Proposed Modification to the List of Appropriate NRTL Program Test Standards

AGENCY:

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Labor.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In this notice, OSHA proposes to add a test standard to the NRTL Program's List of Appropriate Test Standards.

DATES:

Submit comments, information, and documents in response to this notice, or requests for an extension of time to make a submission, on or before April 15, 2019. All submissions must bear a postmark or provide other evidence of the submission date.

ADDRESSES:

Electronically: You may submit comments and attachments electronically at: http://www.regulations.gov,, which is the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Follow the instructions online for submitting comments.

Facsimile: If your comments, including attachments, are not longer than 10 pages, you may fax them to the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-1648.

Mail, hand delivery, express mail, messenger, or courier service: When using this method, you must submit a copy of your comments and attachments to the OSHA Docket Office, Docket No. OSHA-2013-0012, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-3653, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20210; telephone: (202) 693-2350. Deliveries (hand, express mail, messenger, and courier service) are accepted during the Docket Office's normal business hours, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., ET. Note that security procedures may result in significant delays in receiving submissions sent by regular mail. Contact the OSHA Docket Office for information about security procedures concerning delivery of materials by regular or express mail, hand delivery, or messenger (courier) service.

Docket: To read or download comments or other material in the docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov or the OSHA Docket Office at the above address. All documents in the docket (including this Federal Register notice) 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 website. All submissions, including copyrighted material, are available for inspection at the OSHA Docket Office. You may also contact Kevin Robinson at the below address.

Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and OSHA docket number (OSHA-2013-0012). All comments, including any personal information you provide, are placed in the public docket without change, and may be made available online at http://www.regulations.gov. Therefore, the agency cautions commenters about submitting statements they do not want made available to the public, or submitting comments that contain personal information (either about themselves or others) such as Social Security numbers, birth dates, and medical data. For further information on submitting comments, see the “Public Participation” heading in the section of this notice titled SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

Extension of comment period: Submit requests for an extension of the comment period on or before April 15, 2019 to the Office of Technical Programs and Coordination Activities, Directorate of Technical Support and Emergency Management, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Room N-3653, Washington, DC 20210, or by fax to (202) 693-1644.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Information regarding this notice is available from the following sources:

Press inquiries: Contact Mr. Frank Meilinger, Director, OSHA Office of Communications, U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-3647, telephone: (202) 693-1999; email: meilinger.francis2@dol.gov.

General and technical information: Contact Mr. Kevin Robinson, NRTL Program, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, telephone (202) 693-2110; email robinson.kevin@dol.gov. OSHA's web page includes information about the NRTL Program (see http://www.osha.gov ).

Copies of this Federal Register notice: Electronic copies of this Federal Register notice are available at http://www.regulations.gov. This Federal Register notice, as well as other relevant information, is also available on OSHA's web page at http://www.osha.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

The NRTL Program recognizes organizations that provide product-safety testing and certification services to manufacturers. These organizations perform testing and certification, for purposes of the NRTL Program, to U.S. consensus-based product-safety test standards. The products covered by the NRTL Program consist of those items for which OSHA safety standards require “certification” by a NRTL. The requirements affect electrical products and 38 other types of products. OSHA does not develop or issue these test standards, but generally relies on standards development organizations (SDOs) which develop and maintain the standards using a method that provides input and consideration of views of industry groups, experts, users, consumers, governmental authorities and others having broad experience in the safety field involved.

Addition of Test Standards to the NRTL List of Appropriate Test Standards

Periodically, OSHA will propose to add new test standards to the NRTL List of Appropriate Test Standards following an evaluation of the test standard document. To qualify as an appropriate test standard, the agency evaluates the document to (1) verify it represents a product category for which OSHA requires certification by a NRTL, (2) verify the document represents an end product and not a component, and (3) verify the document defines safety test specifications (not installation or operational performance specifications). OSHA becomes aware of new test standards through various avenues. For example, OSHA may become aware of new test standards by: (1) Monitoring notifications issued by certain Standards Development Organizations; (2) reviewing applications by NRTLs or applicants seeking recognition to include new test standard in their scopes of recognition; and (3) obtaining notification from manufacturers, manufacturing organizations, government agencies, or other parties. OSHA may determine to include a new test standard in the list, for example, if the test standard is for a particular type of product that another test standard also covers or it covers a type of product that no standard previously covered.

II. Proposal To Add a Test Standard to the NRTL Program's List of Appropriate Test Standards

In this notice, OSHA proposes to add one new test standard to the NRTL Program's List of Appropriate Test Standards. Table 1, below, lists the test standard that is new to the NRTL Program. OSHA preliminarily determined that this test standard is an appropriate test standard and proposes to include it in the NRTL Program's List of Appropriate Test Standards. OSHA seeks public comment on this preliminary determination.

III. Public Participation

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, by the due date for comments. OSHA will limit any extension to 10 days unless the requester justifies a longer time period. OSHA may deny a request for an extension if it is not adequately justified.

To obtain or review copies of comments submitted to the docket, contact the Docket Office, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, at the above address. These materials will also be available online at http://www.regulations.gov under Docket No. OSHA-2013-0012.

OSHA staff will review all comments to the docket submitted in a timely manner and, after addressing the issues raised by these comments, will make a recommendation to the Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health regarding the addition of one test standard to the NRTL Program's List of Appropriate Test Standards. The Assistant Secretary will make the final decision. In making this decision, the Assistant Secretary may undertake other proceedings prescribed in Appendix A to 29 CFR 1910.7.

OSHA will publish a public notice of this final decision in the Federal Register.

V. Authority and Signature

Loren Sweatt, Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, authorized the preparation of this notice. Accordingly, the agency is issuing this notice pursuant to 29 U.S.C. 657(g)(2)), Secretary of Labor's Order No. 1-2012 (77 FR 3912, Jan. 25, 2012), and 29 CFR 1910.7.