ASTM INTERNATIONAL

eNews
JULY 2013    

ASTM eNews is a monthly e-newsletter that features the latest happenings at ASTM International, including technical committee news, publications, meetings, symposia and more. Like ASTM's bimonthly magazine Standardization News, eNews is a free benefit available to all ASTM members.

ASTM Publications


 ASTM Interactive Catalogs

 

 2013 Standards Catalog

 
 2013 Products Catalog

  

   CALENDAR

Committee Week

 
Oct. 20-25, Jacksonville, FL

Nov. 10-15, Jacksonville, FL

       

See more on committee meetings/committee weeks. 

 

Symposia/Workshops    

Technical/Professional 
Training Courses
 

Aviation Fuels
July 16-18, Newark, NJ
Oct. 8-10, Portland, OR

Coal Chemistry Technician Training
Oct. 9-10, ASTM HQ

Corrosion Testing
Sept. 18-19, Norfolk, VA

Crude Oil
Oct. 21-23, Dallas, TX

Diesel Fuels
Sept. 24-26, Los Angeles, CA
Oct. 22-24, Denver, CO

Fire Hazards in Oxygen Systems 
Oct. 8-9, San Diego, CA

Gasoline
Sept. 17-19, Salt Lake City, UT

Marine Fuels
Sept. 24-26, San Francisco, CA 
 
Phase I Environmental Site Assessment for Commercial Real Estate
Sept. 24-25, St. Louis, MO 
Oct. 8-9, Denver, CO
Oct. 22-23, Chicago, IL    

Phase I & II Environmental Site Assessment Processes
Sept. 17-19, ASTM HQ 
Oct. 1-3, San Antonio, TX

Oct. 22-24, Hollywood, FL

Property Condition Assessments
Oct. 1-2, Las Vegas, NV

Risk-Based Corrective Action at Petroleum Release Sites
Oct. 8-9, Lansing, MI

Rubber Testing
Oct. 2-3, Akron, OH

Statistics in ASTM Test Method Development, Application and Quality Assurance
Oct. 16-17, ASTM HQ

Testing Techniques for Plastics
Aug. 6-8, Denver, CO
Oct. 29-31, Tampa, FL  
 
Vapor Encroachment Onto Property Involved in Real Estate Transactions
Oct. 29, Chicago, IL

Several courses available onsite, including:


 

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HEADLINES...This month's top stories 

ASTM Virtual Officers' Training Week
ASTM International will host a Virtual Officers' Training Week from Sept. 23-26, 2013. This free online workshop features various modules on the ASTM standards development process and how to manage responsibilities within ASTM committees, and is a useful program for committee officers, subcommittee chairs, technical contacts and others in leadership positions. The modules are based on the live Officers' Training Workshop held every other year at ASTM headquarters. Training sessions will include Certification and Technical and Professional Training, Subcommittee Chairman's Duties and Responsibilities, Main Committee Officers' Duties and Responsibilities, Robert's Rules, Planning Symposia and Workshops, Strategic Planning and New Activity Development, and ASTM Leadership Opportunities and Resources. Click here to view the entire list of sessions and to register online. 
ASTM Project Grants for University Students
ASTM International offers a limited number of $500 grants to graduate or senior level university students to help with student design projects that contain an ASTM International standards component. The deadline for submissions is Oct. 31, 2013. Visit the ASTM student website for instructions and application forms.   
FEEDBACK: 2012 ASTM International Annual Report 
The title of the 2012 ASTM International Annual Report is Feedback: Listening, Learning, Responding. The Society collected survey results, quotes and viewpoints from various sources and constituents that help tell the "story" of ASTM in 2012. Visit www.astm.org/2012AnnualReport to view online. To request a hard copy, contact Erin Brennan, ebrennan@astm.org.
August 31 is Deadline for Professor of the Year Nominations
All materials for ASTM Professor of the Year Award nominees must be received by Aug. 31, 2013. Candidates for the award include professors and instructors at accredited universities worldwide who have demonstrated outstanding use of ASTM standards in their teaching. Cash awards will be given to the winning educator and their respective university. Learn more and nominate a colleague at www.astm.org/studentmember/Professor_Year.   
Free Virtual Classroom for Members 
ASTM offers free one-hour online training courses for members. Courses include New Member Orientation and Training (July 24, Aug. 27), Electronic Balloting, Training on ASTM Online Tools, Roster Maintenance Training, Strategic Planning and New Activity Development and more. See full list  at www.astm.org/MEMBER_TRAINING.  
 COMMITTEE NEWS . . . The latest from ASTM's technical committees

 

Rare Earth Materials  

A new F40 subcommittee has established a standards development agenda aimed at supporting efficient and safe production, utilization and recycling of rare earths. [Full Story]

Recycled Plastics   

Committee D20 has approved major revisions to the standard on the long-standing Resin Identification Code (RIC) system for identifying the various types of plastic resin used in manufactured articles[Full Story] 
 

Cribs

A growing need among manufacturers, consumer groups and the Consumer Product Safety Commission to address safety requirements for cribs and crib mattresses has led to a new Committee F15 standard. [Full Story] 
 

Property Management 

Committee E53's proposed new standard will provide guidance for the contractor self-assessment program for U.S. Government Contract Property Management Systems. [Full Story] 
 
Sensory Evaluation    

A proposed new Committee E18 standard will address temporal methods, which measure dynamic product experiences. [Full Story] 

 
Adult Jewelry 
Committee F15's new consumer safety standard establishes requirements and test methods for specified elements and certain mechanical hazards in adult jewelry. [Full Story] 
   
Phthalates
Laboratories, regulatory bodies and manufacturers will use a new 
Committee D20 standard to determine whether a product meets requirements of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, which prohibits certain products from containing six specified phthalates. [Full Story]  


Saturated Concrete

Ready-mix concrete producers will use a proposed Committee C09 standard to characterize the drying behavior of new and existing concrete mixture proportions. [Full Story]

Nanotechnology  
Committee E56's new standard will facilitate the meaningful submission and exchange of nanomaterial descriptions and characterization data among individual nanotechnology researchers. [Full Story]    

GLOBAL NOTES  . . . ASTM Around the World

 

Sara Gobbi, ASTM International's director of European Union affairs, Brussels, Belgium, participated in the Middle East and North Africa Regional Conference on Standards Development and Good Regulatory Practices, held May 20-21 in Casablanca, Morocco. Gobbi made two presentations during the conference, covering the processes to support technical regulations through standards and energy efficiency in green buildings, and highlighting the global relevance of ASTM International standards and ASTM's compliance with World Trade Organization/Technical Barriers to Trade principles. The conference was made possible by the sponsorship of the Commercial Law Development Program of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

DID YOU KNOW? . . . Tennis on the Grass        

                

It is an exciting time of year for tennis fans, as the top men and women players are in Wimbledon for the oldest, and what many consider the most prestigious, tennis tournament in the world. The tournament, played annually in late June/early July, is different from the other three Grand Slam tennis tournaments, because it is the only tournament still played on grass, the original surface of the game of tennis. A grass tennis court should provide a relatively uniform, high-quality playing surface as it relates to footing and ball bounce, which is the premise of ASTM F1953, Standard Guide for Construction and Maintenance of Grass Tennis Courts. Since playing surface quality is largely affected by construction and maintenance procedures, F1953 seeks to address concerns and provides guidance for selection of soil systems and turfgrass species in court construction, as well as for management practices that will maintain an acceptable playing surface. As players know, all of these factors remain an important part of a grass court game, affecting everything from the speed of the ball to bounce factors and serve returns. Check out Subcommittee F08.52 on Miscellaneous Playing Surfaces for more sports surface standards.


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Erin K. Brennan, Editor
ebrennan@astm.org





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