The discussion on local acceptance should include the following: 1) The NRTL designation is a very limited and specialized program directly applicable to OSHA requirements. Meeting NRTL means that a given lab meets a very low level baseline of competence and quality. It is quite incorrect, outside of a strict OSHA context, to imply that all NRTLs are equivalent. To say so would be like saying that the Denver Bronocs play the same level of football as my local high school team, based on the fact that both play football and have uniforms.
2) There are at least 40,000 jurisdictions in the United States, and every one of them has the authority and responsibility to protect their citizens. With regards to enforcement of electrical codes, most all enforce some edition of the NEC, but they remain free to interpret according to their will. While some can argue that a national system would be more efficient, the system as is leaves the authority and responsibility in the hands of local officials, answerable directly to the local citizens. It has worked pretty well so far. 3) Most jurisdictions keep their own list of labs whose Marks they will accept as evidence of safety. Such lists usually include some or all of the NRTLs, but being a NRTL usually is not the determining factor in such acceptance. The fact that a lab has NRTL status does nothing to guarantee acceptance by local jurisdictions. Some jurisdictions for example have kicked some relatively well-known NRTL labs off their approved list for incidents of poor quality work. For an example, call your local city electrical inspection department and ask what safety Marks they accept. 4) From the consumer standpoint, consumers may demand a third party safety Mark on a given electrical product. While not quite a legal requirement, such a demand would essentially have the same force. NRTL status in such a case is meaningless, Mark recognition would be the important feature. 5) If you plan to sell a electrical product through a major chain store, it would be wise to check with them concerning their requirements. Most, for their own liability protection and to help protect their customers, will not sell an electrical product that does not carry a third party safety Mark. Each chain usually has their own short list of "acceptable" Marks, again NRTL status has nothing to do with it. Gary Schrempp Yes, I work for UL, but the opinions expressed here are my very own! --------- This message is coming from the emc-pstc discussion list. To cancel your subscription, send mail to majord...@ieee.org with the single line: "unsubscribe emc-pstc" (without the quotes). For help, send mail to ed.pr...@cubic.com, j...@gwmail.monarch.com, ri...@sdd.hp.com, or roger.volgst...@compaq.com (the list administrators).
