[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 185 (Friday, September 22, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57388-57389]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-23900]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. ICR-1218-0147(2000)]


Definition and Requirements for a Nationally Recognized Testing 
Laboratory; Extension of the Office of Management of Budget's (OMB) 
Approval of Information-Collection (Paperwork) Requirements

AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Labor.

ACTION: Notice of an opportunity for public comment.

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SUMMARY: OSHA solicits comments concerning the extension of the 
information-collection requirements contained in the regulation titled 
``Definition and Requirements for a Nationally Recognized Testing 
Laboratory'' (29 CFR 1910.7).

Request for Comment

    The Agency has a particular interest in comments on the following 
issues:
     Whether the information-collection requirements are 
necessary for the proper performance of the Agency's functions, 
including whether the information is useful;
     The accuracy of the Agency's estimate of the burden (time 
and costs) of the information-collection requirements, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
     The quality, utility, and clarity of the information 
collected; and
     Ways to minimize the burden on employers who must comply; 
for example, by using automated or other technological information-
collection and -transmission techniques.

DATES: Submit written comments on or before November 21, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments to the Docket Office, Docket No. 
ICR-1218-0147 (2000), Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 
U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-2625, 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., 
Washington, DC 20210; telephone: (202) 693-2350. Commenters may 
transmit written comments of 10 pages or less in length by facsimile to 
(202) 693-1648.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bernard Pasquet, Directorate of

[[Page 57389]]

Technical Support, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. 
Department of Labor, Room N-3653, 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., 
Washington, DC 20210, telephone: (202) 693-2110. A copy of the Agency's 
Information-Collection Request (ICR) supporting the need for the 
information-collection requirements specified by OSHA for becoming a 
nationally-recognized testing laboratory (29 CFR 1910.7) is available 
for inspection and copying in the Docket Office, or you may request a 
mailed copy by telephoning Bernard Pasquet at (202) 693-2110. For 
electronic copies of the ICR, contact OSHA on the Internet at http://www.osha.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:   

I. Background

    The Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort to reduce 
paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a preclearance consultation 
program to provide the general public and Federal agencies with an 
opportunity to comment on proposed and continuing information-
collection requirements in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995 (PRA-95) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). This program ensures that 
information is in the desired format, reporting burden (time and costs) 
is minimal, collection instruments clearly understood, and OSHA's 
estimate of the information burden is correct. The Occupational Safety 
and Health Act of 1970 (the Act) authorizes information collection by 
employers as necesssary or appropriate for enforcement of the Act or 
for developing information regarding the causes and prevention of 
occupational injuries, illnesses, and accidents (29 U.S.C. 657).
    A number of standards issued by the Occupational Safety and Health 
Administration (OSHA) contain requirements for equipment, products, or 
materials. These standards often specify that employers use only 
equipment, products, or material ``tested'' or ``approved'' by a 
``nationally recognized testing laboratory'' (NRTL); this requirement 
ensures that employers use safe and efficacious equipment, products, or 
materials in complying with the standards. Accordingly, OSHA 
promulgated the regulation titled ``Definitions and Requirements for a 
Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory'' (the ``Regulation''). The 
Regulation specifies procedures that organizations must follow to apply 
for, and to maintain, OSHA's recognition to test and certify equipment, 
products, or material for this purpose.
    As part of the recognition process, the Regulation requires that 
organizations seeking recognition submit an initial-recognition 
application to OSHA. The Agency reviews the information provided in the 
initial-recognition application to determine if an organization meets 
the qualification criteria specified in the Regulation. These criteria 
address an organization's capability to test and examine equipment, 
products, or material for safety (for example, fire or electrical 
safety). In this regard, the Agency evaluates an organization's 
facilities, equipment, staff training, written testing procedures, and 
calibration and quality-control programs necessary to test and examine 
equipment, products, and material for safety. If OSHA approves the 
initial-recognition application, it will recognize the organization as 
an NRTL for five years.
    Once recognized, an NRTL may apply to expand its current 
recognition to cover additional categories of NRTL testing. To do so, 
an NRTL must submit an expansion-of-recognition application that 
provides the Agency with information demonstrating that it meets the 
testing criteria specified by the Regulation for these additional 
categories. An NRTL may also revise its testing procedures, such as 
testing methods or pass-fail criteria, provided the revisions are at 
least as effective as the prior testing procedures; OSHA reviews these 
revisions during the annual site visit to the NRTL.
    To renew recognition for another five-year period, an NRTL must 
submit a renewal-of-recognition application to the Agency several 
months before the current recognition expires. OSHA may in some cases 
dispense with this renewal requirement provided the organization 
certifies its continuing compliance with the Regulation.
    To ensure that NRTLs are meeting the requirements of the 
Regulation, the Agency attempts to conduct site visits (i.e., audits) 
at each NRTL annually. During these site visits, an NRTL provides OSHA 
with written information to evaluate its compliance with the 
requirements for recognition. These reviews also permit the Agency to 
determine if revisions to testing procedures made by NRTLs are at least 
as effective as the prior testing procedures. These site visits help to 
ensure that equipment, products, or material used by employers to 
comply with OSHA's standards are providing employees with the highest 
level of protection available.

II. Proposed Actions

    OSHA proposes to extend OMB's approval of the collection-of-
information (paperwork) requirements contained in the requirements for 
becoming a nationally-recognized testing laboratory. OSHA will 
summarize the comments submitted in response to this notice, and will 
include this summary in the request to OMB to extend the approval of 
these information-collection requirements.
    Type of Review: Extension of currently approved information-
collection requirements.
    Title: Definition and Requirements for a Nationally Recognized 
Testing Laboratory (29 CFR 1910.7).
    OMB Number: 1218-0147.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations; Not-
for-Profit institutions; State, Local or Tribal governments.
    Number of Respondents: 58.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Total Responses: 58.
    Average Time per Response: 53 hours.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 1,345 hours.
    Estimated Cost (Operation and Maintenance): $0.

III. Authority and Signature

    Charles N. Jeffress, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational 
Safety and Health, directed the preparation of this notice. The 
authority for this notice is the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 
U.S.C. 3506) and Secretary of Labor's Order No. 3-2000 (65 FR 50017).

    Signed at Washington, DC on September 12, 2000.
Charles N. Jeffress,
Assistant Secretary of Labor.
[FR Doc. 00-23900 Filed 9-21-00; 8:45 am]
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