Understanding About Underwriters Laboratory

Underwriters Laboratory is the organization that brings us the ubiquitous “UL” tags on just about everything we plug in or turn on. What does this group do? In the organization’s own words, UL “is an independent, not-for-profit, product-safety-testing and -certification organization.” Underwriters Laboratory was established in 1894 to test products for the emerging electrical industry. It has managed to attach more than 14 billion UL tags to products all over the world.

UL is the leader in product testing and certification. If a manufacturer wants its new gadget to gain ready consumer acceptance, it applies for the UL tag, because no retail outlet in its right mind would sell anything electrical without it. You can find the organization at www.ul.com on the Web.

The UL, along with the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the National Electrical Manufacturer’s Association, helped establish the not-for-profit National Electrical Safety Foundation (NESF) in 1994. The Foundation’s mission is to improve our awareness of electrical safety at home, work, and school. The NESF’s Web site, www.nesf.org, points out the following cheery statistics:

• One person is electrocuted in his or her home every 25 hours, and more than 350 people die in over 40,000 residential electrical fires every year (Consumer Product Safety Commission data).
• One worker is electrocuted on the job every day (Occupational Safety and Health Administration data).
• Personal-property damage from fires exceeds $2 billion a year. These are not-so-subtle hints that you can’t take electrical safety for granted. The NESF offers tips, Web links, and a safety booklet, and it’s all free for the asking.