Dave, I am not sure when OSHA, NEC or others put it into place the safety requirements, but I believe the NRTL program was started in the area of late 1987 or early 1988. So the requirement for a product used in the work place to have a safety certification would have had to been in place by then. Below are a couple key items.
OSHA's rules say: 1910.155(c)(3)(iv)(B) Equipment is labeled if there is attached to it a label, symbol, or other identifying mark of a nationally recognized testing laboratory which makes periodic inspections of the production of such equipment, and whose labeling indicates compliance with nationally recognized standards or tests to determine safe use in a specified manner; 1910.155(c)(3)(iv)(C) Equipment is accepted if it has been inspected and found by a nationally recognized testing laboratory to conform to specified plans or to procedures of applicable codes; and 1910.155(c)(3)(iv)(D) Equipment is certified if it has been tested and found by a nationally recognized testing laboratory to meet nationally recognized standards or to be safe for use in a specified manner or is of a kind whose production is periodically inspected by a nationally recognized testing laboratory, and if it bears a label, tag, or other record of certification. NEC says: 90-7. Examination of Equipment for Safety. For specific items of equipment and materials referred to in this Code, examinations for safety made under standard conditions will provide a basis for approval where the record is made generally available through promulgation by organizations properly equipped and qualified for experimental testing, inspections of the run of goods at factories, and service-value determination through field inspections. This avoids the necessity for repetition of examinations by different examiners, frequently with inadequate facilities for such work, and the confusion that would result >from conflicting reports as to the suitability of devices and materials examined for a given purpose. Oregon says: 479.610 Sale or disposal of uncertified or unevaluated electrical product prohibited. Except as provided under ORS 479.540, no person shall sell or dispose of by gift or otherwise in connection with the person's business an electrical product that is not certified or evaluated under the requirements of ORS 479.510 to 479.945. [1959c.406 s.9; 1981 c.815 s.12; 1995 c.706 s.2] URL for the State of Oregon: http://landru.leg.state.or.us/ors/479.html ________________________________ Also, was there a date that a U.S. safety law WAS enacted and by who (OSHA)? Thanks,, Dave Lohbeck - This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc discussion list. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to emc-p...@ieee.org Instructions: http://listserv.ieee.org/request/user-guide.html List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html For help, send mail to the list administrators: Scott Douglas emcp...@ptcnh.net Mike Cantwell mcantw...@ieee.org For policy questions, send mail to: Jim Bacher: j.bac...@ieee.org David Heald: emc-p...@daveheald.com All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: http://www.ieeecommunities.org/emc-pstc ______________________________________________________________________ This e-mail has been scanned by MCI Managed Email Content Service, using Skeptic(tm) technology powered by MessageLabs. For more information on MCI's Managed Email Content Service, visit http://www.mci.com. ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ This e-mail has been scanned by MCI Managed Email Content Service, using Skeptic(tm) technology powered by MessageLabs. For more information on MCI's Managed Email Content Service, visit http://www.mci.com. ______________________________________________________________________