Currently most of the products you buy to conform to the requirements of the National Fire Protection Association's Arc Flash Standard NFPA 70E are tested by National Recognized Testing Laboratories (NRTL's) such as Underwriters Laboratories (UL). This is to insure that flame resistant clothing and other products are in full compliance with the NFPA 70E standard.
Back in October 2008 OSHA, at the request of the European Commission, published in the Federal Register (the official journal of the United States that contains most routine publications and public notices of government agencies) a request for information on a proposal to permit the use of a Supplier's Declaration of Conformity (SDoC) as an alternative to the Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratories (NRTLs) product-approval process. This would allow manufactures (in this case in Europe) to certify that their products met all the requirements of the NFPA 70E standard (and others) instead of having a National Recognized Testing Laboratory test the item to insure it met those requirements.
In December the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), joined with 18 other organizations including NFPA, and the National Association of State Fire Marshals to name just a few, in opposing this idea. They stated "We are hopeful that OSHA will not be influenced by false claims that international trade priorities necessitate replacing the well-established NRTL program with SDoC," They went on to add "The U.S. electrical safety system, which is principally based on third-party certification, is regarded as one of the most effective systems in the world for successfully ensuring workplace safety, while at the same time allowing for free and open market access for products and services, with minimal cost to the taxpayer,"
This proposal is not a new idea; it was also put forth two years ago and rejected. The commenting period specified in the Federal Register has expired as of January 20th, 2009. OSHA has not yet released its findings (that process took 10 months last time). We can only hope that in this day of counterfeit products, imported children's toys containing lead, and food products that have been adulterated with poison, the new administration at the Department of Labor will see the wisdom in continuing to protect the American worker with products that have been tested by National Recognized Testing Laboratories to be in conformity with NFPA 70E and other electrical safety standards, that we know will keep them safe.
To get your NFPA 70E compliant electrical safety clothing, shop here.
Article generously provided by James Norton, President of the JHN Group. He can be contacted regarding Machine Safety Consulting at jamesnorton@jhngroup.com or online at www.jhngroup.com.