OSAC Standards Bulletin – March 2021

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 March 2021

This Standards Bulletin from the Organization of Scientific Area Committees (OSAC) for Forensic Science 

provides a monthly update on:

• Standards moving through the OSAC Registry approval process and legacy process for Registry 

approval.

• Standards moving through the development process at standards developing organizations 

(SDOs).

Bulletin Summary:

• New standards added to the OSAC Registry: 3

• Standards under consideration for the Registry and open for comment: 10

• SDO documents open for comment: 11

OSAC REGISTRY UPDATES

The OSAC Registry is a repository of high-quality, technically sound published and 

proposed standards for forensic science. These written documents define minimum 

requirements, best practices, standard protocols and other guidance to help ensure 

that the results of forensic analysis are reliable and reproducible.

Three New Standards Added to the OSAC Registry

• ANSI/ASB Standard 019, Wildlife Forensics General Standards, First Edition, 2019 (added March 

2, 2021).

• ANSI/ASB 029, Report Writing in Wildlife Forensics: Morphology and Genetics, First Edition, 2019

(added March 2, 2021).
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• ANSI/ASB Standard 053, Standard for Report Content in Forensic Toxicology, First Edition, 2020

(added March 2, 2021).

Standards Open for Comment

The OSAC legacy process for Registry approval is used to review existing SDO published standards for 

technical quality and placement on the Registry. Please submit your comments by the deadline on 

whether the following SDO published standards should be included on the Registry.

Comment deadline March 2, 2021 by 11:59 p.m. ET:

• ANSI/ASB 038, Standard for Internal Validation of Forensic DNA Analysis Methods, First Edition, 

2020. Submit your comments here.

• ANSI/ASB 077, Standard for the Developmental and Internal Validation of Forensic Serological 

Methods, First Edition, 2020. Submit your comments here.

Comment deadline April 2, 2021 by 11:59 p.m. ET:

• ANSI/ASB Standard 031, Standard for Report Writing in Bloodstain Pattern Analysis, First Edition 

2020. Submit your comments here.

• ANSI/ASB Standard 049, Best Practice Recommendation for Lifting of Footwear and Tire 

Impressions, First Edition 2020. Submit your comments here.

• ASTM E3260-21 Standard Guide for Forensic Examination and Comparison of Pressure Sensitive 

Tapes. Submit your comments here.

The OSAC Registry approval process is used to review OSAC drafted standards (i.e., OSAC Proposed 

Standards) for technical quality and placement on the Registry. The following OSAC draft proposed 

standards are being considered for submission to an SDO. The final draft provided to the SDO will be 

available on the OSAC Registry as an “OSAC Proposed Standard.” OSAC welcomes comments on whether 

the current draft is suitable for release to the SDO as well as suggestions for improvements in content 

and wording. To be considered, comments must be placed in the OSAC Comment Form and sent to 

comments@nist.gov by the deadline.

Comment deadline March 2, 2021 by 11:59 p.m. ET:

• OSAC 2021-N-0009, Standard Practice for the Collection and Preservation of Organic Gunshot 

Residue.

• OSAC 2021-N-0010, Best Practice Recommendation for Skeletal Preparation and Sampling in 

Forensic Anthropology.

• OSAC 2021-N-0012, Requirements and Recommendations for a Firearm and Toolmark Examiner 

Training Program.
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Comment deadline April 2, 2021 by 11:59 p.m. ET:

• OSAC 2020-S-0002, Physical Stability of Facial Features of Adults.

o OSAC 2020-S-0002 STRP Report

• OSAC 2020-S-0004, Standard for Interpreting, Comparing and Reporting DNA Test Results 

Associated with Failed Controls and Contamination Events.

o OSAC 2020-S-0004 STRP Report

Visit the Standards Under Consideration webpage to see all of the standards being considered for the 

Registry and where they are in the approval process. 

SDO UPDATES

SDO Published Standards

The following document has recently been published by ASTM and is currently being considered for the 

Registry: 

• ASTM E3260-21 Standard Guide for Forensic Examination and Comparison of Pressure Sensitive 

Tapes. This document, initially drafted by OSAC’s Trace Materials Subcommittee and finalized by 

ASTM Subcommittee E30.01, is intended to be an introduction to other standard guides for the 

forensic examination of pressure sensitive adhesive tape. This guide describes the construction 

and classification of various tapes and the methods to develop discriminatory information using 

an efficient order of testing.

SDO Documents Open for Comment

Academy Standards Board (ASB):

• ASB Standard 145, Standard for Consultation during Friction Ridge Examination, First Edition, 

2021. This standard sets documentation, quality, and consultant requirements for consultations 

during friction ridge examinations. This document does not apply to conflict resolutions.

Comment deadline March 8, 2021.

• Recirculation* – ASB Standard 054, Standard for a Quality Control Program in Forensic 

Toxicology Laboratories, First Edition, 2020. This document establishes minimum requirements 

for quality control practices in forensic toxicology laboratories. The document explains the 

importance of a quality control program, how to select and care for materials used to prepare 

Is your organization implementing standards on the OSAC Registry? 

Complete OSAC’s Laboratory Implementation Declaration Form and send it

to mark.stolorow@nist.gov to let us know. 

Share your implementation experience and be featured in a future OSAC news post.
OSAC Standards Bulletin – March 2021

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quality control samples, proper preparation and use of calibrator and control samples, and 

requirements for their use in different types of assays. The document also provides direction for 

the review and monitoring of quality control data in forensic toxicology laboratories. Comment 

deadline March 15, 2021. 

• ASB Standard 152, Standard for Minimum Content Requirements of Forensic Toxicology 

Procedures, First Edition, 2021. This document provides requirements for the minimum content 

of technical and analytical procedures in forensic toxicology. This standard applies to 

laboratories performing forensic toxicological analysis in the following sub-disciplines: 

postmortem forensic toxicology, human performance toxicology (e.g., drug-facilitated crimes 

and driving-under-the-influence of alcohol or drugs), non-regulated employment drug testing, 

court-ordered toxicology (e.g., probation and parole, drug courts, child services, breath alcohol), 

and general forensic toxicology (non-lethal poisonings or intoxications). Comment deadline 

March 15, 2021.

• Recirculation* – ASB Best Practice Recommendation 008, Mass Fatality Scene Processing: Best 

Practices for the Medicolegal Authority, First Edition, 2021. This document provides definitions, 

guidelines, and best practices for the detection, processing and recovery of physical and 

contextual evidence associated with mass fatality disaster scenes to ensure that evidence is 

carefully and consistently documented and recovered in situ. This document focuses on 

terrestrial scenes that do not involve a significant hazardous materials component. The purpose 

of these guidelines is to ensure that appropriate strategies are followed for the search and 

documentation of the scene, and the recovery of human remains, personal effects, and other 

probative evidence, while maintaining the chain-of-custody of all items and ensuring that all 

areas associated with the scene are processed in a systematic manner. Comment deadline 

March 22, 2021.

• ASB Standard 085, Standard for the Detection Canine Selection, Kenneling, and Healthcare, First 

Edition, 2021. This standard covers requirements for the selection, kenneling, and health care 

pertaining to detection canines. It does not include training methodology standards. Comment 

deadline March 22, 2021.

• Recirculation* – ASB Standard 133, Standard for Age Estimation in Forensic Anthropology, First 

Edition, 2021. Age is one of several biological parameters that can be estimated from skeletal 

material or medical imaging. This standard provides general procedures for the estimation of 

age from skeletal material or medical imaging. Specific methods and techniques are not 

included in the standard. Comment deadline March 22, 2021.

• Recirculation* – ASB Standard 146, Standard for Resolving Commingled Remains in Forensic 

Anthropology, First Edition, 2021. This document provides laboratory and field procedures and 

requirements for resolving commingled remains. The techniques presented include size, age, 

and sex similarities, articulation between skeletal elements, taphonomic similarities, and 

reconstruction of fragmentary remains. The document also describes the determination of MNI 

(Minimum Number of Individuals), as well as the LI (Lincoln Index) and MLNI (Most Likely 

Number of Individuals) based on the number of paired and unpaired bones. Comment deadline 

March 22, 2021.

• ASB Standard 150, Standard for Determination of Medicolegal Significance from Skeletal 

Remains in Forensic Anthropology, First Edition, 2021. This standard sets procedures required 

for the determination of medicolegal significance from suspected skeletal remains. It addresses 

methodological, testing, and observational procedures for identifying skeletal remains as either 
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human or nonhuman in origin and sets required procedures to assess the relevancy of human 

remains to the medicolegal death investigation system. Comment deadline March 22, 2021.

• Recirculation* – ASB Standard 092, Standard for Training and Certification of Canine Detection 

of Explosives, First Edition, 2021. This standard provides the training requirements for a canine 

team (canine handler and canine), and details follow-on assessments for trained canine teams in 

the field of explosives detection including traditional explosives detection canines (EDC), person 

screening canines (PSC), and explosives detection canines with person screening capabilities 

(EDC w/PSC). This standard is intended to be used as the basis for all phases of the training 

process and includes certification procedures, training and assessments, record keeping, and 

document management. Comment deadline March 29, 2021.

• Recirculation* – ASB Best Practice Recommendation 052, Best Practice Recommendation for the 

Detection and Collection of Footwear and Tire Impression Evidence, First Edition, 2021. This 

document provides best practice recommendations for personnel responsible for detecting and 

collecting footwear and tire impressions. These recommendations optimize the detection of 

impressions. The methods included in this document may not cover all aspects of unusual or 

uncommon conditions. This document is not intended as a substitute for training in the 

detecting and/or collection of footwear and tire impression evidence. Completion of a training 

program and experience in these skills is essential to understanding and applying the 

recommendations outlined in this document. Comment deadline April 4, 2021.

• Recirculation* – ASB Standard 137, Standard for Examination and Documentation of Footwear 

and Tire Impression Evidence, First Edition, 2021. This standard provides the examination 

process and minimum documentation requirements for relevant observations and conclusions/ 

interpretations encountered during footwear/tire tread examinations. This document is not all 

inclusive of the examinations that may be requested or conducted. Comment deadline April 4, 

2021.

*Comments on a re-circulation will only be accepted on revised sections of a document, comments made to text 

not revised from the original comment period will not be accepted.

Work Proposals for New or Revised Standards

Work Proposals for New or Revised Standards

The following documents are being initiated and are expected to result in new or revised standards.

ASB:

• On February 5, 2021 a Project Initiation Notification System (PINS) was published on page 2 in 

the ANSI Standards Action. This will begin a 30-day period for public comment on the initiation 

of ASB’s work on the following documents:

o BSR/ASB 159, Best Practice Recommendation for Guiding Principles for Scene 

Investigation. This document describes the minimum guiding principles for scene 

investigation. These best practices establish a framework for expected behavior and for 

decision-making. These principles include legal considerations, personnel

For the ASB documents listed above, download the comment template and return it to

asb@aafs.org by the comment deadline. 
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safety, scientific reliability and validity, preserving context, maintaining evidence 

integrity, transparency, and managing bias.

o BSR/ASB 160, Best Practice Recommendation for Initial Response at Scenes by Law 

Enforcement. This best practice recommendation provides guidance for the initial 

response by law enforcement to scenes. The guidance includes arrival procedure, safety 

considerations, medical intervention, assessing the scene, scene containment and 

control, evidence preservation, turning the scene over to investigators, and document 

actions and observations. It does not include guidance for a complete scene 

investigation.

For more information or to submit comments, please contact the standards developer directly within 30 

days of the publication of this PINS announcement. ASB contact: Teresa Ambrosius

(tambrosius@aafs.org).

OTHER NEWS 

Professional Organization Support for OSAC Registry and Standards 

Implementation

Four professional forensic science organizations, all represented on the OSAC FSSB, have recently 

released statements declaring their support for the development and implementation of forensic 

science standards. 

Read the statements from the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors (ASCLD), the Association 

of Forensic Quality Assurance Managers (AFQAM), the Society of Forensic Toxicologists (SOFT), and 

National Association of Medical Examiners (NAME) on OSAC’s Registry Implementation webpage. 

CSAFE’s Spring 2021 Webinar Series

Our colleagues at The Center for Statistics and Applications in Forensic Evidence (CSAFE) will be hosting

two webinars this spring. These webinars are free and open to the public, and researchers, collaborators

and members of the broader forensic science and statistics communities are encouraged to attend.

• Handwriting Analysis in CSAFE, March 11, 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. CST

• IRT for Forensics: A re-analysis of the FBI “Black Box” Study, April 8, 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. CST

For more information and to register for any of these webinars, visit https://forensicstats.org/events.

Get Involved with OSAC

OSAC offers a variety of ways for members, affiliates and other experts in the forensic science 

community to participate in the standards advancement process. Click here to learn how you can help 

make an impact on the forensic science community through standards. 
OSAC Standards Bulletin 

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