New UL mark for environmental and public health

Commercial food service equipment, meat and poultry plant equipment, and drinking water treatment additives certified by Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL) have taken on a new look. UL has implemented, worldwide, a dedicated environmental and public health (EPH) Mark.

The distinctive new EPH Mark was developed so that products that have been investigated by UL in accordance with EPH requirements can be more readily identified by a mark that specifically denotes compliance with environmental and public health considerations. UL conducts a wide variety of environmental/public health safety and performance testing for products as varied as plastic pipe, food service equipment, refrigerants, fuel storage tanks, drinking water additives and treatment units, oil/water separators, and carbon monoxide detectors.

"The new EPH Mark provides a readily recognizable mark to the public health community," explains Tom Blewitt, manager of UL Environmental and Public Health Services. "When manufacturers obtain environmental and public health certification for their products from UL, they want to be confident that public health regulators can quickly identify the type of certification the product has attained."

The new EPH Mark incorporates the "UL in a circle" inside a green triangle logo to help public health officials and other regulatory authorities distinguish the new mark from UL's traditional marks. Further labeling includes text within the EPH Mark referencing UL Listing or Classification to an appropriate American national environmental and public health standard. Products that have also been Listed or Classified by UL for electrical safety or other considerations may bear additional markings.

The new mark is being implemented on an industry-by-industry basis. Drinking water treatment additive, meat and poultry plant equipment, and food service equipment manufacturers currently participating in UL's EPH program have already been notified of the EPH mark's availability. Customers in these areas may choose to begin using the new EPH mark immediately.

New products certified by UL will use the new mark right away. Eventually, all remaining products investigated by UL for environmental and public health considerations will use the EPH mark. The existing UL Sanitation Mark for food service equipment will remain an option for manufacturers who wish to supplement the new mark with the familiar "blue" UL Sanitation Mark.

Over the next few years, the EPH Mark will be introduced separately to additional EPH product areas, including drinking water treatment components, treatment units, and plumbing products. For more information on the implementation of the new EPH Mark in specific industries, refer to UL's Web site at http://www.ul.com/eph/newmark.html.

Edited by Sandy Smith
Managing Editor, Safety Online
E-mail: ssmith@verticalnet.com