Document ID: OSHA-2007-0042-0006
Agency: osha
Document Type: Notice
Title: Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratories; Expansions of Recognitions: TUV Rheinland of North America, Inc.
Posted Date: 2013-03-26T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 58 (Tuesday, March 26, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18372-18373]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-06791]

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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

[Docket No. OSHA-2007-0042]

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

DATES: The expansion of recognition becomes effective on March 26, 
2013.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David W. Johnson, 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) 693-1973.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Notice of Final Decision

    The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (``OSHA'' or 
``Agency'') 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 addition of a 
new site and the use one additional test standard. OSHA's current scope 
of recognition for TUV is available at the following informational Web 
page: http://www.osha.gov/dts/otpca/nrtl/tuv.html.
    OSHA recognition of an NRTL signifies that the organization meets 
the 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 approved by the NRTL 
to meet OSHA standards that require testing and certification.
    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. OSHA maintains an informational Web page 
for each NRTL that details its scope of recognition. These pages are 
available from our Web site at http://www.osha.gov/dts/otpca/nrtl/index.html.
    TUV submitted an application, dated February 24, 2006 (see Exhibit 
1, TUV Application, as cited in the preliminary notice), to expand its 
recognition to include one additional site, located at 2324 Ridgepoint 
Drive, Suite E, Austin, Texas 78754, and one additional test standard. 
In response to OSHA's requests for clarification, TUV amended its 
application to provide additional technical details, and then provided 
further details in a later update (Ex. 2: TUV Amended Application dated 
8/22/2007 and 2/10/2009, as cited in the preliminary notice). The NRTL 
Program staff determined that the additional test standard is an 
``appropriate test standard'' within the meaning of 29 CFR 1910.7(c). 
In connection with this request, OSHA performed an on-site review of 
TUV's NRTL testing facility in August 2010 and recommended expansion of 
TUV's recognition to include the one additional facility listed above, 
and recommended expansion of TUV's recognition to include the one 
additional test standards listed below (Ex. 2).
    OSHA published the preliminary notice announcing TUV's expansion 
application in the Federal Register on July 24, 2012 (77 FR 43370). The 
Agency requested comments by August 8, 2012, but it received no 
comments in response to this notice. OSHA now is proceeding with this 
final notice to grant TUV's expansion application.
    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. 
OSHA-2007-0042 contains all materials in the record concerning TUV's 
recognition.

[[Page 18373]]

    The current address of the TUV facility (site) already recognized 
by OSHA is: TUV Rheinland of North America, Inc., 12 Commerce Road, 
Newton, CT 06470.

Final Decision and Order

    The NRTL Program staff examined TUV's expansion application, the 
assessor's recommendation, and other pertinent information. Based on 
its review of this evidence, OSHA finds that TUV meets 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 this 
limitation and these conditions.

Limitation

    OSHA limits the expansion of TUV's recognition to testing and 
certification of products for demonstration of conformance to the 
following test standard, which OSHA determined is an appropriate test 
standard, within the meaning of 29 CFR 1910.7(c):
    UL 913: Intrinsically Safe Apparatus and Associated Apparatus for 
Use in Class I, II, and III, Division 1, Hazardous Locations
    The designation and title of the above-mentioned test standard was 
current at the time of the preparation of the preliminary notice.
    OSHA limits recognition of TUV, or any NRTL, for a particular test 
standard to equipment or materials (i.e., products) for which OSHA 
standards require third-party testing and certification before use of 
the products 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).
    The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) may approve the 
test standard listed above as American National Standards. However, for 
convenience, we use the designation of the standards-developing 
organization for the standard, as opposed to the ANSI designation. 
Under OSHA's NRTL 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. Interested 
parties may contact ANSI to determine whether or not a test standard is 
currently ANSI approved.

Conditions

    TUV also must abide by the following conditions of the recognition, 
in addition to those conditions already required by 29 CFR 1910.7:
    1. TUV must allow OSHA access to TUV's facilities and records for 
purposes of ascertaining continuing compliance with the terms of its 
recognition, and to conduct investigations that OSHA deems necessary;
    2. If TUV has reason to doubt the efficacy of any test standard it 
is using under the NRTL Program, it must promptly inform the test 
standard-developing organization of this concern and provide that 
organization with appropriate relevant information upon which it bases 
its concern;
    3. 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 NRTL without clearly 
indicating the specific equipment or material for which it has 
recognition, or that its recognition is limited to specific products;
    4. TUV must inform OSHA as soon as possible, in writing, of any 
change of ownership, facilities, or key personnel, and of any major 
change in its operations as an NRTL, and provide details of the 
change(s);
    5. TUV must meet all the terms of its recognition and comply with 
all OSHA policies pertaining to this recognition; and
    6. TUV must continue to meet the requirements for recognition in 
all areas for which it has recognition.

Authority and Signature

    David Michaels, Ph.D., MPH, Assistant Secretary of Labor for 
Occupational Safety and Health, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., 
Washington, DC 20210, authorized the preparation of this notice. 
Accordingly, the Agency is issuing this notice pursuant to Section 
8(g)(2) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (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.

    Signed at Washington, DC, on March 20, 2013.
David Michaels,
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2013-06791 Filed 3-25-13; 8:45 am]
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