[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 238 (Monday, December 13, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77671-77673]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-31190]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
[Docket Nos. OSHA-2006-0028, OSHA-2007-0041]
Expansion of the Scope of NRTL Recognition of MET Laboratories,
Inc.; Correction of the Scope of NRTL Recognition of FM Approvals, LLC
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 MET
Laboratories, Inc., as a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory
(NRTL) under 29 CFR 1910.7. This notice also proposes a correction to
the scope of recognition of FM Approvals, LLC.
DATES: The expansion of recognition of MET Laboratories, Inc., becomes
effective on December 13, 2010. For the FM Approvals, LLC, correction,
submit information or comments, or any request for extension of the
time to comment, on or before December 28, 2010. All submissions must
bear a postmark or provide other evidence of the submission date. Do
not submit comments or other responses regarding the expansion of
recognition of MET Laboratories, Inc.
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-2007-0041, 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-2007-0041). 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 December 28, 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,
or phone (202) 693-2110.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Notice of Final Decision
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) hereby
gives notice that it is expanding recognition of MET Laboratories,
Inc., (MET) as an NRTL. MET's expansion covers the use of additional
test standards. OSHA's current scope of recognition for MET is in the
following informational Web page: http://www.osha.gov/dts/otpca/nrtl/met.html.
OSHA recognition of an NRTL signifies that the organization has met
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 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 such 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 are
available from the Web site at http://www.osha.gov/dts/otpca/nrtl/index.html. Each NRTL's scope of recognition has three elements: (1)
The 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.
MET submitted two applications, dated October 6 and November 3,
2008, to expand its recognition to include 18 additional test
standards. (Exs. 2 and 3--MET expansion applications dated 10/6/2008
and 11/3/2008.) The NRTL Program staff determined that these standards
are ``appropriate test
[[Page 77672]]
standards'' within the meaning of 29 CFR 1910.7(c). In connection with
this request, NRTL Program staff did not perform any on-site review of
MET's recognized site. The staff only performed a comparability
analysis,\1\ and recommended expansion of MET's recognition to include
the 12 test standards listed below. The Agency published a preliminary
notice announcing the expansion application in the Federal Register on
July 28, 2010 (75 FR 44289). OSHA requested comments on the notice by
August 12, 2010; OSHA received no comments in response to this notice.
OSHA now is proceeding with this final notice to grant MET's expansion
application.
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\1\ 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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All public documents pertaining to the MET application are
available for review 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. These
materials also are available online at http://www.regulations.gov under
Docket No. OSHA-2006-0028.
Final Decision and Order
NRTL Program staff examined MET's application, the comparability
analysis, and other pertinent information. Based on this examination
and the analysis, OSHA finds that MET meets the requirements of 29 CFR
1910.7 for expansion of its recognition, subject to the limitation and
conditions specified below. Pursuant to the authority granted by 29 CFR
1910.7, OSHA hereby expands the recognition of MET, subject to this
limitation and these conditions.
Limitation
OSHA limits the expansion of MET's recognition to testing and
certification of products for demonstration of conformance to the
following test standards, each of which OSHA determines is an
appropriate test standard within the meaning of 29 CFR 1910.7(c):
UL 244A Solid State Controls for Appliances
UL 412 Refrigeration Unit Coolers
*UL 458 Power Converters/Inverters and Power Converter/Inverter Systems
for Land Vehicles and Marine Crafts
UL 466 Electric Scales
UL 561 Floor-Finishing Machines
UL 1230 Amateur Movie Lights
UL 1278 Movable and Wall or Ceiling Hung Electric Room Heaters
UL 1594 Sewing and Cutting Machines
UL 1795 Hydromassage Bathtubs
UL 1951 Electric Plumbing Accessories
UL 1996 Electric Duct Heaters
UL 2021 Fixed and Location Dedicated Electric Room Heaters
*OSHA approves this standard for testing and certification of
products for use within recreational vehicles and mobile homes.
The designations and titles of these test standards were current at the
time of the preparation of this notice.
OSHA limits recognition of any NRTL for a particular test standard
to equipment or materials (i.e., products) for which OSHA standards
require third-party testing and certification before use of the product
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 American National Standards Institute (ANSI) may approve the
test standards listed above as American National Standards. 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 (see OSHA Instruction CPL 1-0.3, Appendix C,
paragraph XIV), 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.
Conditions
MET also must abide by the following conditions of the recognition,
in addition to those conditions already required by 29 CFR 1910.7:
1. MET must allow access to its facilities and records to ascertain
continuing compliance with the terms of its recognition, and to perform
investigations as OSHA deems necessary;
2. If MET 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 concern, and provide that organization
with appropriate relevant information upon which it bases its concern;
3. MET 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, MET agrees that it will allow no representation
that it is either a recognized or an accredited NRTL without clearly
indicating the specific equipment or material to which this recognition
applies, and also clearly indicating that its recognition is limited to
specific products;
4. MET 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 of these
changes;
5. MET will meet all the terms of its recognition, and will always
comply with all OSHA policies pertaining to this recognition; and
6. MET will continue to meet the requirements for recognition in
all areas covered by its scope of recognition.
Correction to FM Approvals Scope of Recognition
On October 25, 2010, OSHA published a notice (75 FR 65521) to
expand the recognition of FM Approvals, LLC (FM). One of the standards
added to FM's scope was UL 484 (Air Room Air Conditioners). Subsequent
to the publication, FM informed OSHA that it instead intended to
request recognition of UL 464 (Audible Signal Appliances). OSHA
determined that FM has the capability for this standard, and proposes
to add it to FM's scope of NRTL recognition.
OSHA welcomes public comments as to whether FM meets the
requirements specified by 29 CFR 1910.7 for the proposed correction to
its scope of recognition as a 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 30 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 the correction to FM's scope of recognition and other
pertinent documents, and all submitted comments, 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-2007-0041.
The NRTL Program staff will review all timely comments and, after
addressing the issues raised by these comments, will recommend whether
to correct FM's scope of recognition. The Assistant Secretary will make
the final decision on granting the request, and, in
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making this decision, may undertake other proceedings prescribed in
Appendix A to 29 CFR 1910.7. OSHA will publish a public notice of this
final decision in the Federal Register. However, because OSHA is only
correcting the recognition, if OSHA receives no comments, it will add
the standard to FM's scope without publishing a notice of final
decision.
Authority and Signature
David Michaels, Ph.D., 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. 4-2010 (75 FR
55355), and 29 CFR part 1911.
Signed at Washington, DC, on December 8, 2010.
David Michaels,
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2010-31190 Filed 12-10-10; 8:45 am]
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