[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 37 (Friday, February 26, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11794-11796]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-03943]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
[Docket No. OSHA-2007-0041]
FM Approvals LLC: Application for Expansion of Recognition and
Proposed Modification to the NRTL Program's List of Appropriate Test
Standards
AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Labor.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In this notice, OSHA announces the application of FM Approvals
LLC for expansion of recognition as a Nationally Recognized
Testing Laboratory (NRTL) and presents the agency's preliminary finding
to grant the application. Additionally, OSHA proposes to add one test
standard to the NRTL Program's list of appropriate test standards.
DATES: Submit comments, information, and documents in response to this
notice, or requests for an extension of time to make a submission, on
or before March 15, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted as follows:
Electronically: You may submit comments, including attachments,
electronically at http://www.regulations.gov, the Federal eRulemaking
Portal. Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
OSHA will place comments and requests for a hearing, including
personal information, in the public docket, which will be available
online. Therefore, OSHA cautions interested parties about submitting
personal information such as Social Security numbers and birthdates.
Docket: To read or download comments or other material in the
docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov. 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 this website. All submissions, including
copyrighted material, are available for inspection through the OSHA
Docket Office. Contact the OSHA Docket Office for assistance in
locating docket submissions.
Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and the
OSHA docket number (OSHA-2007-0041). OSHA places comments and other
materials, including any personal information, in the public docket
without revision, and these materials will be available online at
http://www.regulations.gov. Therefore, the agency cautions commenters
about submitting statements they do not want made available to the
public, or submitting comments that contain personal information
(either about themselves or others) such as Social Security numbers,
birth dates, and medical data.
Extension of comment period: Submit requests for an extension of
the comment period on or before March 15, 2021 to the Office of
Technical Programs and Coordination Activities, Directorate of
Technical Support and Emergency Management, Occupational Safety and
Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution
Avenue NW, Room N-3653, Washington, DC 20210, or by fax to (202) 693-
1644.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Information regarding this notice is
available from the following sources:
Press inquiries: Contact Mr. Frank Meilinger, Director, OSHA Office
of Communications, U.S. Department of Labor, telephone: (202) 693-1999;
email: meilinger.francis2@dol.gov.
General and technical information: Contact Mr. Kevin Robinson,
Director, Office of Technical Programs and Coordination Activities,
Directorate of Technical Support and Emergency Management, Occupational
Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, phone:
(202) 693-2110 or email: robinson.kevin@dol.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Notice of the Application for Expansion
OSHA is providing notice that FM Approvals LLC (FM) is applying for
an expansion of current recognition as a NRTL. FM requests the addition
of five test standards to the NRTL scope of recognition.
OSHA recognition of a NRTL signifies that the organization meets
the 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 the
scope of recognition. Each NRTL's scope of recognition includes (1) the
type of products the NRTL may test, with each type specified by the
applicable test standard; and (2) the recognized site(s) that has/have
the technical capability to perform the product-testing and product-
certification activities for test standards within the NRTL's scope.
Recognition is not a delegation or grant of government authority;
however, recognition enables employers to use products approved by the
NRTL to meet OSHA standards that require product testing and
certification.
The agency processes applications by a NRTL for initial recognition
and 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 a preliminary finding. In the second notice,
the agency provides the 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,
including FM, which details the NRTL's scope of recognition. These
pages are available from the OSHA website at http://www.osha.gov/dts/otpca/nrtl/index.html.
FM currently has two facilities (sites) recognized by OSHA for
product testing and certification, with the headquarters located at: FM
Approvals LLC, 1151 Boston-Providence Turnpike, Norwood, Massachusetts
02062. A complete list of FM's scope of recognition is available at
https://www.osha.gov/dts/otpca/nrtl/fm.html.
II. General Background on the Application
FM submitted an application to OSHA to expand recognition as a NRTL
to include five additional test standards on May 16, 2019 (OSHA-2007-
0041-0014). OSHA staff performed a detailed analysis of the application
packets and reviewed other pertinent information. OSHA did not perform
any on-site reviews in relation to these applications.
Table 1 lists the appropriate test standards found in FM's
application for expansion for testing and certification of products
under the NRTL Program.
Table 1--Proposed List of Appropriate Test Standards for Inclusion in
FM's NRTL Scope of Recognition
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Test standard Test standard title
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* ANSI FM 3265...................... Spark Detection and Extinguishing
Systems.
UL 268.............................. Smoke Detectors for Fire Alarm
Systems.
UL 1971............................. Signaling Devices for the Hearing
Impaired.
UL 2127............................. Inert Gas Clean Agent
Extinguishing System Units.
UL 2166............................. Halocarbon Clean Agent
Extinguishing System Units.
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* Represents the standard that OSHA proposes to add to the NRTL
Program's List of Appropriate Test Standards.
III. Proposal To Add New Test Standard to the NRTL Program's List of
Appropriate Test Standards
Periodically, OSHA will propose to add new test standards to the
NRTL list of appropriate test standards following an evaluation of the
test standard document. To qualify as an appropriate test standard, the
agency evaluates the document to (1) verify it represents a product
category for which OSHA requires certification by a NRTL, (2) verify
the document represents a product and not a component, and (3) verify
the document defines safety test specifications (not installation or
operational performance specifications). OSHA becomes aware of new test
standards through various avenues. For
example, OSHA may become aware of new test standards by: (1) Monitoring
notifications issued by certain Standards Development Organizations;
(2) reviewing applications by NRTLs or applicants seeking recognition
to include new test standard in their scopes of recognition; and (3)
obtaining notification from manufacturers, manufacturing organizations,
government agencies, or other parties. OSHA may determine to include a
new test standard in the list, for example, if the test standard is for
a particular type of product that another test standard also covers or
it covers a type of product that no standard previously covered.
In this notice, OSHA proposes to add one new test standard to the
NRTL Program's list of appropriate test standards. Table 2, below,
lists the test standard that is new to the NRTL Program. OSHA
preliminarily determined that this test standard is appropriate and
proposes to include it in the NRTL Program's list of appropriate test
standards. OSHA seeks public comment on this preliminary determination.
Table 2--Standard OSHA Is Proposing To Add to the NRTL Program's List of
Appropriate Test Standards
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Test standard Test standard title
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ANSI FM 3265........................ Spark Detection and Extinguishing
Systems.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
IV. Preliminary Findings on the Application
FM submitted an acceptable application for expansion of the scope
of recognition. OSHA's review of the application files, and pertinent
documentation, indicate that FM can meet the requirements prescribed by
29 CFR 1910.7 for expanding the recognition to include the addition of
these five test standards for NRTL testing and certification listed
above. This preliminary finding does not constitute an interim or
temporary approval of FM's application.
OSHA welcomes public comment as to whether FM meets the
requirements of 29 CFR 1910.7 for expansion of the recognition as a
NRTL. OSHA additionally welcomes comments on the proposal to add five
additional test standards to the NRTL Program's list of appropriate
test standards. 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. Commenters
must submit the written request for an extension by the due date for
comments. OSHA will limit any extension to 10 days unless the requester
justifies a longer period. OSHA may deny a request for an extension if
the request is not adequately justified. To obtain or review copies of
the exhibits identified in this notice, as well as comments submitted
to the docket, contact the Docket Office, Occupational Safety and
Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor. These materials also
are available online at http://www.regulations.gov under Docket No.
OSHA-2007-0041.
OSHA staff will review all comments to the docket submitted in a
timely manner and, after addressing the issues raised by these
comments, will make a recommendation to the Assistant Secretary for
Occupational Safety and Health whether to grant FM's application for
expansion of the scope of recognition. The Assistant Secretary will
make the final decision on granting the application. In making this
decision, the Assistant Secretary may undertake other proceedings
prescribed in Appendix A to 29 CFR 1910.7.
OSHA will publish a public notice of the final decision in the
Federal Register.
V. Authority and Signature
Amanda L. Edens, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for
Occupational Safety and Health, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington,
DC 20210, authorized the preparation of this notice. Accordingly, the
agency is issuing this notice pursuant to Section 29 U.S.C. 655(6)(d),
Secretary of Labor's Order No. 8-2020 (85 FR 58393; Sept. 18, 2020),
and 29 CFR 1905.11.
Signed at Washington, DC, on February 17, 2021.
Amanda L. Edens,
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2021-03943 Filed 2-25-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-26-P
