[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 79 (Monday, April 26, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21666-21668]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-9546]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. OSHA-2006-0042]


Canadian Standards Association; 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 the Canadian 
Standards Association for expansion of its recognition and presents the 
Agency's preliminary finding to grant this request. OSHA also is 
seeking comment on the equivalency of the ANSI/AAMI ES60601-1:2005 and 
UL 60601-1 product-safety test standards.

DATES: Submit information or comments, or any request for extension of 
the time to comment, on or before May 11, 2010. All submissions must 
bear a postmark or provide other evidence of the submission date.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments by any of the following methods:
    Electronically: Submit comments electronically at http://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Follow 
the instructions online for making electronic submissions.
    Fax: If submissions, including attachments, are no longer than 10 
pages, commenters may fax them to the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-
1648.
    Mail, hand delivery, express mail, or messenger or courier service: 
Submit one copy of the comments to the OSHA Docket Office, Docket No. 
OSHA-2006-0042, U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-2625, 200 Constitution 
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210. Deliveries (hand, express mail, and 
messenger and courier service) are accepted during the Department of 
Labor's and Docket Office's normal business hours, 8:15 a.m.-4:45 p.m., 
e.t.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the Agency name and the 
OSHA docket number (i.e., OSHA-2006-0042). OSHA will place all 
submissions, including any personal information provided, in the public 
docket without revision, and these submissions will be made available 
online at http://www.regulations.gov.
    Docket: To read or download submissions or other material in the 
docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov or the OSHA Docket Office at 
the address above. All documents in the docket are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index; however, some information (e.g., 
copyrighted material) is not publicly available to read or download 
through the Web site. All submissions, including copyrighted material, 
are available for inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office.
    Extension of comment period: Submit requests for an extension of 
the comment period on or before May 11, 2010 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 by fax to (202) 693-
1644.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: MaryAnn Garrahan, Director, Office of 
Technical Programs and Coordination Activities, NRTL Program, 
Occupational

[[Page 21667]]

Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Room N-3655, Washington, DC 20210; telephone: 
(202) 693-2110. For information about the NRTL Program, go to http://www.osha.gov, and select ``N'' in the site index.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Notice of Expansion Application

    The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is 
providing notice that the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) applied 
for expansion of its current recognition as a Nationally Recognized 
Testing Laboratory (NRTL). CSA's expansion request covers the use of 
additional test standards.
    OSHA recognition of an NRTL signifies that the organization meets 
the legal requirements specified in 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 
approved by the NRTL to meet OSHA standards that require product 
testing and certification.
    The Agency processes applications by an NRTL for initial 
recognition, or for an 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. OSHA maintains an informational Web page 
for each NRTL that details its scope of recognition. These pages can be 
accessed from the Web site at http://www.osha.gov/dts/otpca/nrtl/index.html. Each NRTL's scope of recognition has three elements: (1) 
The type of products the NRTL may test, with each type specified by its 
applicable test standard; (2) the recognized site(s) that has/have the 
technical capability to perform the testing and certification 
activities for test standards within the NRTL's scope; and (3) the 
supplemental program(s) that the NRTL may use, each of which allows the 
NRTL to rely on other parties to perform activities necessary for 
product testing and certification.

General Background on the Application

    CSA submitted an application, dated June 25, 2008, to expand its 
recognition to include five additional test standards. (Ex. 
2[horbar]CSA expansion application dated 6/25/2008.) The NRTL Program 
staff determined that four of these standards are ``appropriate test 
standards'' within the meaning of 29 CFR 1910.7(c). In connection with 
this request, NRTL Program staff did not perform an onsite review of 
CSA's recognized sites. The staff only performed a comparability 
analysis,\1\ which determined that CSA has the capabilities to perform 
the testing to the four standards, which are listed below. As a result, 
the Agency would approve these four test standards for the expansion.
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    \1\ This analysis involves determining whether the testing and 
evaluation requirements of test standards already in an NRTL's scope 
are comparable to the requirements in the standards requested by the 
NRTL.
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    CSA seeks expansion of its recognition for testing and 
certification of products to the following test standards: \2\

    \2\ The designations and titles of these test standards were 
current at the time of the preparation of this notice.
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UL 498A Current Taps and Adapters.
UL 515 Electrical Resistance Heat Tracing for Commercial and Industrial 
Applications.
UL 1673 Electric Space Heating Cables.
UL 1977 Component Connectors for Use in Data, Signal, Control and Power 
Applications.

    CSA amended its application on October 20, 2009 (see Ex. 
3[horbar]CSA amendment dated 10/20/2009), to request recognition for 
the following additional test standard based on its present recognition 
for UL 60601-1:

ANSI/AAMI ES60601-1:2005 Medical Electrical Equipment--Part 1: General 
Requirements for Basic Safety and Essential Performance.

    In its request, CSA explained that the AAMI standard will be 
replacing UL 60601-1, and that all NRTLs recognized for UL 60601-1 
should have the AAMI standard added to their scope. OSHA requests 
comments on the equivalency of these two standards. If the comments or 
other information demonstrate that the standards are substantially 
equivalent, then OSHA will contact each NRTL that is currently 
recognized for UL 60601-1 to determine whether to add the AAMI standard 
to its scope.
    OSHA's recognition of CSA, 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 for which OSHA does not require such testing and 
certification, an NRTL's scope of recognition does not include that 
product.
    The test standards listed above may be approved as American 
National Standards by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). 
However, for convenience, we may use the designation of the standards-
developing organization for the standard as opposed to the ANSI 
designation. Under the NRTL Program's policy, any NRTL recognized for a 
particular test standard may use either the proprietary version of the 
test standard or the ANSI version of that standard. Contact ANSI to 
determine whether a test standard is currently ANSI approved.

Preliminary Finding on the Application

    CSA submitted an acceptable request for expansion of its 
recognition as an NRTL. OSHA's review of the application file and other 
pertinent documents indicates that CSA can meet the requirements, as 
prescribed by 29 CFR 1910.7, for an expansion of its recognition to 
include the 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 
CSA meets the requirements of 29 CFR 1910.7 for expansion of its 
recognition as a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory. Comments 
should consist of pertinent written documents and exhibits. Commenters 
needing more time to comment must submit a request in writing, stating 
the reasons for the request. OSHA must receive the written request for 
an extension by the due date for comments. OSHA will limit any 
extension to 15 days unless the requester justifies a longer period. 
OSHA may deny a request for an extension if it is not adequately 
justified. To obtain or review copies of CSA's request and other 
pertinent documents, and all submitted comments, as received, contact 
the Docket Office, Room N-2625, Occupational Safety and Health 
Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, at the above address; these 
materials also are available online at http://www.regulations.gov under 
Docket No. OSHA-2006-0042.
    The NRTL Program staff will review all timely comments and, after 
addressing the issues raised by these comments, will recommend whether 
to

[[Page 21668]]

grant CSA's expansion request. The Assistant Secretary will make the 
final decision on granting the request, and, in making this decision, 
may undertake other proceedings that are prescribed in Appendix A to 29 
CFR 1910.7. OSHA will publish a public notice of this final decision in 
the Federal Register.

Authority and Signature

    David Michaels, PhD, MPH, Assistant Secretary of Labor for 
Occupational Safety and Health, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC 20210, directed the preparation of this notice. 
Accordingly, the Agency is issuing this notice pursuant to Sections 
6(b) and 8(g) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 
U.S.C. 655 and 657), Secretary of Labor's Order No. 5-2007 (72 FR 
31160), and 29 CFR part 1911.

    Signed at Washington, DC, on April 20, 2010.
David Michaels,
Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2010-9546 Filed 4-23-10; 8:45 am]
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