[Federal Register: April 26, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 79)][Notices] [Page 21664-21666]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr26ap10-97]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
[Docket No. OSHA-2009-0025]
Underwriters Laboratories Inc.; Application for Expansion of
Recognition
AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Labor.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces (1) the application of Underwriters
Laboratories, Inc. (UL), for expansion of its recognition, (2) the
Agency's preliminary finding to grant this request, and (3) UL's
voluntary modification of its NRTL scope of recognition. This notice
also announces that, because the standards-development organization
withdrew UL 486A from its list of published standards, OSHA is deleting
this test standard from the scopes of NRTLs previously recognized to
use this test standard. Finally, this notice requests comments on
OSHA's proposed deletion of an additional five test standards from the
scopes of NRTLs currently recognized for these test standards.
DATES: Submit information and comments regarding the UL expansion
application and the proposed deletion of five test standards from
NRTLs' scopes of recognition, as well as requests for an extension of
the comment period, on or before May 11, 2010. All submissions must
bear a postmark or provide other evidence of the submission date.
The voluntary modification of UL's NRTL scope of recognition and
the deletion of UL 486A is effective April 26, 2010. Do not submit
comments or other responses regarding these actions.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments by any of the following methods:
Electronically: Submit comments electronically at http://www.regulations.gov,
which is the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Follow the instructions online
for making electronic submissions.
Fax: If submissions, including attachments, are no longer than 10
pages, commenters may fax them to the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-
1648.
Mail, hand delivery, express mail, or messenger or courier service:
Submit one copy of the comments to the OSHA Docket Office, Docket No.
OSHA-2009-0025, U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-2625, 200 Constitution
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210. Deliveries (hand, express mail, and
messenger and courier service) are accepted during the Department of
Labor's and Docket Office's normal business hours, 8:15 a.m.-4:45 p.m.,
e.t.
Instructions: All submissions must include the Agency name and the
OSHA docket number (i.e., OSHA-2009-0025). OSHA will place all
submissions, including any personal information provided, in the public
docket without revision, and these submissions will be made available
online at http://www.regulations.gov.
Docket: To read or download submissions or other material in the
docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov or the OSHA Docket Office at
the address above. All documents in the docket are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index;
however, some information (e.g., copyrighted material) is not publicly
available to read or download through the Web site. All submissions,
including copyrighted material, are available for inspection and copying
at the OSHA Docket Office.
Extension of comment period: Submit requests for an extension of
the comment period on or before May 11, 2010 to the 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-3655, Washington, DC 20210, or by fax to (202) 693-
1644.
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-3655, Washington, DC 20210;
telephone: (202) 693-2110. For information about the NRTL Program, go
to http://www.osha.gov,
and select "N" in the site index.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Notice of Expansion Application
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is
providing notice that Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. (UL), applied for
expansion of its current recognition as a Nationally Recognized Testing
Laboratory (NRTL). UL's expansion request covers the use of additional
test standards.
OSHA recognition of an NRTL signifies that the organization meets
the legal requirements specified in 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
approved by the NRTL to meet OSHA standards that require product
testing and certification.
The Agency processes applications by an NRTL for initial
recognition, or for an 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. OSHA maintains an informational Web page
for each NRTL that details its scope of recognition. These pages can be
accessed from the Web site at http://www.osha.gov/dts/otpca/nrtl/index.html.
Each NRTL's scope of recognition has three elements: (1)
Type of products the NRTL may test, with each type specified by its
applicable test standard; (2) the recognized site(s) that has/have the
technical capability to perform the testing and certification
activities for test standards within the NRTL's scope; and (3) the
supplemental program(s) that the NRTL may use, each of which allows the
NRTL to rely on other parties to perform activities necessary for
product testing and certification.
General Background on the Application
UL submitted an application, dated February 20, 2008, as an
amendment to its application for renewal of recognition. (Ex. 2--UL
expansion application dated 2/20/2008.) This amendment requested an
expansion of recognition to add 98 standards \1\ to UL's scope and to
delete several test standards from its scope. The NRTL Program staff
determined that 49 of the requested standards are "appropriate test
standards" within the meaning of 29 CFR 1910.7(c). UL later modified
its request to reduce the number of the appropriate standards to 35.
(Ex. 3--UL amended expansion application dated 2/16/2010.)
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\1\ UL requested recognition for ANSI/AAMI ES60601-1:2005, but
OSHA has not yet determined whether this standard may be used by
NRTLs. OSHA will request public comment on the suitability of this
standard in an upcoming Federal Register notice.
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In connection with this request, NRTL Program staff did not perform
any onsite review of UL's recognized sites. The staff only performed a
comparability analysis,\2\ which determined that UL has the capabilities to perform
the testing to the 35 standards, (see the list below). As a result, the
Agency would approve these 35 test standards for the expansion.
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\2\ This analysis involves determining whether the testing and
evaluation requirements of test standards already in an NRTL's scope
are comparable to the requirements in the standards requested by the
NRTL.
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UL seeks expansion of its recognition for testing and certification
of products to the following test standards: \3\
\3\ The designations and titles of these test standards were
current at the time of the preparation of this notice.
IEEE C37.20.4 Indoor AC Switches (1 kV-38 kV) for Use in Metal-Enclosed
Switchgear \a\
IEEE C37.20.6 4.76 kV to 38 kV Rated Grounding and Testing Devices Used
in Enclosures \a\
IEEE C37.23 Metal-Enclosed Bus \a\
IEEE C37.41 High-Voltage Fuses, Distribution Enclosed Single-Pole Air
Switches, Fuse Disconnecting Switches, and Accessories \a\
IEEE C37.74 Subsurface, Vault, and Pad-Mounted Load-Interrupter
Switchgear and Fused Load-Interrupter Switchgear for Alternating
Current Systems Up to 38 KV Switchgear \a\
IEEE C57.12.44 Secondary Network Protectors \a\
ISA 12.12.01 Nonincendive Electrical Equipment for Use in Class I and
II, Division 2 and Class III, Divisions 1 and 2 Hazardous (Classified)
Locations
UL 5C Surface Raceways and Fittings for Use with Data, Signal, and
Control Circuits
UL 283 Air Fresheners and Deodorizers
UL 458 Power Converters/Inverters and Power Converter/Inverter Systems
for Land Vehicles and Marine Crafts \b\
NFPA 496 Purged and Pressurized Enclosures for Electrical Equipment
UL 852 Metallic Sprinkler Pipe for Fire Protection Service
UL 962 Household and Commercial Furnishings \c\
UL 1340 Hoists
UL 1626 Residential Sprinklers for Fire Protection Service
UL 2225 Cables and Cable Fittings for Use in Hazardous (Classified)
Locations
UL 2443 Flexible Sprinkler Hose With Fittings for Fire Protection
Service
UL 5085-2 Low Voltage Transformers--Part 2: General Purpose
Transformers
UL 60730-2-8 Automatic Electrical Controls for Household and Similar
Use; Part 2: Particular Requirements for Electrically Operated Water
Valves, Including Mechanical Requirements
UL 60745-2-1 Particular Requirements for Drills and Impact Drills
UL 60745-2-3 Particular Requirements for Grinders, Polishers and Disk-
Type Sanders
UL 60745-2-11 Particular Requirements for Reciprocating Saws
UL 60745-2-12 Particular Requirements for Concrete Vibrators
UL 60745-2-14 Particular Requirements for Planers
UL 60745-2-17 Particular Requirements for Routers and Trimmers
UL 60745-2-18 Particular Requirements for Strapping Tools
UL 60745-2-19 Particular Requirements for Jointers
UL 60745-2-2 Particular Requirements for Screwdrivers and Impact
Wrenches
UL 60745-2-20 Particular Requirements for Band Saws
UL 60745-2-21 Particular Requirements for Drain Cleaners
UL 60745-2-4 Particular Requirements for Sanders and Polishers Other
Than Disk Type
UL 60745-2-5 Particular Requirements for Circular Saws
UL 60745-2-6 Particular Requirements for Hammers
UL 60745-2-8 Particular Requirements for Shears and Nibblers
UL 60745-2-9 Particular Requirements for Tappers
Notes: \a\ Recognition for this standard does not apply to
testing and certification of equipment or materials used in
installations that are excluded from the provisions of subpart S in
29 CFR 1910 by section 1910.302(a)(2).
\b\ Recognition for this standard is limited to testing and
certification of products used within recreational vehicles and
mobile homes.
\c\ Recognition of this standard is limited to testing and
certification of the electrical devices falling within the
standard's scope.
OSHA's recognition of UL, 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 for which OSHA does not require such testing and
certification, an NRTL's scope of recognition does not include that
product.
The test standards listed above may be approved as American
National Standards by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).
However, for convenience, we may use the designation of the standards-
developing organization for the standard as opposed to the ANSI
designation. Under the NRTL Program's policy, any NRTL recognized for a
particular test standard may use either the proprietary version of the
test standard or the ANSI version of that standard. Contact ANSI to
determine whether a test standard is currently ANSI approved.
Voluntary Modification of Scope
UL also requested to modify its scope of recognition by deleting
the following two test standards:
ANSI/IEEE C37.60 Overhead, Pad-Mounted, Dry-Vault, and Submersible
Automatic Circuit Reclosers and Interrupters for AC Systems
ANSI/UL 632 Electrically Actuated Transmitters
UL originally applied for UL 486A ("Wire Connectors and Soldering
Lugs for Use With Copper Conductors") (see Ex. 2), but then excluded
this standard when it later modified its request (see Ex. 3). However,
as of the date of this Federal Register notice, UL 486A has been
withdrawn from the list of published standards by the standards-
developing organization. As a result, OSHA is deleting this standard
from UL's NRTL scope, as well as the scopes of NRTLs recognized
previously by OSHA for it. OSHA periodically publishes notices to make
such deletions (see, for example, 74 FR 47026, September 14, 2009).
Issue Regarding NFPA Standards
UL requested that OSHA include the following four standards, issued
by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), in UL's
recognition-expansion application:
NFPA 16 Standard for the Installation of Foam-Water Sprinkler and Foam-
Water Spray Systems
NFPA 17A Standard for Wet Chemical Extinguishing Systems
NFPA 2001 Standard on Clean Agent Fire Extinguishing Systems
NFPA 2010 Standard for Fixed Aerosol Fire-Extinguishing Systems
However, these test standards are not appropriate for recognition
because the standards primarily cover installation, use, and
maintenance of a system or its elements, instead of product-safety
testing. Therefore, OSHA is not including these test standards in UL's
expanded scope of recognition.
OSHA also notes that it currently recognizes several NRTLs for NFPA
16, as well as for four similar NFPA standards, none of which appears
to cover primarily product-safety testing. These four standards are:
ANSI/NFPA 11 Low-, Medium-, and High-Expansion Foam
ANSI/NFPA 12 Carbon Dioxide Extinguishing Systems
ANSI/NFPA 12A Halon 1301 Fire Extinguishing Systems
ANSI/NFPA 17 Dry Chemical Extinguishing Systems
Accordingly, OSHA is proposing to remove NFPA 16 and the four similar
test standards from these NRTLs' scopes of recognition. Before doing
so, OSHA requests comment on whether this action would have adverse
impact on the requirements for NRTL certification specified for
products under its standards (such as preventing NRTLs from certifying
fire-extinguishing agents or products). If commenters believe that
adverse impact would occur, OSHA requests that they comment on whether
the Agency should continue allowing NRTLs to use these test standards
until it identifies appropriate standards for certifying the affected
products.\4\ If no adverse impacts would occur, OSHA is proposing to
delete NFPA 16 and the four similar test standards from the scopes of
the affected NRTLs. OSHA will issue its decision regarding these test
standards in the subsequent Federal Register notice announcing the
results of UL's expansion request.
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\4\ If OSHA determines that adverse impact would occur, OSHA may
add NFPA 16 to UL's scope of recognition until it identifies an
appropriate substitute test standard.
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Preliminary Finding on the Application
UL submitted an acceptable request for expansion of its recognition
as an NRTL. OSHA's review of the application file and other pertinent
documents indicates that UL can meet the requirements, as prescribed by
29 CFR 1910.7, for an expansion of its recognition to include the
additional test standards listed above. This preliminary finding does
not constitute an interim or temporary approval of the application.
OSHA welcomes public comments, in sufficient detail, as to whether
UL meets the requirements of 29 CFR 1910.7 for expansion of its
recognition as an NRTL. Comments should consist of pertinent written
documents and exhibits. Commenters needing more time to comment must
submit a request, in writing, stating the reasons for the request. OSHA
must receive the written request for an extension by the due date for
comments. OSHA will limit any extension to 15 days unless the requester
justifies a longer period. OSHA may deny a request for an extension if
it is not adequately justified. To obtain or review copies of UL's
request and other pertinent documents, and all submitted comments, as
received, contact the Docket Office, Room N-2625, Occupational Safety
and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, at the above
address; these materials also are available online at http://www.regulations.gov
under Docket No. OSHA-2009-0025.
The NRTL Program staff will review all timely comments and, after
addressing the issues raised by these comments, will recommend whether
to grant UL's expansion request. The Assistant Secretary will make the
final decision on granting the request, and, in making this decision,
may undertake other proceedings that are prescribed in Appendix A to 29
CFR 1910.7. OSHA will publish a public notice of this final decision in
the Federal Register.
Authority and Signature
David Michaels, PhD, MPH, Assistant Secretary of Labor for
Occupational Safety and Health, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW.,
Washington, DC 20210, directed the preparation of this notice.
Accordingly, the Agency is issuing this notice pursuant to Sections
6(b) and 8(g) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29
U.S.C. 655 and 657), Secretary of Labor's Order No. 5-2007 (72 FR
31160), and 29 CFR part 1911.
Signed at Washington, DC, on April 20, 2010.
David Michaels,
Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2010-9545 Filed 4-23-10; 8:45 am]
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