Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL)

What requirements does OSHA have regarding NRTLs?

OSHA Safety Standards, which are US law, contain requirements for "approval" (i.e., testing and certification) of certain products by a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL). These Safety Standards are found in Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations (29 CFR), and the provisions for NRTL certification are generally in Part 1910 (29 CFR Part 1910). See Specific References to OSHA Standards for the provisions in Part 1910. The requirements help protect workers by ensuring products are designed for safe use in the workplace. An NRTL generally certifies products for a manufacturer.

OSHA Safety Standards contain general requirements for workplace safety. Many of these requirements pertain to equipment for which OSHA does not require an NRTL certification. The only products covered under the NRTL Program are those for which OSHA regulations require certification by an NRTL. Whether or not OSHA requires NRTL certification, an employer subject to OSHA's requirements must assure it complies with the provisions of the Safety Standards applicable to its operations.

What is an NRTL, and what is the significance of OSHA recognition?

An NRTL is an organization that OSHA has "recognized" as meeting the legal requirements in 29 CFR 1910.7. In brief, these requirements are the capability, control programs, complete independence, and reporting and complaint handling procedures to test and certify specific types of products for workplace safety. This means, in part, that an organization must have the necessary capability both as a product safety testing laboratory and as a product certification body to receive OSHA recognition as an NRTL.

OSHA's recognition is not a government license or position, or a delegation or grant of government authority. Instead, the recognition is an acknowledgment that an organization has necessary qualifications to perform safety testing and certification of the specific products covered within its scope of recognition . As a result, OSHA can accept products "properly certified" by the NRTL. "Properly certified" generally means: 1) the product is labeled or marked with the registered certification mark of the NRTL, 2) the NRTL issues the certification for a product covered within the scope of a test standard for which OSHA has recognized it, and 3) the NRTL issues the certification from one of its sites (i.e., locations) that OSHA has recognized.

(Note: In terms of OSHA's usage, "NRTL" is not treated as an acronym but just as a group of initials. As such, the indefinite article "an" precedes these initials in singular usage.)

What process does OSHA follow in recognizing an NRTL?

In general, OSHA follows the "Procedures for Initial OSHA Recognition" found in Appendix A to 29 CFR 1910.7. In summary, when an organization submits its application materials, OSHA staff thoroughly reviews those materials for completeness and adequacy. For applications from foreign-based organizations, OSHA must consider the "reciprocity" of the foreign government (see I.A of Appendix A). When the NRTL Program staff determines that the application is complete and adequate, the staff performs an in-depth on-site review of the applicant's organization, programs, and facilities. The staff then prepares a report and recommendation on the review.

Based mainly on the on-site review report and the application review, OSHA makes a "preliminary finding" on the application. The Agency publishes a notice of this finding in the Federal Register to allow for public comment. Following a 30(formerly 60)-day comment period, OSHA publishes a second notice of its final decision and response to any comments received, making the recognition official for successful applicants (or denying the recognition for unsuccessful applicants). After publication of the decision, the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health (OSH), the head of OSHA, sends a formal notification to the applicant. This notification sets forth the specific scope and other terms of the recognition. The recognition remains in effect for a five-year period. At the end of the initial period, the NRTL must apply for renewal of recognition.

What is an NRTL's scope of recognition?

The specific safety test standards for which an NRTL applies for recognition, and that OSHA approves, define one area of its scope of recognition. The other areas are the specific testing locations (sites) and the supplemental programs that OSHA has recognized for the NRTL. OSHA does not specify which test standards an NRTL must use. Instead, when an organization applies for recognition, it submits a list of test standards for which it seeks recognition, and OSHA determines which of these standards are "appropriate" as defined in 29 CFR 1910.7. After the initial recognition, an NRTL may seek to expand its scope of recognition, such as by requesting recognition for additional test standards. An NRTL may only certify products to the specific product safety test standards included in its scope of recognition.

Steel Manufacturers Association Safety Committee Meeting

Arlington, VA
Monday, October 25, 2010

Remarks Prepared For
Dr. David Michaels
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health

Accurate Reporting

Because accurate reporting is an essential tool for employers and OSHA to detect problems in workplaces that are placing workers in danger, last October OSHA launched a National Emphasis Program on recordkeeping.

As of Oct. 1, 2010, OSHA has initiated 187 inspections under the NEP. Almost half the inspections conducted so far found recordkeeping violations. The NEP is scheduled to run through February 2012.

A few weeks ago we fined an irresponsible employer $1.2 million for 83 willful citations for failing to record and for improperly recording work-related injuries and illnesses.

The lesson learned here is: Don't "cook the books"!

Combustible Dust

Some of you asked me to say a few words about the status of a combustible dust standard for workplaces.

I'll start by noting that fires and explosions fueled by combustible dusts have long been recognized as a major industrial hazard. This isn't a new hazard. A November 2006 Chemical Safety Hazard Investigation Board report described nearly 280 dust fires and explosions in U.S. industrial facilities over the past quarter-century, resulting in 119 worker deaths and more than 700 injuries. This was before the massive sugar dust explosion in February 2008 at an Imperial Sugar facility in Georgia where 14 workers were killed and many more injured.

OSHA's enforcement of regulations and statutes, combined with education and outreach, is helping to protect the safety and health of workers exposed to combustible dust hazards.

In October 2007 OSHA initiated a National Emphasis Program to inspect facilities that generate or handle combustible dusts that pose an explosion or other fire hazard.

Although presently OSHA does not have a specific standard on combustible dust hazards, several existing OSHA standards apply to combustible dust handling facilities. Our NEP focuses on these standards, as well as the General Duty Clause.

Our NEP targets 64 types of industries. In three years we have found nearly 9,100 violations at inspected facilities -- and not only combustible dust-related violations, but also violations such as lockout/tagout, walking/working surfaces, and other hazards.

Initial penalties under both Federal and State enforcement totaled more than $19.5 million

Under the NEP, we have conducted about 270 inspections of primary and other metal industry facilities – so far!

Our inspections around the country have uncovered dangerous accumulations of dust from pulverized metal, wood, plastic, rubber, chemicals and other materials. In several instances, we found combustible dust accumulations ankle deep and covering an entire room.

Earlier this year in a rubber products factory in Georgia, OSHA cited the company for numerous serious safety and health violations related to a combustible dust transport system made of non-conductible PVC piping, and poor housekeeping of carbon black combustible dust.

At a factory in Ohio that processes an animal feed supplement, OSHA conducted a health inspection in June after receiving information that fires had occurred in the plant. We found large amounts of dust from the manufacturing process had accumulated throughout the worksite. We issued 4 willful violations for a lack of explosion protection, failure to equip process equipment with combustible dust collection systems, allowing hazardous accumulations of dust, and using electrical equipment that was unsafe in areas with combustible dust accumulation. We also issued 5 serious violations addressing hazards from workers breathing the dust, allowing combustible materials in areas where workers were welding, and unsafe electrical equipment and practices. The proposed health violation fines came to nearly $270,000.

The challenge we face with this rulemaking is the large scope of coverage. There is great diversity in the types of workplaces, processes and degree of potential explosions from the dusts generated in various facilities. Many have commented that, when it comes to developing a combustible dust standard, "One size does not fit all"; however, there are common factors that, if controlled, would likely reduce the risk of explosion, burns and death.