<<  <  >  >>

Page 8

relationship to Congress leads the FDA to concentrate on

approving only those devices that are extremely likely to be

safe.  The consequence is that many safe and effective

devices never reach consumers.  UL is a private organization

that receives no tax revenue.  Its clients, mostly manufac-

turers, wholly support it.  It has no legally created monop-

oly over market access; it cannot deny consumers choice; it

has no incentive to minimize the chance of a Type I error at

the expense of Type II errors.  UL's market-created incen-

tives are to test products appropriately, minimizing the

probability of both Type I and Type II errors.

Underwriters Laboratories

William Henry Merrill, a fire safety inspector from

Boston, founded UL in 1894 as an independent, not-for-profit

organization.  It provides certifications of safety for

thousands of products and writes standards for manufacturing

and performance for hundreds of others.  It has been so

successful and its market acceptance so complete that con-

sumers scarcely ask themselves if many of the products they

buy are safe.  They make the rational assumption that they

will be because UL and similar organizations certify them.

UL's stated, explicit mission is "Testing in the Public

Interest."  As Inspector Merrill said in 1923, "We are doing

something for manufacturers, buyers, users, and property

owners everywhere.  We are doing something for humanity."16

· UL certifies more than 14,000 different types of

products.

· Every year, UL issues over six billion individual UL

marks, the "trademark" symbol affixed to certified

items which are UL listed.

· UL has more than 40,000 clients, including manufac-

turers, retailers, insurers, code officials, archi-

tects, and government agencies.

· Among many other products, UL tests and certifies

electrical and medical appliances and equipment, auto-

motive and mechanical products, fire-resistant and

other "code" materials, bullet-resistant glass, Occupa-

tional Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)-desig-

nated "hazardous location" products, alarm systems, and

chemicals.

· UL writes and maintains 696 different end-use product