[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 18 (Monday, January 28, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3913-3916]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-1934]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. NRTL3-92]


TUV Rheinland of North America, Inc.; Application for Renewal of 
Recognition

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

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the application of TUV Rheinland of 
North America, Inc., for renewal of its recognition as a Nationally 
Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL) under 29 CFR 1910.7, and presents 
the Agency's

[[Page 3914]]

preliminary finding. This preliminary finding does not constitute an 
interim or temporary approval of this application.

DATES: Comments submitted by interested parties, or any request for 
extension of the time to comment, must be received no later than 
February 15, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments concerning this notice to: Docket 
Office, Docket NRTL3-92, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety 
and Health Administration, Room N2625, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., 
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. Submit request for extension of the comment period for 
this notice to: Office of Technical Programs and Coordination 
Activities, NRTL Program, Occupational Safety and Health 
Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, Room N3653, 200 Constitution 
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bernard Pasquet, Office of Technical 
Programs and Coordination Activities, NRTL Program, Room N3653 at the 
above address, or phone (202) 693-2110.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Notice of Application

    The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) hereby 
gives notice that TUV Rheinland of North America, Inc. (TUV), has 
applied for renewal of its current recognition as a Nationally 
Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL). TUV requests renewal for its 
existing scope of recognition. OSHA's current scope of recognition for 
TUV may be found in the following informational Web page: http://www.osha-slc.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'' by the 
NRTL to meet OSHA standards that require 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 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 an application. These 
notices set forth the NRTL's scope of recognition or modifications of 
this scope.
    The most recent notice published by OSHA for TUV's recognition 
covered a modification to its scope of recognition, which became 
effective on September 12, 2001 (66 FR 47505). The following Federal 
Register notices related to TUV's recognition have also been published 
by OSHA to address an expansion of their recognition for additional 
standards or programs: a request announced on March 2, 2000 (65 FR 
11197) and granted on June 8, 2000 (65 FR 39946); requests announced on 
December 12, 1997 (62 FR 65446) and January 8, 1998 (63 FR 1127) and 
granted on April 2, 1998 (63 FR 16280).
    The current address of the testing facility (site) that OSHA 
recognizes for TUV is: TUV Rheinland of North America, Inc., 12 
Commerce Road, Newtown, Connecticut 06470.

General Background on the Applicant and the Application

    TUV Rheinland of North America, Inc., is a privately held Product 
Safety and Quality Assurance Testing firm with offices throughout the 
United States and Canada. TUV is wholly owned by TUV Rheinland e. V. of 
Cologne, Germany. TUV is a U.S. corporation incorporated in the state 
of Delaware in 1983.
    TUV received its recognition as an NRTL on August 16, 1995 (60 FR 
42594), for a period of five years ending August 16, 2000. Appendix A 
to 29 CFR 1910.7 stipulates that the period of recognition of an NRTL 
is five years and that an NRTL may renew its recognition by applying 
not less than nine months, nor more than one year, before the 
expiration date of its current recognition. TUV submitted a request to 
renew its recognition on November 16, 1999 (see Exhibit 23), within the 
time allotted, and retains its recognition pending OSHA's final 
decision in this renewal process.
    TUV's request covers only renewal of its existing scope of 
recognition, which includes the facility listed above, and 126 test 
standards and 5 supplemental programs.

Test standards

    TUV seeks renewal of its recognition for testing and certification 
of products for demonstration of conformance to the following 126 test 
standards, all of which OSHA has determined are appropriate, within the 
meaning of 29 CFR 1910.7(c).

UL 22  Amusement and Gaming Machines
UL 48  Electric Signs
UL 67  Panelboards
UL 73  Motor-Operated Appliances
UL 82  Electric Gardening Appliances
UL 122  Photographic Equipment
UL 130  Electric Heating Pads
UL 136  Pressure Cookers
UL 141  Garment Finishing Appliances
UL 153  Portable Electric Lamps
UL 174  Household Electric Storage Tank Water Heaters
UL 197  Commercial Electric Cooking Appliances
UL 250  Household Refrigerators and Freezers
UL 298  Portable Electric Hand Lamps
UL 430  Waste Disposers
UL 469  Musical Instruments and Accessories
UL 471  Commercial Refrigerators and Freezers
UL 474  Dehumidifiers
UL 482  Portable Sun/Heat Lamps
UL 499  Electric Heating Appliances
UL 506  Specialty Transformers
UL 507  Electric Fans
UL 508  Industrial Control Equipment
UL 508C  Power Conversion Equipment
UL 541  Refrigerated Vending Machines
UL 544  Electric Medical and Dental Equipment
UL 561  Floor Finishing Machines
UL 583  Electric-Battery-Powered Industrial Trucks
UL 621  Ice Cream Makers
UL 696  Electric Toys
UL 697  Toy Transformers
UL 745-1  Portable Electric Tools
UL 745-2-1  Particular Requirements of Drills
UL 745-2-2  Particular Requirements for Screwdrivers and Impact 
Wrenches
UL 745-2-3  Particular Requirements for Grinders, Polishers, and Disk-
Type Sanders
UL 745-2-4  Particular Requirements for Sanders
UL 745-2-5  Particular Requirements for Circular Saws and Circular 
Knives
UL 745-2-6  Particular Requirements for Hammers
UL 745-2-8  Particular Requirements for Shears and Nibblers
UL 745-2-9  Particular Requirements for Tappers
UL 745-2-11  Particular Requirements for Reciprocating Saws
UL 745-2-12  Particular Requirements for Concrete Vibrators

[[Page 3915]]

UL 745-2-14  Particular Requirements for Planers
UL 745-2-17  Particular Requirements for Routers and Trimmers
UL 745-2-30  Particular Requirements for Staplers
UL 745-2-31  Particular Requirements for Diamond Core Drills
UL 745-2-32  Particular Requirements for Magnetic Drill Presses
UL 745-2-33  Particular Requirements for Portable Bandsaws
UL 745-2-34  Particular Requirements for Strapping Tools
UL 745-2-35  Particular Requirements for Drain Cleaners
UL 745-2-36  Particular Requirements for Hand Motor Tools
UL 745-2-37  Particular Requirements for Plate Jointers
UL 749  Household Dishwashers
UL 751  Vending Machines
UL 763  Motor-Operated Commercial Food Preparing Machines
UL 775  Graphic Arts Equipment
UL 778  Motor Operated Water Pumps
UL 826  Household Electric Clocks
UL 858  Household Electric Ranges
UL 859  Household Electric Personal Grooming Appliance
UL 867  Electrostatic Air Cleaners
UL 875  Electric Dry Bath Heaters
UL 921  Commercial Electric Dishwashers
UL 923  Microwave Cooking Appliances
UL 935  Fluorescent-Lamp Ballasts
UL 961  Electric Hobby and Sports Equipment
UL 982  Motor-Operated Household Food Preparing Machines
UL 984  Hermetic Refrigerant Motor-Compressors
UL 987  Stationary and Fixed Electric Tools
UL 1004  Electric Motors
UL 1005  Electric Flatirons
UL 1012  Power Units Other than Class Two
UL 1017  Vacuum Cleaning Machines and Blower Cleaners
UL 1018  Electric Aquarium Equipment
UL 1026  Electric Household Cooking and Food-Serving Appliances
UL 1028  Hair Clipping and Shaving Appliances
UL 1042  Electric Baseboard Heating Equipment
UL 1081  Swimming Pool Pumps, Filters and Chlorinators
UL 1082  Household Electric Coffee Makers and Brewing-Type Appliances
UL 1083  Household Electric Skillets and Frying-Type Appliances
UL 1230  Amateur Movie Lights
UL 1236  Battery Chargers for Charging Engine-Starter Batteries
UL 1240  Electric Commercial Clothes-Drying Equipment
UL 1278  Movable and Wall-or Ceiling-Hung Electric Room Heaters
UL 1310  Class 2 Power Units
UL 1409  Low-Voltage Video Products Without Cathode-Ray-Tube Displays
UL 1411  Transformers and Motor Transformers for Use In Audio-, Radio-
,and Television-Type Appliances
UL 1418  Implosion-Protected Cathode-Ray Tubes for Television-Type 
Appliances
UL 1419  Professional Video and Audio Equipment
UL 1431  Personal Hygiene and Health Care Appliances
UL 1445  Electric Water Bed Heaters
UL 1459  Telephone Equipment
UL 1559  Insect-Control Equipment, Electrocution Type
UL 1561  Dry Type General Purpose and Power Transformers
UL 1563  Electric Spas, Equipment Assemblies, and Associated Equipment
UL 1564  Industrial Battery Chargers
UL 1570  Fluorescent Lighting Fixtures
UL 1571  Incandescent Lighting Fixtures
UL 1572  High Intensity Discharge Lighting Fixtures
UL 1573  Stage and Studio Lighting Units
UL 1574  Track Lighting Systems
UL 1585  Class 2 and Class 3 Transformers
UL 1594  Sewing and Cutting Machines
UL 1598  Luminaries
UL 1647  Motor-Operated Massage and Exercise Machines
UL 1693  Electric Radiant Heating Panels and Heating Panel Sets
UL 1727  Commercial Electric Personal Grooming Appliances
UL 1776  High-Pressure Cleaning Machines
UL 1786  Nightlights
UL 1795  Hydromassage Bathtubs
UL 1838  Low Voltage Landscape Lighting Systems
ANSI/UL 1950  Information Technology Equipment Including Electrical 
Business Equipment
UL 1995  Heating and Cooling Equipment
UL 2021  Fixed and Location-Dedicated Electric Room Heaters
UL 2157  Electric Clothes Washing Machines and Extractors
UL 2158  Electric Clothes Dryers
UL 2601-1  Medical Electrical Equipment; Part 1: General Requirements 
for Safety
UL 3101-1  Electrical Equipment for Laboratory Use; Part 1: General 
Requirements
UL 3111-1  Electrical Measuring and Test Equipment; Part 1: General 
Requirements
UL 3121-1  Process Control Equipment
UL 6500  Audio/Video and Musical Instrument Apparatus for Household, 
Commercial, and Similar General Use
UL 8730-1  Electrical Controls for Household and Similar Use; Part 1: 
General Requirements
UL 8730-2-3  Automatic Electrical Controls for Household and Similar 
Use; Part 2: Particular Requirements for Thermal Motor Protectors for 
Ballasts for Tubular Fluorescent Lamps
UL 8730-2-4  Automatic Electrical Controls for Household and Similar 
Use; Part 2: Particular Requirements for Thermal Motor Protectors for 
Motor Compressors or Hermetic and Semi-Hermetic Type
UL 8730-2-8  Automatic Electrical Controls for Household and Similar 
Use; Part 2: Particular Requirements for Electrically Operated Water 
Valves
UL 60335-1  Safety of Household and Similar Electrical Appliances, Part 
1; General Requirements

    Note--Testing and certification of gas operated equipment is 
limited to equipment for use with ``liquefied petroleum gas'' (``LPG'' 
or ``LP-Gas'').
    The designations and titles of the above test standards were 
current at the time of the preparation of this notice.
    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, an NRTL's scope of 
recognition excludes any product(s) falling within the scope of a test 
standard for which OSHA has no NRTL testing and certification 
requirements.
    Many of the test standards listed above are approved as American 
National Standards by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). 
However, for convenience in compiling the list, we show the designation 
of the standards developing organization (e.g., UL 1028) for the 
standard, as opposed to the ANSI designation (e.g., ANSI/UL 1028). 
Under our procedures, an 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, regardless of 
which version appears in the list of test standards found in OSHA's 
informational web page for the NRTL. Contact ANSI or the ANSI web site 
(www.ansi.org) and click ``NSSN'' to find out whether or not a standard 
is currently ANSI-approved.

[[Page 3916]]

Programs and Procedures

    TUV's renewal also would cover use of the supplemental programs 
listed below. OSHA has described these ``supplemental'' programs in a 
March 9, 1995 Federal Register notice (60 FR 12980, 3/9/95). This 
notice described nine (9) programs and procedures (collectively, 
programs), eight of which (called supplemental programs) an NRTL may 
use to control, audit, and accept the data relied upon for product 
certification. Such data is not normally generated at the NRTL's 
facility or by NRTL personnel. The notice also includes the criteria 
for the use by the NRTL of these eight, or supplemental, programs. An 
NRTL's initial recognition will always include the first or basic 
program, which requires that all of these activities be performed in-
house by the NRTL that will certify the product. OSHA previously 
granted TUV recognition to use these programs, which currently are 
listed on OSHA's informational Web page for TUV's recognition (see: 
http://www.osha-slc.gov/dts/otpca/nrtl/tuv.html)
    Program 2: Acceptance of testing data from independent 
organizations, other than NRTLs.
    Program 3: Acceptance of product evaluations from independent 
organizations, other than NRTLs.
    Program 4: Acceptance of witnessed testing data.
    Program 8: Acceptance of product evaluations from organizations 
that function as part of the International Electrotechnical Commission 
Certification Body (IEC-CB) Scheme.
    Program 9: Acceptance of services other than testing or evaluation 
performed by subcontractors or agents.
    OSHA developed these programs to limit how an NRTL may perform 
certain aspects of its work and to permit the activities covered under 
a program only when the NRTL meets certain criteria. In this sense, 
they are special conditions that the Agency places on an NRTL's 
recognition. OSHA does not consider these programs in determining 
whether an NRTL meets the requirements for recognition under 29 CFR 
1910.7. However, these programs are one of the three elements that 
define the scope of that recognition.

Existing Condition

    Currently, OSHA imposes the following condition on its recognition 
of TUV as an NRTL. This condition would apply to the renewal of 
recognition.
    TUV must have specific written testing procedures in place before 
testing products covered by any test standard for which it is 
recognized and must use these procedures in testing and certifying 
those products.

Preliminary Finding on the Application

    TUV has submitted an acceptable request for renewal of its 
recognition as an NRTL. While processing this request, OSHA performed 
an on-site review of TUV's NRTL testing facilities. TUV has addressed 
any discrepancies noted by the assessor following the on-site 
evaluation, and the assessor has recommended renewal of TUV's 
recognition (see Exhibit 24).
    Following a review of the application file, the assessor's 
recommendation, and other pertinent documents, the NRTL Program staff 
has concluded that OSHA can grant to TUV the renewal of its recognition 
as an NRTL to use the facilities, test standards, and programs listed 
above, subject to the condition noted. The staff, therefore, 
recommended to the Assistant Secretary that the application be 
preliminarily approved.
    Based upon the recommendation of the staff, the Agency has made a 
preliminary finding that TUV Rheinland of North America, Inc., can meet 
the requirements, as prescribed by 29 CFR 1910.7, for the renewal of 
its recognition, subject to the condition noted. This preliminary 
finding, however, does not constitute an interim or temporary approval 
of the application.
    OSHA welcomes public comments, in sufficient detail, as to whether 
TUV has met the requirements of 29 CFR 1910.7 for renewal of its 
recognition as a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory. Your comment 
should consist of pertinent written documents and exhibits. To consider 
it, OSHA must receive the comment at the address provided above see 
Addresses) no later than the last date for comments see Dates above). 
Should you need more time to comment, OSHA must receive your written 
request for extension at the address provided above (also see 
Addresses) no later than the last date for comments (also see Dates 
above). You must include your reason(s) for any request for extension. 
OSHA will limit an extension to 15 days unless the requester justifies 
a longer period. We may deny a request for extension if it is frivolous 
or otherwise unwarranted. You may obtain or review copies of TUV's 
request, the memo on the recommendation, and all submitted comments, as 
received, by contacting the Docket Office, Room N2625, Occupational 
Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, at the 
above address. You should refer to Docket No. NRTL3-92, the permanent 
record of public information on TUV's recognition.
    The NRTL Program staff will review all timely comments and, after 
resolution of issues raised by these comments, will recommend whether 
to grant TUV's application for renewal of recognition. The Agency will 
make the final decision on granting the renewal and, in making this 
decision, may undertake other proceedings that are prescribed in 
Appendix A to 29 CFR Section 1910.7. OSHA will publish a public notice 
of this final decision in the Federal Register.

    Signed at Washington, DC this 17th day of January, 2002.
John L. Henshaw,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 02-1934 Filed 1-25-02; 8:45 am]
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