E7-25612. MET Laboratories, Inc.; Expansion of Recognition

AGENCY:

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Labor.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

This notice announces the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's final decision expanding the recognition of MET Laboratories, Inc., (MET) as a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory under 29 CFR 1910.7.

DATES:

The expansion of recognition becomes effective on January 4, 2008.

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-3655, Washington, DC 20210, or phone [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Notice of Final Decision

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) hereby gives notice of the expansion of recognition of MET Laboratories, Inc., (MET) as a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL). MET's expansion covers the use of additional test standards. OSHA's current scope of recognition for MET may be found in the following informational Web page: http://www.osha.gov/​dts/​otpca/​nrtl/​met.html.

OSHA recognition of an NRTL signifies that the organization has met the legal requirements in § 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. We maintain an informational Web page for each NRTL that details its scope of recognition. These pages can be accessed from our Web site at http://www.osha.gov/​dts/​otpca/​nrtl/​index.html.

MET submitted an application, dated April 25, 2006 (see Exhibit 41-1, as cited in the preliminary notice), to expand its recognition to include 22 additional test standards. One standard, however, is already included in MET's scope. The NRTL Program staff determined that the remaining 21 standards are “appropriate test standards” within the meaning of 29 CFR 1910.7(c). In connection with this request, OSHA did not perform an on-site review of MET's NRTL testing facilities. However, NRTL Program assessment staff reviewed information pertinent to the request and recommended that MET's recognition be expanded to include the additional test standards listed below (see Exhibit 41-2, as cited in the preliminary notice). Therefore, OSHA is approving these 21 test standards for the expansion.

The preliminary notice announcing the expansion application was published in the Federal Register on July 6, 2007 (72 FR 37056). Comments were requested by July 23, 2007, but no comments were received in response to this notice. OSHA is now proceeding with this final notice to grant MET's expansion application.

The most recent application processed by OSHA specifically related to MET's recognition granted an expansion, and the final notice for this expansion was published on February 27, 2007 (72 FR 8797).

You may obtain or review copies of all public documents pertaining to the MET 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-2006-0028 (formerly NRTL1-88) contains all materials in the record concerning MET's recognition.

The current address of the MET facility (site) already recognized by OSHA is: MET Laboratories, Inc., 914 West Patapsco Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21230.

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 MET 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 MET, subject to this limitation and these conditions.

Limitation

OSHA limits the expansion of MET's recognition to testing and certification of products for demonstration of conformance to the following test standards, each of which OSHA has determined is an appropriate test standard, within the meaning of 29 CFR 1910.7(c):

ANSI A17.5 Elevator and Escalator Electrical Equipment

UL 250 Household Refrigerators and Freezers

UL 399 Drinking Water Coolers

UL 430 Waste Disposers

UL 474 Dehumidifiers

UL 498A Current Taps and Adapters

UL 563 Ice Makers

UL 749 Household Dishwashers

UL 826 Household Electric Clocks

UL 858 Household Electric Ranges

UL 998 Humidifiers

UL 1005 Electric Flatirons

UL 1082 Household Electric Coffee Makers and Brewing-Type Appliances

UL 1086 Household Trash Compactors

UL 1261 Electric Water Heaters for Pools and Tubs

UL 1640 Portable Power-Distribution Equipment

UL 1741 Inverters, Converters, Controllers and Interconnection System Equipment for Use With Distributed Energy Resources

UL 1994 Luminous Egress Path Marking Systems

UL 2157 Electric Clothes Washing Machines and Extractors

UL 2158 Electric Clothes Dryers

UL 60335-2-8 Household and Similar Electrical Appliances, Part 2: Particular Requirements for Shavers, Hair Clippers, and Similar Appliances

The designations and titles of the above test standards were current at the time of the preparation of the preliminary notice.

OSHA's recognition of MET, 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).

A test standard listed above may be 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

MET 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 MET's facilities and records for purposes of ascertaining continuing compliance with the terms of its recognition and to investigate as OSHA deems necessary;

If MET 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;

MET 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, MET 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;

MET 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;

MET will meet all the terms of its recognition and will always comply with all OSHA policies pertaining to this recognition; and

MET will continue to meet the requirements for recognition in all areas where it has been recognized.

Signed at Washington, DC, this 26th day of December, 2007.

Edwin G. Foulke, Jr.,

Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health.