May 26, 2010—A new Safety and Health Information Bulletin from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration warns that workers may be exposed to serious hazards such as electrocution, burns, fires and explosions when using products that have not been tested or approved by an OSHA-certified testing laboratory.
“Certification of Workplace Products by Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratories” informs employers about the harm they can cause workers by having them use non-NRTL-tested products and of employers’ obligation not to let that happen.
Examples of products certified by NRTLs include electrical equipment, automatic sprinkler systems, portable fire extinguishers and alarm systems.
OSHA established the NRTL Program in 1988 to oversee OSHA’s procedures for approving organizations as qualified testing laboratories. NRTLs authorize manufacturers to place registered certification marks on products after they have met OSHA’s safety standards.
