[Federal Register: December 4, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 232)][Notices]
[Page 70433-70434]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr04de06-85]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
[Docket No. NRTL3-92]
TUV Rheinland of North America, Inc.; Expansion of Recognition
AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Labor.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration's final decision expanding the recognition of TUV
Rheinland of North America, Inc., (TUV) as a Nationally Recognized
Testing Laboratory under 29 CFR 1910.7.
DATES: The expansion of recognition becomes effective on December 4,
2006.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: MaryAnn Garrahan, Director, Office of
Technical Programs and Coordination Activities, NRTL Program,
Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of
Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Room N-3653, Washington, DC 20210,
or phone (202) 693-2110.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Notice of Final Decision
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) hereby
gives notice of the expansion of recognition of TUV Rheinland of North
America, Inc., (TUV) as a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory
(NRTL). TUV's expansion covers the use of additional test standards.
OSHA's current scope of recognition for TUV may be found in the
following informational Web page: http://www.osha.gov/dts/otpca/nrtl/tuv.html.
OSHA recognition of an NRTL signifies that the organization has met
the legal requirements in Section 1910.7 of Title 29, Code of Federal
Regulations (29 CFR 1910.7). Recognition is an acknowledgment that the
organization can perform independent safety testing and certification
of the specific products covered within its scope of recognition and is
not a delegation or grant of government authority. As a result of
recognition, employers may use products ``properly certified'' \1\ by
the NRTL to meet OSHA standards that require testing and certification.
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\1\ Properly certified means, in part, that the product is
labeled or marked with the NRTL's ``registered'' certification mark
(i.e., the mark the NRTL uses for its NRTL work) and that the
product certification falls within the scope of recognition of the
NRTL.
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The Agency processes applications by an NRTL for initial
recognition or for expansion or renewal of this recognition following
requirements in Appendix A to 29 CFR 1910.7. This appendix requires
that the Agency publish two notices in the Federal Register in
processing an application. In the first notice, OSHA announces the
application and provides its preliminary finding and, in the second
notice, the Agency provides its final decision on the application.
These notices set forth the NRTL's scope of recognition or
modifications of that scope. We maintain an informational Web page that
details the scope of recognition for each NRTL. These pages can be
accessed from our Web site at http://www.osha.gov/dts/otpca/nrtl/index.html.
TUV submitted an application, dated December 20, 2004, (see Exhibit
32-1) to expand its recognition to include five additional test
standards. The NRTL then amended the original application to request
four additional test standards (see Exhibit 32-2). The NRTL Program
staff determined that each of these standards is an ``appropriate test
standard'' within the meaning of 29 CFR 1910.7(c). However, one
standard was already included in TUV's scope. Therefore, OSHA is
approving eight test standards for the expansion. In connection with
this request, OSHA performed an on-site review of TUV's NRTL testing
facility. The assessor reviewed information pertinent to the request
and recommended expansion for the eight additional test standards (see
Exhibit 32-3).
The preliminary notice announcing the expansion application was
published in the Federal Register on July 24, 2006 (71 FR 41841).
Comments were requested by August 8, 2006, but no comments were
received in response to this notice. OSHA is now proceeding with this
final notice to grant TUV's expansion application.
The most recent application processed by OSHA for TUV also covered
an expansion of recognition, and the final notice granting this
expansion was published on June 20, 2003 (68 FR 37030).
You may obtain or review copies of all public documents pertaining
to the TUV application by contacting the Docket Office, Occupational
Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 200
Constitution Avenue, NW., Room N-2625, Washington, DC 20210. Docket No.
NRTL3-92 contains all materials in the record concerning TUV's
recognition.
The current address of the TUV facility already recognized by OSHA
is: TUV Rheinland of North America, Inc., 12 Commerce Road, Newton, CT
06470.
Final Decision and Order
NRTL Program staff has examined the application, the assessor's
recommendation, and other pertinent information. Based upon this
examination and the assessor's recommendation, OSHA finds that TUV has
met the requirements of 29 CFR 1910.7 for expansion of its recognition,
subject to the limitation and conditions listed below. Pursuant to the
authority in 29 CFR 1910.7, OSHA hereby expands the recognition of TUV,
subject to the following limitation and conditions.
Limitation
OSHA limits the expansion of TUV's recognition to testing and
certification of products for demonstration of conformance to the test
standards listed below. OSHA has determined that the standards meet the
requirements for an appropriate test standard, within the meaning of 29
CFR 1910.7(c).
UL 943........................... Ground-Fault Circuit-Interrupters.
UL 991........................... Tests for Safety-Related Controls
Employing Solid-State Devices.
UL 1047.......................... Isolated Power Systems Equipment.
UL 1363.......................... Relocatable Power Taps.
UL 1662.......................... Electric Chain Saws.
UL 1664.......................... Immersion-Detection Circuit-
Interrupters.
UL 1741.......................... Inverters, Converters, Controllers
and Interconnection System Equipment
for Use With Distributed Energy
Resources.
UL 1863.......................... Communications-Circuit Accessories.
The designations and titles of the above test standards were
current at the time of the preparation of the notice of the preliminary
finding.
OSHA's recognition of TUV, or any NRTL, for a particular test
standard is limited to equipment or materials (i.e., products) for
which OSHA standards require third-party testing and certification
before use in the workplace. Consequently, if a test standard also
covers any product(s) for which OSHA does not require such testing and
certification, an NRTL's scope of recognition does not include that
product(s).
Many UL test standards also are approved as American National
Standards by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). However,
for convenience, we use the designation of the standards developing
organization for the standard as opposed to the ANSI designation. Under
our procedures, any NRTL recognized for an ANSI-approved test standard
may use either the latest proprietary version of the test standard or
the latest ANSI version of that standard. You may contact ANSI to find
out whether or not a test standard is currently ANSI-approved.
Conditions
TUV must also abide by the following conditions of the recognition,
in addition to those already required by 29 CFR 1910.7:
OSHA must be allowed access to TUV's facilities and records for
purposes of ascertaining continuing compliance with the terms of its
recognition and to investigate as OSHA deems necessary;
If TUV has reason to doubt the efficacy of any test standard it is
using under this program, it must promptly inform the test standard
developing organization of this fact and provide that organization with
appropriate relevant information upon which its concerns are based;
TUV must not engage in or permit others to engage in any
misrepresentation of the scope or conditions of its recognition. As
part of this condition, TUV agrees that it will allow no representation
that it is either a recognized or an accredited Nationally Recognized
Testing Laboratory (NRTL) without clearly indicating the specific
equipment or material to which this recognition is tied, or that its
recognition is limited to certain products;
TUV must inform OSHA as soon as possible, in writing, of any change
of ownership, facilities, or key personnel, and of any major changes in
its operations as an NRTL, including details;
TUV will meet all the terms of its recognition and will always
comply with all OSHA policies pertaining to this recognition; and
TUV will continue to meet the requirements for recognition in all
areas where it has been recognized.
Edwin G. Foulke, Jr.,
Assistant Secretary of Labor.
[FR Doc. E6-20406 Filed 12-1-06; 8:45 am]
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