[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 141 (Monday, July 24, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41841-41843]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-11676]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. NRTL3-92]


TUV Rheinland of North America, Inc., Application for Expansion 
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., (TUV) for expansion of its recognition to use 
additional test standards, and presents the Agency's preliminary 
finding to grant this request for expansion. This preliminary finding 
does not constitute an interim or temporary approval of this 
application.

DATES: You must submit information or comments, or any request for 
extension of the time to comment, by the following dates:
     Hard copy: postmarked or sent by August 8, 2006.
     Electronic transmission or facsimile: sent by August 8, 
2006.

ADDRESSES: You may submit information or comments to this notice--
identified by docket number NRTL3-92--by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     OSHA Web site: http://ecomments.osha.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments on OSHA's Web page.
     Fax: If your written comments are 10 pages or fewer, you 
may fax them to the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-1648.
     Regular mail, express delivery, hand delivery and courier 
service: Submit three copies to the OSHA Docket Office, Docket No. 
NRTL3-92, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Room 
N-2625, Washington, DC 20210; telephone (202) 693-2350. (OSHA's TTY 
number is (877) 889-5627). OSHA Docket Office hours of operation are 
8:15 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., EST.
    Instructions: All comments received will be posted without change 
to http://dockets.osha.gov, including any personal information 
provided. OSHA cautions you about submitting personal information such 
as social security numbers and birth dates.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to http://dockets.osha.gov. Contact the OSHA 
Docket Office for information about materials not available through the 
OSHA Web page and for assistance in using the Web page to locate docket 
submissions.
    Extension of Comment Period: Submit requests for extensions 
concerning this notice 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, fax to (202) 693-1644.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 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 Application

    The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) hereby 
gives notice that TUV Rheinland of North

[[Page 41842]]

America, Inc., (TUV) has applied for expansion of its current 
recognition as a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL). TUV's 
expansion request covers the use of additional test standards. OSHA's 
current scope of recognition for TUV may be found in the following 
informational Web page: http://www.osha.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'' \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-slc.gov/dts/otpca/nrtl/index.html.
    The most recent notice published by OSHA specifically related to 
TUV's recognition granted an expansion of its NRTL scope, which became 
effective on June 20, 2003 (68 FR 37030).
    The current address of the TUV facility already recognized by OSHA 
is:
    TUV Rheinland of North America, Inc., 12 Commerce Road, Newtown, CT 
06470.

General Background on the Application

    TUV has submitted an application, dated December 20, 2004 (see 
Exhibit 32-1) to expand its recognition to include 5 additional test 
standards. TUV then amended its application through follow-up requests 
to add 4 more test standards to its request (see Exhibit 32-2). The 
NRTL Program staff has determined that each of these nine standards is 
an ``appropriate test standard'' within the meaning of 29 CFR 
1910.7(c). However, one of the standards is already in TUV's scope. 
Therefore, OSHA would approve eight test standards for the expansion. 
Following review of the application, OSHA deferred action on this 
notice pending resolution by the NRTL of certain findings from our on-
site visit of the NRTL. These findings have been satisfactorily 
resolved, permitting this notice to be processed. This notice has also 
been delayed through no fault of the NRTL.
    TUV seeks recognition for testing and certification of products for 
demonstration of conformance to the following test standards:

UL 943 Ground-Fault Circuit-Interrupters
UL 991 Tests for Safety-Related Controls Employing Solid-State Devices
UL 1047 Isolated Power Systems Equipment
UL 1363 Relocatable Power Taps
UL 1662 Electric Chain Saws
UL 1664 Immersion-Detection Circuit-Interrupters
UL 1741 Inverters, Converters, Controllers and Interconnection System 
Equipment for Use With Distributed Energy Resources
UL 1863 Communications-Circuit Accessories

    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, if a test standard also 
covers any product(s) for which OSHA does not require such testing and 
certification, an NRTL's scope of recognition does not include that 
product(s).
    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.

Preliminary Finding on the Application

    TUV has submitted an acceptable request for expansion of its 
recognition as an NRTL. In connection with this request, NRTL Program 
assessment staff evaluated information pertinent to the request during 
an on-site visit of the NRTL and recommended that TUV's recognition be 
expanded to include the additional test standards (see Exhibit 32-3). 
Our review of the application file, the staff's recommendation, and 
other pertinent documents indicate that TUV can meet the requirements, 
as prescribed by 29 CFR 1910.7, for the expansion for the eight 
additional test standards listed above. This preliminary finding 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 expansion of its 
recognition as a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory. Your 
comments should consist of pertinent written documents and exhibits. 
Should you need more time to comment, you must request it in writing, 
including reasons for the request. OSHA must receive your written 
request for extension at the address provided above no later than the 
last date for comments. OSHA will limit any extension to 30 days, 
unless the requester justifies a longer period. We may deny a request 
for extension if it is not adequately justified. You may obtain or 
review copies of TUV's requests, the staff's 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. Docket No. NRTL3-92 contains all 
materials in the record concerning TUV's application.
    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 expansion request. The Assistant Secretary will make the 
final decision on granting the expansion 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.


[[Page 41843]]


     Signed at Washington, DC, this 15th day of June, 2006.
 Edwin G. Foulke, Jr.,
 Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. E6-11676 Filed 7-21-06; 8:45 am]
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