OSHA’s NRTL Program Not Applicable to Gypsum Panels or Systems
Recently, the Gypsum Association learned that two code jurisdictions no longer accept some assemblies listed in the code-recognized GA-600 Fire Resistance and Sound Control Design Manual. The rationale for that decision is that the testing agencies listed on those assemblies do not appear on an Occupational Safety and Health Administration list of Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratories. In each instance, language in the administrative section of the pertinent statewide building code references “NRTLs” but does not define the term.
While the GA recognizes that the authority having jurisdiction is the local building official, we believe that code officials are referencing the OSHA list in error. The OSHA NRTL Program is aimed at specific products and specific tests. Thirty-seven products are identified by OSHA as requiring testing by one of the laboratories in its NRTL program. Gypsum panels and systems do not appear on that list of products. Moreover, the list of specific test standards OSHA identifies as applicable to its NRTL Program does not include standard tests for fire-resistant construction, most notably ASTM E119 Standard Test Methods for Fire Tests of Building Constructions and Materials and UL 263 Standard Method of Fire Endurance Tests of Building Construction and Materials.