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Help Save Clean Water With Underwriters Laboratories

By Shawna Coronado, November 5, 2010 at 2:24 pm
UL Shawna and John with Oven.jpg

John Drengenberg with me at the UL testing facility in Northbrook, Illinois. We are standing in front of a giant fire-style oven used to burn products for testing purposes.

Last winter I met John Drengenberg,
the Director of Consumer Safety at Underwriters Laboratories (UL). He has been employed with UL for over 40
years and delighted in showing me some of the amazing safety testing UL performs
at their Northbrook, Illinois facility (see the photo series below). It was
truly one of the most fascinating and interesting corporate tours I have ever
taken. UL is the trusted resource across the globe for product safety
certification and compliance solutions.

To better understand UL, I wanted to spend time researching their testing
procedures, tested products, and observe the company to see if they truly stand
behind their motto - "UL - the standard in safety." What I discovered in this
year is that UL provides a service which has changed our world for the
better. While they have to expend energy and chemicals to test the products, they are making it safer for us to purchase and use everyday products more safely. These products could
be quite dangerous to us without UL testing each and every product they do to make
our lives safer. UL evaluates more than 19,000 types of products, components,
materials and systems annually with 20 billion UL Marks appearing on 66,000
manufacturers' products each year. UL's worldwide family of companies and
network of service providers includes 68 laboratory, testing and certification
facilities serving customers in 102 countries.

UL is not a "green" or "sustainability" certification company, but it is
involved with thousands of businesses in testing products to insure they
are sustainable. For instance, UL is certified in 48 states and Puerto Rico, as
the most certified laboratory for drinking water analysis in the United States.
UL monitors most of our country's drinking water, making sure that even trace levels of
emerging contaminants are not present in our water supply.

Currently, UL is running a very special "green" program called SAVE YOUR WATER which encourages households to use less water.
If you pledge to reduce your household water consumption, UL will make a
donation to Water For
People, a not-for-profit organization that helps people in developing
countries improve quality of life by supporting the development of locally
sustainable drinking water resources, sanitation facilities, and hygiene
education programs.

Please go to the SAVE YOUR WATER link and make your pledge to reduce household
water usage and make a difference for people around the world who need clean
drinking water and proper sanitation.

http://www.thecasualgardener.com,
The Green Blog - http://www.gardeningnude.com, or The
Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

John and Shawna - Nice hat!
UL is very concerned about safety at their own facility as well as for the products they test. John and I are standing in front of a giant oven used to burn products for testing. Note my funky hat? It was necessary to wear in about half the places we walked to prevent an accident.
Banana Peel at UL
NO KIDDING - I saw this on the way out of the UL facility on one of the cold days I visited. A banana peel on the ground. I swear to you I did not put it there myself - I'm allergic to bananas so never have a peel in my pocket. It was frozen to the ground because it was a below zero day. I couldn't get it up, but DID chuckle my way all the way out to my car. It was a freak thing I'm sure, but can you imagine how funny it is to see a banana peel on the ground at a safety facility? Hilarious!!
Water pipe testing
UL tests many things beyond electronics. They test pipes, bolts, and all types of equipment that works with water. This is a photo of large pipes which push pressurized water through special testing rooms.
Burn a house down?!?
Yep, it looks like a night time scene, but this is really a giant three story room where UL can burn down houses and other large structures. There was not a test going on the day I was there, but I had to take a photo - you can see the size of the room and imagine an inferno of giant proportions burning here.
Burning mattresses
This room was a large burn room with a special vent for burning mattresses - it smelled like brimstone - I had to cover my face even before the burn. This tester is burning a mattress to measure and examine the chemical composition and burn rates of the mattresses for safety reasons.
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Light bulb testing
Special engineers stand in front of a light bulb testing wall.
Testing is dangerous
Why companies hire UL to test products is because it is dangerous to test products yourself. Burning plastics and other products can cause ash and particulates to get in the air - like in this photo. During the UL testing, the fumes, ash, and other bi-products of the tests are prevented from going into the atmosphere.
Electrical fire concerns
John Drengenberg explains how electrical fires within the home start and how UL works to bring safe electrical products to the market.
Chemical testing
Many of the laboratories within UL are filled with special chemical testing areas like this one.
What happens when a microwave cooks metal
My favorite test at UL - - Ever wondered why there are warnings on microwaves to not put metal in the oven area while cooking? Here's what happens! In the photo you can see lightening arcing through the oven box. Dangerous!!
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Electrical light box testing
Here you see a light box being tested at UL - they have to test all types of signs for both indoor and outdoor purposes.
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Filed under: Green Family, Save Water

Tags: Clean, eco, environment, environmental, green, green lifestyle, Save, sustainability, sustainable, UL, Underwriters Laboratories, water

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