[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 232 (Monday, December 5, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72470-72471]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-6822]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. NRTL1-88]


MET Laboratories, Inc., Expansion of Recognition

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., (MET) as a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory 
under 29 CFR 1910.7.

DATES: The expansion of recognition becomes effective on December 5, 
2005.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 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-3653, Washington, DC 20210, or phone (202) 693-2110.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Notice of Final Decision

    The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) hereby 
gives notice of the expansion of recognition of MET Laboratories, Inc., 
(MET) as a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL). MET's 
expansion covers the use of additional test standards. OSHA's current 
scope of recognition for MET may be found 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 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'' \1\ by 
the NRTL to meet OSHA standards that require testing and certification.
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    \1\ Properly certified means, in part, that the product is 
labeled or marked with the NRTL's ``registered'' certification mark 
(i.e., the mark the NRTL uses for its NRTL work) and that the 
product certification falls within the scope of recognition of the 
NRTL.
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    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 the application. 
These notices set forth the NRTL's scope of recognition or 
modifications of that scope. We maintain an informational Web page for 
each NRTL, which details its scope of recognition. These pages can be 
accessed from our Web site at http://www.osha.gov/dts/otpca/nrtl/index.html.

[[Page 72471]]

    MET submitted an application, dated November 1, 2004, (see Exhibit 
35-1) to expand its recognition to include 12 additional test 
standards. The NRTL Program staff determined that each of these 
standards is an ``appropriate test standard'' within the meaning of 29 
CFR 1910.7(c). However, one standard was already included in MET's 
scope. Therefore, OSHA is approving eleven test standards for the 
expansion. In connection with this request, OSHA did not perform an on-
site review of MET's NRTL testing facilities. However, NRTL Program 
assessment staff reviewed information pertinent to the request and 
recommended that MET's recognition be expanded to include the eleven 
additional test standards listed below (see Exhibit 35-2). The 
preliminary notice announcing the expansion application was published 
in the Federal Register on August 30, 2005 (70 FR 51370). Comments were 
requested by September 14, but no comments were received in response to 
this notice.
    The previous notices published by OSHA for MET's recognition 
covered an expansion of recognition, which became effective on August 
26, 2003 (68 FR 51304).
    You may obtain or review copies of all public documents pertaining 
to the MET application 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. Docket 
No. NRTL1-88 contains all materials in the record concerning MET's 
recognition.
    The current address of the MET facility already recognized by OSHA 
is: MET Laboratories, Inc., 914 West Patapsco Avenue, Baltimore, 
Maryland 21230.

Final Decision and Order

    NRTL Program staff has examined the application, the assessor's 
recommendation, and other pertinent information. Based upon this 
examination and the assessor's recommendation, OSHA finds that MET has 
met the requirements of 29 CFR 1910.7 for expansion of its recognition, 
subject to the limitation and conditions listed below. Pursuant to the 
authority in 29 CFR 1910.7, OSHA hereby expands the recognition of MET, 
subject to the following limitation and conditions.

Limitation

    OSHA limits the expansion of MET's recognition to testing and 
certification of products for demonstration of conformance to the test 
standards listed below. OSHA has determined that the standards meet the 
requirements for an appropriate test standard, within the meaning of 29 
CFR 1910.7(c).

UL 5A Nonmetallic Surface Raceways and Fittings.
UL 291 Automated Teller Systems.
UL 294 Access Control System Units.
UL 508A Industrial Control Panels.
UL 963 Sealing, Wrapping, and Marking Equipment.
UL 1727 Commercial Electric Personal Grooming Appliances.
UL 1863 Communication Circuit Accessories.
UL 60065 Audio, Video and Similar Electronic Apparatus.**
UL 60335-1 Safety of Household and Similar Electrical Appliances, Part 
1; General Requirements.
UL 60335-2-34 Household and Similar Electrical Appliances, Part 2; 
Particular Requirements for Motor Compressors.
UL 61010C-1 Process Control Equipment.


    **Note:  This standard is comparable to UL 6500 Audio/Video and 
Musical Instrument Apparatus for Household, Commercial, and Similar 
General Use. Since no NRTL is currently recognized for UL 60065, we 
plan to modify the scope of any NRTL currently recognized for UL 
6500 to add UL 60065.

    The designation and title of the above test standards were current 
at the time of the preparation of the notice of the preliminary 
finding.
    OSHA's recognition of MET, 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 UL test standards also are approved as American National 
Standards by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). However, 
for convenience, we use the designation of the standards developing 
organization for the standard as opposed to the ANSI designation. Under 
our procedures, any 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. You may contact ANSI to find 
out whether or not a test standard is currently ANSI-approved.

Conditions

    MET must also abide by the following conditions of the recognition, 
in addition to those already required by 29 CFR 1910.7:
    OSHA must be allowed access to MET's facilities and records for 
purposes of ascertaining continuing compliance with the terms of its 
recognition and to investigate as OSHA deems necessary;
    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 fact and provide that organization with 
appropriate relevant information upon which its concerns are based;
    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 Nationally Recognized 
Testing Laboratory (NRTL) without clearly indicating the specific 
equipment or material to which this recognition is tied, or that its 
recognition is limited to certain products;
    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;
    MET will meet all the terms of its recognition and will always 
comply with all OSHA policies pertaining to this recognition; and
    MET will continue to meet the requirements for recognition in all 
areas where it has been recognized.

    Signed at Washington, DC, this 28th day of November, 2005.
Jonathan L. Snare,
Acting Assistant Secretary.6
 [FR Doc. E5-6822 Filed 12-2-05; 8:45 am]
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