Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Statement of Organization, Functions, and Delegations of Authority

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Public Health Service

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Statement of

Organization, Functions, and Delegations of Authority

Part C (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) of the

Statement of Organization, Functions, and Delegations of Authority of

the Department of Health and Human Services (45 FR 67772-76, dated

October 14, 1980, and corrected at 45 FR 069296, October 20, 1980, as

amended most recently at 63 FR 50916-17, dated September 23, 1998) is

amended to reflect reorganization of the Division of Respiratory

Disease Studies, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

(NIOSH).

Section C-B, Organization and Functions, is hereby amended as

follows:

After the title for the Division of Respiratory Disease Studies

(CCA), delete the functional statement and insert the following:

(1) Provides national and international leadership for

understanding and preventing occupational respiratory disease; (2)

plans, designs and conducts a national research program for the

prevention of occupational respiratory disease; (3) upon request,

conducts hazard evaluations and provides technical assistance to

address emerging problems in occupational respiratory disease; (4)

plans, designs and conducts a national surveillance program for

occupational respiratory diseases; (5)-communicates study findings for

the prevention of occupational respiratory diseases and evaluates the

effectiveness of these communications; (6) carries out a program of

testing, evaluation, certification, and quality assurance monitoring of

respiratory protective devices and publishes and promulgates such

regulations, notices, and findings necessary for the efficient and

effective conduct of these programs under the Federal Mine Safety and

Health Act (FMSHAct) of 1977 and the Occupational Safety and Health Act

(OSHAct) of 1970; (7) administers a program of legislatively mandated

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medical services for coal miners under the FMSHAct of 1977.

After the title and functional statement for the Office of the

Director (CCA1), insert the following:

Communication and Information Activity (CCA12). (1) Collaborates

with Division staff to translate findings from research, surveillance

and other Division activities to produce products that motivate

respiratory disease prevention activities; (2) coordinates with other

health communication, health education, and information dissemination

activities within the Institute to ensure the effective dissemination

of these products; (3) coordinates all Division activities relating to

grants and cooperative agreements in conjunction with the NIOSH Office

of Extramural Coordination and Special Projects; (4) provides the

Division with systems analysis, archiving guidance, and computer

programming support; (5) coordinates and promotes regular seminars,

workshops, and other meetings as necessary; (6) operates the Division's

local area network in coordination with the NIOSH Office of

Administrative and Management Services, Management Systems Branch.

Field Studies Branch (CCA7). (1) Designs and conducts short- and

long-term field investigations of occupational respiratory diseases;

(2) responds to requests for health hazard evaluations and technical

assistance relevant to occupational respiratory disease; (3) conducts

morbidity and mortality studies relating to occupational respiratory

diseases in order to: (a) identify causal agents (and other risk

factors); (b) quantify exposure-effect relationships; (c) evaluate

prevalence and severity of specific respiratory diseases in selected

worker populations; (4) conducts environmental studies, industrial

hygiene research, experiments, and demonstrations of workplace

exposures and controls including the use of respiratory protective

equipment, and to study problems created by new technology; (5)

provides statistical design and implements data analysis and

verification for Division research projects; (6) develops and evaluates

research methods of data collection, processing, and statistical

analysis.

Laboratory Research Branch (CCA9). (1) Conducts laboratory research

complementary to and coordinated with field investigations of

occupational respiratory diseases and respirator testing and

certification; (2) formulates and implements laboratory research which

will identify factors involved in the early detection and differential

rates of susceptibility to occupational respiratory disease; (3)

develops new methods to improve detection and measurement of human

response to respiratory hazards found in the workplace; (4) develops

new methods and technologies to characterize and measure respiratory

exposure agents; (5) devises and conducts clinical research studies on

the causes, detection, and quantification of occupational respiratory

disease; (6) in conjunction with researchers in the Health Effects

Laboratory Division, carries out an experimental pathology program

utilizing appropriate laboratory animals to study the mechanism and

progression of lung damage from occupational respiratory exposures; (7)

carries out laboratory studies of respirators, their components, and

evaluates new respirator technology to: (a) Determine the effectiveness

of respirators; (b) develop new or improved testing and certification

instrumentation needed to evaluate emerging respirator technologies;

(c) evaluate the added stresses from the use of respiratory protective

equipment.

Respirator Branch (CCAA). (1) Provides for the protection of

workers in dangerous environments by certifying reliability, safety,

and efficacy of respiratory protection devices; (2) evaluates,

certifies, and maintains official records on air-supplied and air-

purifying respirators as required by the FMSHAct of 1977 and the OSHAct

of 1970; (3) assists in the development and promulgation of new

performance criteria, standards, and guidelines for certification of

respirators; (4) evaluates quality control plans, conducts in-plant

audits of the manufacturers' quality control programs, and monitors the

quality and performance of certified respirators procured on the open

market; (5) investigates field problems associated with NIOSH-certified

respirators; (6) provides technical assistance on the selection, use,

maintenance, and operation of respiratory protective equipment.

Surveillance Branch (CCAB). (1) Periodically collects, analyzes and

disseminates health and hazard information related to occupational

respiratory diseases; (2) collaborates on the establishment of health

surveillance systems in order to: (a) Summarize information relating to

overall incidence, prevalence, mortality, and importance of

occupational respiratory diseases; (b) describe the occurrence of

specific diseases (including temporal trends) with regard to

occupation, industry, geography, demographic characteristics, and other

factors for which information is available; (c) describe the

distribution and trends in occupational exposure to agents responsible

for respiratory diseases; (3) periodically produces and develops

reports describing workplace hazards and work-related occupational lung

diseases; (4) coordinates with other Federal agencies and promulgates

rules as provided for in the FMASHAct of 1977, and the OSHAct of 1970,

to provide for the collection and reporting of health and hazard

surveillance data related to occupational respiratory diseases; (5)

provides technical assistance and recommendations concerning medical

screening and health surveillance of workers exposed to respiratory

hazards in the workplace; (6) conducts surveys of hazardous exposures

and the use of personal protective equipment; (7) synthesizes data and

frames recommendations for priority setting, hypothesis generation, and

improved methods for data collection; (8) develops and evaluates

surveillance methods of data collection, processing, and statistical

analysis.

Coal Workers Health Surveillance Program Activity (CCAB2). (1)

Plans, coordinates, and processes the medical examinations provided

under the FMSHAct of 1977; (2) operates a certification program for

participating medical facilities and physicians; (3) evaluates and

approves employer programs for the examination of employees in

accordance with published regulations; (4) arranges for the examination

of employees who work at locations not having an approved examination

program; (5) operates the National Coal Workers Autopsy Program.

Delete in their entirety the titles and functional statements for

the following: Epidemiological Investigations Branch (CCA2);

Environmental Investigations Branch (CCA3); Clinical Investigations

Branch (CCA4); Laboratory Investigations Branch (CCA5); Certification

and Quality Assurance Branch (CCA6); and Examination Processing Branch

(CCA8).

Dated: January 6, 1999.

Jeffrey P. Koplan,

Director.

[FR Doc. 99-1131 Filed 1-15-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4160-18-M