What do a printer, copier, desktop computer, telephone, employee alarm, water cooler, string of Christmas lights, electric heater, air conditioner, electric generator, surveillance camera, fire door, exit component, fire extinguisher, electrical conduit, conductor, electric motor, powered industrial truck, acetylene torch, and liquefied petroleum gas oven have in common? In accordance with OSHA Safety Standards, any of these products used in a workplace must be approved (i.e., tested and certified) by a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL) to help ensure that they can be used safely in the workplace. OSHA requires NRTL approval for 37 different types of products, which are described at
http://www.osha.gov/dts/otpca/nrtl/prodcatg.html. Electric equipment is the largest of these product categories.
The requirements for NRTL approval apply where these products are used in workplaces subject to OSHA's jurisdiction. These include the vast majority of private employers in the United States and its territories, and most Federal Government places of employment. The requirements also apply to State and local government places of employment in States that have received OSHA approval to administer their own occupational safety and health program (referred to as "State Plan States").