Proposed Data Collections Submitted for Public Comment and Recommendations

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[INFO-99-31]

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, call the CDC Reports

Clearance Officer on (404) 639-7090.

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 for other

forms of information technology. Send comments to Seleda Perryman, CDC

Assistant Reports Clearance Officer, 1600 Clifton Road, MS-D24,

Atlanta, GA 30333. Written comments should be received within 60 days

of this notice.

Proposed Project

Assessment of Exposure to Arsenic through Household Water--New--

National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH). Arsenic is a naturally

occurring element present in food and water as both inorganic and

organic complexes. Epidemiologic evidence shows a strong link between

ingestion of water containing inorganic arsenic and an increase in a

wide variety of cancers (e.g., bladder cancer). Consumption of

contaminated food is the major source of arsenic exposure for the

majority of United States citizens. There are some areas of the United

States where elevated levels of arsenic in water occur with appreciable

frequency. In such areas, ingestion of water can be the dominant source

of arsenic exposure. Currently, the preferred method of treatment of

private, domestic well water containing elevated levels of arsenic is

point-of-use (POU) devices. The acceptability of bottled water and POU

treatment systems as effective means of managing arsenic exposure is

based on the assumption that other water exposures such as bathing,

brushing of teeth, cooking, and occasional water consumption from other

taps contribute relatively minor amounts to a person's total daily

intake of arsenic.

We propose to conduct a study to methodically test the validity of

the commonly-made assumption that secondary exposures such as bathing

will not result in a significant increase in arsenic intake over

background dietary levels. Specifically, we are interested in assessing

urine arsenic levels among individuals where ingestion of arsenic-

containing water is controlled by either POU treatment or use of

bottled water, combined with use of short-term diaries to record diet,

water consumption, and bathing frequency. The total cost to recipients

is $0.00.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Number of Avg. burden

Respondents Number of responses/ response (in Total burden

Respondents respondent hrs.) (in hrs.)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Recruiting telephone interview.................. 580 1 15/60 145

Survey interview (in person).................... 520 1 30/60 260

Biologic specimen collection.................... 520 1 10/60 88

---------------------------------------------------------------

Total....................................... .............. .............. .............. 493

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dated: August 27, 1999.

Nancy Cheal,

Acting Associate Director for Policy, Planning and Evaluation, Centers

for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

[FR Doc. 99-22863 Filed 9-1-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4163-18-P