Proposed Data Collections Submitted for Public Comment and Recommendations

In compliance with the requirement of Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 for opportunity for public comment on proposed data collection projects, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will publish periodic summaries of proposed projects. To request more information on the proposed projects or to obtain a copy of the data collection plans and instruments, or to send comments contact Seleda Perryman, CDC Assistant Reports Clearance Officer, 1600 Clifton Road, MS-E11, Atlanta, GA 30333 or send an e-mail to omb@cdc.gov.

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. Written comments should be received within 60 days of this notice.

Proposed Project

Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance (0923-0008)—Extension—Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) is mandated pursuant to the 1980 Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) and its 1986 Amendments, the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA), to prevent or mitigate adverse human health effects and diminished quality of life resulting from the exposure to hazardous substances into the environment. The primary purpose of this activity, which ATSDR has supported since 1992, is to develop, implement, and maintain a state-based surveillance system for hazardous substances emergency events which can be used to: (1) Describe the distribution of the hazardous substances releases; (2) describe the public health consequences (morbidity, mortality, and evacuations) associated with the events; (3) identify risk factors associated with the public health consequences; and (4) develop strategies to reduce future public health consequences. The study population will consist of all hazardous substance non-permitted acute releases within the 15 states (Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin) participating in the surveillance system.

Until this system was developed and implemented, there was no national public health-based surveillance system to coordinate the collation, analysis, and distribution of hazardous substances emergency release data to public health practitioners. It was necessary to establish this national surveillance system which describes the public health impact of hazardous substances emergencies on the health of the population of the United States. The data collection form will be completed by the state health department Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance (HSEES) coordinator using a variety of sources including written and oral reports from environmental protection agencies, police, firefighters, emergency response personnel; or researched by the HSEES coordinator using material safety data sheets, and chemical handbooks. There is a slight reduction in the average burden hours per response because of enhancements made to the data entry screens. The data entry program now automatically populates the fields for geographic coordinates, surrounding population data, and surrounding areas of interest.

Additionally, an HSEES public use data set will be made available on the ATSDR HSEES Web site. Interested parties will need to complete a brief description of who will be using the data and for what purpose to be able to download the data. This will allow ATSDR to widely distribute the data and track its usefulness. There are no costs to respondents.