OSAC Standards Bulletin – February 2022

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 February 2022

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 processes for published and OSAC 

Proposed Standards. 

• Standards moving through the development process at standards developing organizations 

(SDOs).

Bulletin Summary:

• New standards added to the OSAC Registry: 1

• Standards under consideration for the Registry and open for comment: 8

• New SDO published standards: 0

• Standards open for comment at SDOs: 9

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 analyses are reliable and reproducible.

All the standards on the OSAC Registry have passed a rigorous technical and quality 

review by OSAC members, including forensic science practitioners, research scientists, 

statisticians, and legal experts.

New Standard Added to the OSAC Registry

SDO Published Standard (added February 1, 2022):

• ASTM E2808-21a Standard Guide for Microspectrophotometry in Forensic Paint Analysis.
OSAC Standards Bulletin – February 2022

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Standards Open for Comment for OSAC Registry Approval

SDO Published Standards

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

standards for technical quality and placement on the Registry. Please submit your comments by 11:59 

p.m. ET on February 28, 2022 on whether the following SDO published standards should be included on 

the Registry.

Academy Standards Board (ASB):

• ANSI/ASB Standard 054, Standard for a Quality Control Program in Forensic Toxicology 

Laboratories, First Edition, 2021. Submit your comments here.

• ANSI/ASB Standard 119, Standard for the Analytical Scope and Sensitivity of Forensic 

Toxicological Testing of Blood in Medicolegal Death Investigations, First Edition, 2021. Submit 

your comments here.

• ANSI/ASB Standard 120, Standard for the Analytical Scope and Sensitivity of Forensic 

Toxicological Testing of Blood in Impaired Driving Investigations, First Edition, 2021. Submit your 

comments here.

• ANSI/ASB Standard 121, Standard for the Analytical Scope and Sensitivity of Forensic 

Toxicological Testing of Urine in Drug-Facilitated Crime Investigations, First Edition, 2021. 

Submit your comments here.

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

Procedures, First Edition, 2021. Submit your comments here.

OSAC Proposed Standards

The OSAC Registry approval process for OSAC Proposed Standards is used to review OSAC drafted 

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 11:59 p.m. ET on February 28, 2022.

• OSAC 2022-S-0023, Standard Practice for the Forensic Analysis of Explosives by Polarized Light 

Microscopy.

• OSAC 2022-N-0026, Medicolegal Death Investigation: Terms and Definitions.

• OSAC 2022-N-0028, Human Abuse Recognition and Documentation by Dental Professionals. 
OSAC Standards Bulletin – February 2022

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NOTE: OSAC Resource Task Group (RTG) members are encouraged to comment on these standards by 

downloading the RTG Comment Table and submitting it to forensics@nist.gov in accordance with the Registry 

approval process. 

Visit the OSAC website to see all the standards under consideration for the OSAC Registry, along with 

their status in the Registry approval process.

SDO UPDATES

Standards Open for Comment at SDOs

For a full list of forensic science standards that are currently open for comment at SDOs (9) and how to 

submit your feedback, visit OSAC’s Standards Open for Comment webpage. This page consolidates and 

tracks comment deadlines for you and will be updated on a weekly basis.

OTHER NEWS 

Other Forensic Science News, Events & Training

OSAC at AAFS

The American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) 74th Annual Scientific Conference will be held

February 21-25 in Seattle, WA. AAFS 2022 will be a hybrid event, offering both in-person and virtual

attendance options. Mark your calendar for these OSAC and standards-related presentations,

workshops, and seminars.

Forensic Toxicology Webinar

Shimadzu is hosting a webinar, Validating a Postmortem Forensic Volatile Analysis Method by HS-GS-FID 

to ANSI/ASB Standard 036 on February 9, 2022. A standard on the OSAC Registry, ANSI/ASB 036, 

Standard Practices for Method Validation in Forensic Toxicology, delineates minimum standards of 

practice for validating analytical methods in forensic toxicology that target specific analytes or analyte 

classes. 

Is your organization implementing standards on the OSAC Registry? 

Complete OSAC’s Registry Implementation Declaration Form and send it

to mark.stolorow@nist.gov to let us know. 
OSAC Standards Bulletin – February 2022

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Center for Statistics and Applications in Forensic Evidence 

Upcoming CSAFE events:

• WEBINAR: Improving Forensic Decision Making: A Human-Cognitive Perspective | February 17,

2022 | 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. CST

• WEBINAR: Modeling and iNventory of Tread Impression System (MANTIS): The Development,

Deployment and Application of an Active Footwear Data Collection System | March 24, 2022 |

11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. CDT

• WEBINAR: Shining a Light on Black Box Studies | April 22, 2022 | 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. CDT

• WEBINAR: Extracting Case-specific Information from Validation Studies | May 10, 2022 | 11:00

a.m. – 12:00 p.m. CDT

• SHORT COURSE: Sampling for Forensic Practitioners. This three-part short course focuses on

populations, sampling frames, sampling methods and geometric sampling. The course will meet

on March 25, April 1 and April 8 from 12:00 – 2:00 p.m. central time.

Forensic Technology Center of Excellence

Upcoming FTCoE events:

• WEBINAR: A Unique Approach to a Crime Gun Intelligence Center with the Inclusion and

Support of SD Virtual Comparisons | February 10, 2022 | 1:00 – 2:30 p.m. EST

• WEBINAR: U.S. National Footwear Database System Feasibility Study | February 15, 2022 | 1:00

– 2:00 p.m. EST

• VIRTUAL EVENT: 2022 NIJ Forensic Science R&D Symposium | March 1-2, 2022 | 10:00 a.m. –

6:00 p.m. EST

National Institute of Justice

The National Institute of Justice’s (NIJ) forensic list provides email alerts on the latest NIJ awards,

solicitations, events, and publications.