-Rulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov.* Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments for docket number MSHA-2024-0001. • *Mail/Hand Delivery:* DOL-MSHA, Office of Standards, Regulations, and Variances, 201 12th Street South, 4th Floor West, 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.* FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: S. Aromie Noe, Director, Office of Standards, Regulations, and Variances, MSHA, at *MSHA.information.collections@dol.gov* (email);
(202)693-9440 (voice); or
(202)693-9441 (facsimile). These are not toll-free numbers. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Background Section 103(h) of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, as amended (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(a), authorizes the Secretary of Labor (Secretary) 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, metal, and nonmetal mines. Noise is a harmful physical agent and one of the most pervasive health hazards in mining. Repeated exposure to high levels of sound over time causes occupational noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). NIHL is a serious, often profound physical impairment for miners with far-reaching psychological and social effects. Occupational hearing loss is one of the most common work-related illnesses in the United States. NIHL can be distinguished from aging and other factors that can contribute to hearing loss and it can be prevented. For many years, NIHL was regarded as an inevitable consequence of working in a mine. Mining, an intensely mechanized industry, relies on drills, crushers, compressors, conveyors, trucks, loaders, and other heavy-duty equipment for the excavation, haulage, and processing of materials. These machines create high sound levels, exposing machine operators and miners working nearby to occupational noise that can contribute to hearing loss. MSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the U.S. military, and other organizations around the world have established and enforced standards to reduce the loss of hearing. Quieter equipment, isolation of workers from noise sources, and limiting the time workers are exposed to noise are among the many well-accepted methods that will prevent costly incidences of NIHL. Under 30 CFR 62, Occupational Noise Exposure, mandatory health standards are set for surface and underground coal and metal and nonmetal mines. This information collection addresses records of miners' exposures to noise, hearing conservation programs, hearing examinations, and training to prevent the occurrence and reduce the progression of NIHL among miners. Specifically, this information collection covers the following activities: notifying miners of noise exposure, developing and distributing administrative controls and procedures to reduce miners' exposure, recording audiometric tests, providing evaluators with audiometric tests, providing miners with audiometric test results and interpretation, certifying initial noise training and annual retraining, certifying corrective retraining, and providing miners with training records. II. Desired Focus of Comments MSHA is soliciting comments concerning the proposed information collection related to Occupational Noise Exposure. 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 available on *https://www.regulations.gov* and *https://www.reginfo.gov.* The public may also examine publicly available documents at DOL-MSHA, Office of Standards, Regulations and Variances, 201 12th Street South, 4th Floor West, Arlington, VA 22202-5452. Sign in at the receptionist's desk on the 4th floor via the West 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. III. Current Actions This information collection request concerns provisions for Occupational Noise Exposure. 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:* 1219-0120. *Affected Public:* Business or other for-profit. *Number of Annual Respondents:* 12,530. *Frequency:* On occasion. *Number of Annual Responses:* 186,262. *Annual Burden Hours:* 14,273 hours. *Annual Burden Cost:* $657,632. *Annual Other Burden Cost:* $127,648. 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. 2024-07435 Filed 4-8-24; 8:45 am]
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- 30 CFR 62
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