[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 104 (Thursday, May 30, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32472-32473]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-12810]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
[Docket No. OSHA-2007-0039]
Intertek Testing Services NA, Inc.: Application for Expansion of
Recognition and Request To Remove a Condition 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 Intertek
Testing Services NA, Inc. for expansion of its recognition as a
Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory and presents the Agency's
preliminary finding to grant the application and request. Intertek
Testing Services NA, Inc. requests the addition of two new sites and
for OSHA to remove a special condition of its recognition that involves
testing hazardous-location equipment. This preliminary finding does not
constitute an interim or temporary approval of the application and
request.
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 July 1, 2013.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
Electronically: Tender submissions electronically to the Federal
eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions online for making electronic submissions.
Facsimile: If submissions, including attachments, are not longer
than ten (10) pages, commenters may fax them to the OSHA Docket Office
at (202) 693-1648.
Regular or express mail, hand delivery, or messenger (courier)
service: Tender submissions to the OSHA Docket Office, Docket No. OSHA-
2013-0012, Technical Data Center, Room N-2625, U.S. Department of
Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone:
(202) 693-2350 (TTY number: (877) 889-5627). 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. The
hours of operation for the OSHA Docket Office are 8:15 a.m.-4:45 p.m.,
e.t.
Instructions: All submissions must include the Agency name and the
OSHA docket number (OSHA-2007-0039). OSHA places comments and other
materials, including any personal information, in the public docket
without revision, and these materials may be 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.
Docket: To read or download submissions or other material in the
docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov or to 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 this Web site. All submissions, including copyrighted material,
are available for inspection and copying at the OSHA Docket Office.
Extension of Comment Period: You may submit requests for an
extension of the comment period on or before June 14, 2013 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: Information regarding this notice is
available from the following sources:
Press inquiries: Contact Director, OSHA Office of Communications,
Room N-3647, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW.,
Washington, DC 20210; telephone: (202) 693-1999.
General and technical information: Contact David Johnson, NRTL
Program, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department
of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Room N-3655, Washington, DC
20210; telephone (202) 693-2110. OSHA's Web page includes information
about the NRTL Program (see http://www.osha.gov and select ``N'' in the
``A to Z Index'' located at the top of the Web page).
Copies of the 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. Notice of the Application for Expansion of NRTL Recognition and
Request To Remove a Condition of Recognition
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is
providing notice that Intertek Testing Services NA, Inc. (ITSNA) is
applying for expansion of its current recognition as a Nationally
Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL). ITSNA also is requesting to
remove a special condition for testing and evaluating hazardous-
location equipment.
OSHA recognition of an NRTL signifies that the organization meets
the requirements specified in Title 29, Code of Federal Regulations,
Section 1910.7 (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.
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 an 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 its preliminary finding. 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,
including ITSNA, which details the NRTL's scope of recognition. These
pages are available from the OSHA 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
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the technical capability to perform the product-testing and product-
certification activities for test standards within the NRTL's scope;
and (3) the supplemental program(s) that the NRTL may use. Each of
these elements allows the NRTL to rely on other parties to perform
activities necessary for product testing and certification.
ITSNA currently has 14 facilities (sites) recognized by OSHA for
product testing and certification, with its headquarters located at:
Intertek Testing Services NA, Inc., 3933 U.S. Route 11, Cortland, New
York 13045. A complete list of ITSNA sites recognized by OSHA is
available at http://www.osha.gov/dts/otpca/nrtl/its.html.
II. General Background on the Application and Request
ITSNA submitted an application, dated June 8, 2007 (Ex. 1: ITSNA
Application), to expand its recognition to include three additional
facilities (sites) located at: 545 East Algonquin Road, Suite F,
Arlington Heights, IL 60005 (ITSNA Chicago); 420 North Dorothy Drive,
Richardson, TX 75081 (ITSNA Dallas); and 2307 East Aurora Road, Suite
B7, Twinsburg, OH 44087 (ITSNA Cleveland). ITSNA later amended its
application to remove the ITSNA Cleveland site from the application,
and to change the address for the ITSNA Dallas site to 1809 10th
Street, Suite A, Plano, TX 75074 (Ex. 2: ITSNA Amended Applications
dated 7/22/2009 and 10/20/2009).
On November 6, 2009, ITSNA submitted a letter seeking to relax or
remove a special condition of its recognition which states: ``All
safety test reports for hazardous location products must undergo a
documented review and approval at the Cortland testing facility by a
test engineer qualified in hazardous location safety testing, prior to
ITSNA's initial or continued authorization of the certifications
covered by these reports. The above limitations apply solely to ITSNA's
operations as an NRTL'' (Ex. 3: ITSNA Hazardous Location Letter).
In connection with these requests, NRTL Program staff performed on-
site reviews of ITSNA's testing facilities in January 2010 (ITSNA
Chicago) and February 2010 (ITSNA Dallas), and recommended expansion of
ITSNA's recognition to include these two sites (Ex. 4: ITSNA On-site
Review Reports). Additionally, audits of these and other ITSNA NRTL
sites determined that ITSNA has the appropriate training programs and
controls in place to remove the special condition for testing
hazardous-location equipment (Ex. 5: Memorandum Regarding Removal of
Hazardous Location Restriction). As a result, the Agency preliminarily
determined that it should (1) expand ITSNA's scope of recognition to
include the ITSNA Chicago and ITSNA Dallas sites, and (2) remove the
special condition stated above from ITSNA's scope of recognition.
III. Preliminary Finding on the Application and Request
ITSNA submitted an acceptable application for expansion of its
scope of recognition. OSHA's review of the application file, and the
results of the Agency's on-site reviews and other audits, indicate that
ITSNA can meet the requirements prescribed by 29 CFR 1910.7 for
expanding its recognition to use the facilities at the ITSNA Chicago
and ITSNA Dallas sites for NRTL testing and certification. The on-site
reviews and audits also indicate that the special condition of ITSNA's
recognition is no longer necessary. This preliminary finding does not
constitute an interim or temporary approval of ITSNA's application and
request. ITSNA corrected the discrepancies noted by OSHA during the on-
site reviews, and the on-site review reports describes these
corrections (Ex. 4: ITSNA On-site Review Reports).
OSHA welcomes public comment as to whether ITSNA meets the
requirements of 29 CFR 1910.7 for expansion of its recognition as an
NRTL and removal of the special condition of recognition. 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. Commenters must submit the written request
for an extension by the due date for comments. OSHA will limit any
extension to 10 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 the publicly available
information in ITSNA's application and request, including pertinent
documents (e.g., exhibits) and all submitted comments, 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-2007-0039.
The NRTL Program staff will review all comments to the docket
submitted in a timely manner and, after addressing the issues raised by
these comments, will recommend to the Assistant Secretary whether to
grant ITSNA's application for expansion and its request to remove the
special condition of recognition. The Assistant Secretary will make the
final decision on granting the application and request. 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.
IV. 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 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 May 23, 2013.
David Michaels,
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2013-12810 Filed 5-29-13; 8:45 am]
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