[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 232 (Monday, December 4, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70433-70434]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-20406]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. NRTL3-92]


TUV Rheinland of North America, 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 TUV 
Rheinland of North America, Inc., (TUV) as a Nationally Recognized 
Testing Laboratory under 29 CFR 1910.7.

DATES: The expansion of recognition becomes effective on December 4, 
2006.

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-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 TUV Rheinland of North 
America, Inc., (TUV) as a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory 
(NRTL). TUV's expansion 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 that 
details the scope of recognition for each NRTL. These pages can be 
accessed from our Web site at http://www.osha.gov/dts/otpca/nrtl/index.html.
    TUV submitted an application, dated December 20, 2004, (see Exhibit 
32-1) to expand its recognition to include five additional test 
standards. The NRTL then amended the original application to request 
four additional test standards (see Exhibit 32-2). 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 TUV's scope. Therefore, OSHA is 
approving eight test standards for the expansion. In connection with 
this request, OSHA performed an on-site review of TUV's NRTL testing 
facility. The assessor reviewed information pertinent to the request 
and recommended expansion for the eight additional test standards (see 
Exhibit 32-3).
    The preliminary notice announcing the expansion application was 
published in the Federal Register on July 24, 2006 (71 FR 41841). 
Comments were requested by August 8, 2006, but no comments were 
received in response to this notice. OSHA is now proceeding with this 
final notice to grant TUV's expansion application.
    The most recent application processed by OSHA for TUV also covered 
an expansion of recognition, and the final notice granting this 
expansion was published on June 20, 2003 (68 FR 37030).
    You may obtain or review copies of all public documents pertaining 
to the TUV 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. 
NRTL3-92 contains all materials in the record concerning TUV's 
recognition.
    The current address of the TUV facility already recognized by OSHA 
is: TUV Rheinland of North America, Inc., 12 Commerce Road, Newton, CT 
06470.

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 TUV 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 TUV, 
subject to the following limitation and conditions.

Limitation

    OSHA limits the expansion of TUV'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 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

[[Page 70434]]

time of the preparation of the notice of the preliminary finding.
    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.

Conditions

    TUV 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 TUV's facilities and records for 
purposes of ascertaining continuing compliance with the terms of its 
recognition and to investigate as OSHA deems necessary;
    If TUV 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;
    TUV 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, TUV 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;
    TUV 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;
    TUV will meet all the terms of its recognition and will always 
comply with all OSHA policies pertaining to this recognition; and
    TUV will continue to meet the requirements for recognition in all 
areas where it has been recognized.

Edwin G. Foulke, Jr.,
Assistant Secretary of Labor.
[FR Doc. E6-20406 Filed 12-1-06; 8:45 am]
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