[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 151 (Tuesday, August 6, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63985-63987]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-17305]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
[Docket No. OSHA-2006-0040]
SGS North America, Inc.: Application for Expansion of Recognition
AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Labor.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In this notice, OSHA announces the application of SGS North
America, Inc., for expansion of recognition as a Nationally Recognized
Testing Laboratory (NRTL) and presents the agency's preliminary finding
to deny the application.
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 August 21, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted as follows:
Electronically: You may submit comments, including attachments,
electronically at http://www.regulations.gov, the Federal eRulemaking
Portal. Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
Instructions: All submissions must include the agency's name and
the docket number for this rulemaking (Docket No. OSHA-2006-0040). All
comments, including any personal information you provide, are placed in
the public docket without change and may be made available online at
https://www.regulations.gov. Therefore, OSHA cautions commenters about
submitting information they do not want made available to the public,
or submitting materials that contain personal information (either about
themselves or others), such as Social Security numbers and birthdates.
Docket: To read or download comments or other material in the
docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov. 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 through the OSHA Docket Office. Contact the OSHA Docket
Office at (202) 693-2350 (TTY (877) 889-5627) for assistance in
locating docket submissions.
Extension of comment period: Submit requests for an extension of
the comment period on or before August 21, 2024 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, telephone: (202) 693-1999;
email: meilinger.francis2@dol.gov.
General and technical information: Contact Mr. Kevin Robinson,
Director, Office of Technical Programs and Coordination Activities,
Directorate of Technical Support and Emergency Management, Occupational
Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor; phone:
(202) 693-1911 or email: robinson.kevin@dol.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Notice of the Application for Expansion
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is providing
notice that SGS North America, Inc. (SGS) is applying for an expansion
of the current recognition as a NRTL. SGS requests the addition of two
test standards to the NRTL scope of recognition.
OSHA recognition of a NRTL signifies that the organization meets
the 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 the
scope of recognition. Each NRTL's scope of recognition includes (1) the
type of products the NRTL may test, with each type specified by the
applicable test standard; and (2) the recognized site(s) that has/have
the technical capability to perform the product-testing and product-
certification activities for test standards within the NRTL's scope.
Recognition is not a delegation or grant of government authority;
however, recognition enables employers to use products approved by the
NRTL to meet OSHA standards that require product testing and
certification.
The agency processes applications by a NRTL for initial recognition
and 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 a preliminary finding. In the second notice,
the agency provides the 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,
including SGS, which details the NRTL's scope of recognition. These
pages are available from the OSHA website at http://www.osha.gov/dts/otpca/nrtl/index.html.
SGS currently has nine facilities (sites) recognized by OSHA for
product testing and certification, with the headquarters located at:
SGS North America, Inc., 620 Old Peachtree Road, Suwanee, Georgia
30024. A complete list of SGS's scope of recognition is available at
https://www.osha.gov/dts/otpca/nrtl/sgs.html.
II. General Background on the Application
SGS submitted an application to OSHA to expand recognition as a
NRTL to include two additional test standards on September 1, 2021
(OSHA-2006-0040-0079). OSHA staff performed a detailed analysis of the
application packet and reviewed other pertinent information. OSHA did
not perform any on-site reviews in relation to this application.
Table 1 lists the test standards included in SGS's application for
expansion for testing and certification of products under the NRTL
Program.
Table 1--Test Standards in SGS's Application for Expansion of its NRTL
Scope of Recognition
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Test standard Test standard title
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IEC 60335-2-23............... Household and Similar Electrical
Appliances--Safety--Part 2-23:
Particular Requirements for Appliances
for Skin or Hair Care.
IEC 60335-2-30............... Household and Similar Electrical
Appliances--Safety--Part 2-30:
Particular Requirements for Room
Heaters.
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If OSHA issued a preliminary determination that SGS's application
should be granted, it would also propose adding these two test
standards to its list of appropriate test standards. As OSHA
preliminarily denies this application (see below), it does not make
such a proposal, but nonetheless seeks comment on whether these two
test standards should be added to the list of appropriate test
standards.
III. Preliminary Findings on the Application
OSHA has preliminarily determined that SGS has not submitted an
acceptable application for expansion of the scope of recognition.
OSHA's review of the application file and pertinent documentation
indicates that the test standards requested in the expansion
application do not meet the requirements prescribed by 29 CFR 1910.7
for expanding the recognition. Specifically, OSHA preliminarily
determines that the test standards requested in this application do not
meet the requirements for appropriate test standards or alternative
test standards for the NRTL Program.
Pursuant to the NRTL Program regulation, 29 CFR 1910.7, for each
specified item of equipment or material to be listed, labeled or
accepted, a NRTL must have the capability (including proper testing
equipment and facilities, trained staff, written testing procedures,
and calibration and quality control programs) to perform: (i) testing
and examining of equipment and materials for workplace safety purposes
to determine conformance with appropriate test standards; or (ii)
experimental testing and examining of equipment and materials for
workplace safety purposes to determine conformance with appropriate
test standards or performance in a specified manner. Sec.
1910.7(b)(1).
An ``appropriate test standard'' is defined in the NRTL Program
regulation as a document which specifies the safety requirements for
specific equipment or class of equipment and meets one of two
alternative requirements. Either the document must be (1) recognized in
the United States as a safety standard providing an adequate level of
safety, and (2) compatible with and maintained current with periodic
revisions of applicable national codes and installation standards and
(3) developed by a standards developing organization under a method
providing for input and consideration of views of industry groups,
experts, users, consumers, governmental authorities, and others having
broad experience in the safety field involved, or the document must be
currently designated as an American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
safety-designated product standard or an American Society for Testing
and Materials (ASTM) test standard used for evaluation of products or
materials. Sec. 1910.7(c).
Notwithstanding the requirements in Sec. 1910.7(b)(1), if a
testing laboratory desires to use an alternative test standard (that
is, a test standard that is not an appropriate test standard), then
OSHA evaluates the proposed standard to determine whether it provides
an adequate level of safety before it may be used Sec. 1910.7(d). If a
test standard does not provide an adequate level of safety, it may not
be used by a NRTL to perform testing or examining of equipment and
materials for workplace safety purposes or experimental testing and
examining of equipment and materials for workplace safety purposes.
The test standards requested in the expansion application, issued
by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), are not
appropriate test standards under the NRTL program because they are not
recognized in the United States as safety standards providing an
adequate level of safety. To provide an adequate level of safety, these
test standards would need to be evaluated for compliance with U.S.
electrical safety requirements. The IEC develops standards that are
broad technical safety solutions for electrical products, but this does
not represent a complete safety standard for each member country. The
process of adapting the IEC-based standard to a fully compliant U.S.
national standard is typically conducted by a U.S.-based standards
development organization (SDO), which considers the unique requirements
for the U.S. market, along with the input and consideration of views of
industry groups, experts, users, consumers, governmental authorities,
and others having broad experience in the safety field involved (as set
forth in Sec. 1910.7(c)). This information-gathering process and
evaluation has not been undertaken for the test standards in SGS's
application (i.e., these test standards have not been evaluated for
compliance with U.S. electrical safety requirements). Nor have these
test standards been designated by ANSI or ASTM. Therefore, they do not
meet the requirements for appropriate test standards under the NRTL
program.
These test standards are also not alternative test standards that
may be used under the NRTL program to perform testing or examining of
equipment and materials for workplace safety purposes or experimental
testing and examining of equipment and materials for workplace safety
purposes. Again, these test standards have not been determined to
provide an adequate level of safety because they have not been
evaluated for compliance with U.S. electrical safety requirements.
IV. Public Participation
OSHA welcomes public comment on SGS's application for expansion of
recognition as a NRTL, and whether its application meets the
requirements of 29 CFR 1910.7. 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
provides justification for a longer time period. OSHA may deny a
request for an extension if it is not adequately justified.
To review copies of the exhibits identified in this notice, as well
as comments submitted to the docket, contact the Docket Office,
Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of
Labor. These materials also are generally available online at https://www.regulations.gov under Docket No. OSHA-2006-0040 (for further
information, see the ``Docket'' heading in the section of this notice
titled ADDRESSES).
OSHA staff will review all comments to the docket submitted in a
timely manner. After addressing the issues raised by these comments,
staff will
make a recommendation to the Assistant Secretary of Labor for
Occupational Safety and Health on whether to grant SGS's application
for expansion of the scope of recognition. The Assistant Secretary will
make the final decision on the application. 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 the final decision in the
Federal Register.
V. Authority and Signature
James S. Frederick, Deputy 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 29 U.S.C. 657(g)(2),
Secretary of Labor's Order No. 8-2020 (85 FR 58393; Sept. 18, 2020),
and 29 CFR 1910.7.
Signed at Washington, DC, on July 30, 2024.
James S. Frederick,
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2024-17305 Filed 8-5-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-26-P
