OSAC Standards Bulletin 

April 2019 

BULLETIN SUMMARY 

This Bulletin provides an update on forensic science standards that are moving through the development 

process at standards developing organizations (SDOs), and those that are moving through the Registry Approval 

Process at the Organization of Scientific Area Committees for Forensic Science (OSAC). 

Please consider providing comments on documents that are open for comment and registering to attend or view 

the live webcast of OSAC’s upcoming public update meeting on June 5, 2019 at NIST.

OSAC Registry Standards open for comment: 1 Item 

SDO Documents open for comment: 1 Item 

OSAC REGISTRY NEWS 

Intent to Add to the OSAC Registry – Items open for Public Comment 

ISO/IEC 17025:2017 General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories. Read 

the standard (you must follow the instructions for access in the comment link) or submit a comment by 

11:59 PM EST on May 10, 2019. (This standard would replace ISO/IEC 17025:2005, which is already on 

the OSAC Registry.) 

Standards Moving Through the OSAC Registry Approval Process 

This section only lists standards that moved from one step in the OSAC Registry Approval Process to another 

during the last month. A list of all standards currently under consideration is available on the OSAC website. 

ANSI/ASB Standard 017, Standard Practices for Measurement Traceability in Forensic Toxicology, First 

Edition, 2018 moved to Standards at FSSB for Vote. 

STANDARDS DEVELOPING ORGANIZATION (SDO) NEWS 

Comment Period Open on Draft Documents 

ASB Standard 041, Assigning Propositions for Likelihood Ratios in Forensic DNA Interpretations, First Edition 

(Comment Deadline, April 29, 2019) 

Please visit the Notification of Standard Development and Coordination area of the AAFS Standards 

Board website to view the draft document and to provide comments. Please send any questions 

to asb@aafs.org. 

OSAC Standards Bulletin 1 April 2019 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Work Proposals for New or Revised Standards 

American Academy of Forensic Science (AAFS) Standards Board (ASB): 

Project Initiation Notification System (PINS) was published on page 23, in ANSI Standards Action on April 5, 

2019. This will begin a 30-day period for public comment on the initiation of the ASB’s work on the

documents listed below: 

BSR/ASB BPR 102-201x, Guidelines for Peer Review of Source Conclusions in Toolmark 

Examinations (new standard). This document provides best practice recommendations for 

conducting verifications of source conclusions. These conclusions arise from microscopic 

examinations and comparisons conducted for the forensic purpose of determining if two or more 

toolmarks were or could have been made by the same tool. 

BSR/ASB BPR 103-201x, Guidelines for Reporting of Source Conclusions in Toolmark Examinations 

(new standard.) This document provides guidelines for report wording of source conclusions arising 

from microscopic toolmark examinations and comparisons conducted for the forensic purpose of 

determining if two or more toolmarks were or could have been made by the same tool. 

BSR/ASB STD 100-201x, Range of Conclusions and Criteria in Toolmark Examinations (new 

standard.) This standard provides the range of conclusions, criteria, and reporting language to be 

used for all microscopic toolmark examinations and comparisons. These comparisons are conducted 

for the forensic purpose of determining if two or more toolmarks were or could have been created by 

the same tool. This document is limited to the process of developing source conclusions and does 

not address or consider other types of conclusions possible in the analysis of firearm and toolmark 

evidence. 

BSR/ASB STD 101-201x, Supporting Documentation of Source Conclusions in Toolmark 

Examinations (new standard.) This document provides minimum requirements for supporting 

documentation of source conclusions arising from microscopic toolmark examinations and 

comparisons conducted for the forensic purpose of determining if two or more toolmarks were or 

could have been made by the same tool 

ASTM International E30.01 Criminalistics 

WK67567 - Standard Guide for Forensic Analysis of Fibers by Infrared Spectroscopy is a work item revision 

to existing standard E2224-18 

WK67568 - Standard Guide for Forensic Examination of Fabrics and Cordage is a work item revision to 

existing standard E2225-18 

WK67569 - Standard Guide for Microscopical Examination of Textile Fibers is a work item revision to 

existing standard E2228-18 

ASTM International E30.11 Interdisciplinary 

WK67499 - Standard Practice for Forensic Science Practitioner Training, Continuing Education, and 

Professional Development Programs is a work item revision to existing standard E2917-19 

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New or Revised Standards 

ASTM International: 

E1732 -19 Standard Terminology Relating to Forensic Science This revised standard now contains all terms 

referenced in all E30 active standards. 

International Organization for Standardization: 

ISO/DIS 20888-19, Dentistry - Terminology for Forensic Oro-dental Data 

OTHER NEWS 

Register 

Join us for the upcoming Organization of Scientific Area Committees for Forensic 

Science (OSAC) Public Status Updates Meeting taking place at NIST in 

Gaithersburg, MD, June 5, 2019. 

This all-day event will feature presentations from the Chairs of the five Scientific Area 

Committees (SAC), three Resource Committees, the Statistics Task Group, and 

Forensic Science Standards Board (FSSB). 

Register for the meeting to attend onsite or via real-time webcast. 

NIST publishes, DNA Mixtures: A Forensic Science Explainer 

What are DNA Mixtures? And why are they sometimes so difficult to interpret? 

OSAC Standards Bulletin 3 April 2019