OSAC Standards Bulletin – September 2020

1

 September 2020

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

Science provides an update on:

• Standards moving through the OSAC Registry approval process.

• Standards moving through the development process at standards developing 

organizations (SDOs).

New standards placed on the OSAC Registry: 1

OSAC Registry standards open for comment: 9

SDO published standards: 4

SDO documents open for comment: 8

OSAC REGISTRY UPDATES

The OSAC Registry serves as a repository of scientifically sound forensic 

science standards that address discipline-specific forensic science needs. OSAC 

elevates standards to the OSAC Registry as an endorsement of their high 

quality and to encourage their use by relevant stakeholders in the forensic 

science community.
OSAC Standards Bulletin – September 2020

2

New Documents on the OSAC Registry

• ANSI/ASB Standard 022, Standard for Forensic DNA Analysis Training Programs, First 

Edition, 2019.

Intent to Add to the OSAC Registry – Items Open for Comment 

The following SDO published standards are being considered for the OSAC Registry. Please 

submit your comments by the deadline on whether they should be included on the OSAC 

Registry: 

Comment deadline – 11:59 p.m. ET on September 4, 2020:

• ASTM E1388-17 Standard Practice for Static Headspace Sampling of Vapors from Fire 

Debris Samples. Submit your comments here.

• ASTM E1412-19 Standard Practice for Separation of Ignitable Liquid Residues from Fire 

Debris Samples by Passive Headspace Concentration with Activated Charcoal. Submit 

your comments here.

• ASTM E1413-19 Standard Practice for Separation of Ignitable Liquid Residues from Fire 

Debris Samples by Dynamic Headspace Concentration onto an Adsorbent Tube. Submit 

your comments here.

• ASTM E3189-19 Standard Practice for Separation of Ignitable Liquid Residues from Fire 

Debris Samples by Static Headspace Concentration onto an Adsorbent Tube. Submit 

your comments here.

Comment deadline – 11:59 p.m. ET on October 1, 2020:

• ANSI/ASB Standard 032, Standards for a Bloodstain Pattern Analyst’s Training Program, 

First Edition, 2020. Submit your comments here.

• ANSI/ASB Best Practice Recommendation 089, Best Practice Recommendation for Facial 

Approximation in Forensic Anthropology, First Edition, 2020. Submit your comments 

here.

• ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 Updated 2015, NIST Special Publication 500-290, Data Format for 

the Interchange of Fingerprint, Facial & Other Biometric Information. Submit your 

comments here.
OSAC Standards Bulletin – September 2020

3

The following “OSAC Proposed Standards” are being considered for the OSAC Registry. Submit 

your comments/suggestions on the wording included in these draft standards and indicate 

whether they should be included on the OSAC Registry. To submit your feedback, complete 

the OSAC comment template and send it to forensics@nist.gov by 11:59 p.m. ET on September 

4, 2020.

• Standard for Qualifications in the Practice of Forensic Anthropology.

• Best Practice Recommendations for the Management and Use of Quality Assurance DNA 

Elimination Databases in Forensic DNA Analysis. 

For a list of all standards currently under Registry consideration, please visit the OSAC website. 

SDO UPDATES

Published

The American Academy of Forensic Sciences Standards Board (ASB) has 

recently published four new documents:

• ANSI/ASB Best Practice Recommendation 049, Best Practice 

Recommendation for Lifting of Footwear and Tire Impressions, First Edition, 

2020. This document, initially developed by OSAC’s Footwear & Tire

Subcommittee and finalized by the ASB Footwear and Tire Consensus Body, 

provides the best practice recommendations for personnel responsible for lifting 

footwear and tire impressions. The recommendations in this document optimize the 

recovery of impressions and the procedures included may not cover all aspects of lifting 

footwear or tire impressions. Deviations from this document may/may not preclude 

examination of recovered impressions. 

• ANSI/ASB Standard 053, Standard for Report Content in Forensic Toxicology, First 

Edition, 2020. This document, initially developed by OSAC’s Toxicology Subcommittee 

and finalized by the ASB Toxicology Consensus Body, delineates the requirements for 

reporting results from forensic toxicology analyses. Specifically, it is intended for the 

subdisciplines of human performance toxicology (e.g., driving-under-the-influence of 

Has your organization already started implementing OSAC Registry approved standards? 

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 – September 2020

4

alcohol or drugs and drug-facilitated crimes), postmortem forensic toxicology, nonregulated employment drug testing, court-ordered toxicology (e.g., probation and 

parole, drug courts, child services), and general forensic toxicology (e.g., non-lethal 

poisonings or intoxications). The document does not apply to the reporting of breath 

alcohol testing results.

• ANSI/ASB Standard 095, Standard for Minimum Qualifications and Training for a 

Footwear/Tire Forensic Science Service Provider, First Edition, 2020. This standard, 

initially developed by OSAC’s Footwear & Tire Subcommittee and finalized by the ASB 

Footwear and Tire Consensus Body, describes the minimum qualifications and is an 

outline for training for a footwear/ tire forensic science service provider (FSSP) with 

little to no experience or previous training. This standard outlines what topics should be 

covered in a training program and is not intended to be the sole source of training 

material.

• ANSI/ASB Standard 099, Standard for Footwear/Tire Examination Proficiency Testing 

Program, First Edition, 2020. This document, initially developed by OSAC’s Footwear & 

Tire Subcommittee and finalized by the ASB Footwear and Tire Consensus Body, outlines 

the requirements for proficiency test providers and footwear and tire examiners for 

creating appropriate proficiency tests. The standard also provides recommendations for 

testing frequency. The guidance provided is primarily concerned with the discipline-level 

content and the footwear and tire examiner’s ability to perform work and not 

organizational compliance.

Comment Period Open on Draft Documents 

American Dental Association (ADA):

• BSR/ADA Standard No. 1058-2010 (R202x), Forensic Dental Data Set (reaffirmation of 

ANSI/ADA Standard No. 1058-2010 (R2015)). The purpose of this standard is to develop 

uniform nomenclature for the description of forensic dental data and to define a 

standardized set of uniform terms to convey this information. The goal of the standard 

is not to define the extent of information collected, only to be certain that common 

terms are used in order to aid in identification of human remains or a living amnesiac.

Comment deadline October 5, 2020.

ASB:

• ASB Standard 096, Standard Method for the Examination and Documentation of 

Ammunition and Ammunition Components. This new standard provides procedures for 

For the ADA document listed above, obtain a free electronic copy from standards@ada.org or 

order from Paul Bralower (bralowerp@ada.org) and send your comments to psa@ansi.org by 

the comment deadline. 
OSAC Standards Bulletin – September 2020

5

the examination and documentation of ammunition and/or ammunition components by 

forensic firearm and toolmark examiners or technicians. Following these procedures, an 

examiner or technician will be able to document and report the examination of 

ammunition and/or ammunition components. This document does not cover the 

microscopic comparison of toolmarks on ammunition components. Comment deadline 

September 7, 2020.

• Recirculation* – ASB Standard 119, Standard for the Analytical Scope and Sensitivity of 

Forensic Toxicological Testing of Blood in Medicolegal Death Investigations. This 

document delineates the minimum requirements for target analytes and analytical 

sensitivity for the forensic toxicological testing of blood specimens collected in 

medicolegal death investigations. This document does not cover the analysis of urine, 

tissues, or other specimens that are commonly analyzed in medicolegal death 

investigations. Comment deadline September 7, 2020.

• Recirculation* – ASB Standard 120, Standard for the Analytical Scope and Sensitivity of 

Forensic Toxicological Testing of Blood in Impaired Driving Investigations. This document 

delineates the minimum requirements for target analytes and analytical sensitivity for 

the forensic toxicological testing of blood and urine specimens collected from drivers 

suspected of being impaired. This document does not cover the analysis of breath, oral 

fluid, urine, or other potential specimen types collected in impaired driving 

investigations. Comment deadline September 7, 2020.

• Recirculation* – ASB Standard 121, Standard for the Analytical Scope and Sensitivity of 

Forensic Toxicological Testing of Urine in Drug-Facilitated Crime Investigations. This 

document delineates the minimum requirements for target analytes and analytical 

sensitivity for the forensic toxicological testing of urine specimens collected from 

alleged victims of drug-facilitated crimes (DFC). This document does not cover the 

analysis of blood and other evidence that may be collected in DFC cases. Comment 

deadline September 7, 2020.

• ASB Standard 135, Anthropology Scene Detection and Processing. This document 

provides requirements and best practices for forensic anthropology and forensic 

archaeology practitioners in proper scene detection, processing, handling of evidence, 

and maintenance of a chain of custody, commensurate with jurisdictional requirements. 

These requirements and best practices use archaeological techniques and principles as a 

foundation for scientifically appropriate detection, processing, documentation, and 

collection of human remains and associated evidence at a scene. Comment deadline 

September 7, 2020.

• ASB Standard 136, Forensic Laboratory Standards for Prevention, Monitoring, and 

Mitigation of DNA Contamination. This standard provides requirements for limiting, 

detecting, assessing the source of, and mitigating DNA contamination as applied to PCRbased DNA analysis conducted within a forensic laboratory (i.e., casework and DNA 

database). Comment deadline September 28, 2020.

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

Laboratories. This document establishes minimum requirements for quality control 

practices in forensic toxicology laboratories. The document explains the importance of a 
OSAC Standards Bulletin – September 2020

6

quality control program, how to select and care for materials used to prepare 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. 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), and general forensic toxicology 

(non-lethal poisonings or intoxications). It is not intended for the area of breath alcohol 

toxicology. Comment deadline October 5, 2020.

*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

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

standard.

ASB:

• On August 21, 2020 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 BPR 156-202x, Guidelines for Specimen Collection and Preservation for 

Forensic Toxicology. This document delineates guidelines for the collection of 

forensic toxicology specimens; their amounts, preservatives, and storage 

conditions. This guideline applies to specimens collected for laboratories 

performing forensic toxicological analysis in the following sub-disciplines: 

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

crimes and driving-under-the-influence of alcohol or drugs) and other forensic 

testing (e.g., court-ordered toxicology, general forensic toxicology). It is not 

intended for the area of breath alcohol toxicology.

o BSR/ASB Std 157-202x, Standard for Proficiency Testing in Bloodstain Pattern 

Analysis. This standard establishes the requirements for the design of a 

proficiency testing program in bloodstain pattern analysis. It includes the testing 

scheme, general test design, and the evaluation of test results. It does not 

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

asb@aafs.org by the comment deadline. 
OSAC Standards Bulletin – September 2020

7

dictate actual test content.

o BSR/ASB Std 158-202x, Standard for Developing Standard Operating Procedures 

(SOP) in Bloodstain Pattern Analysis. This standard establishes required 

components of Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) that are part of a quality

assurance program for Bloodstain Pattern Analysis. The standard specifies the 

requirements contained in an SOP for equipment, materials, reagents, 

calculations, limitations, safety, and the generation of reports. The standard is

applicable to scene, laboratory, and remote examinations.

OTHER NEWS 

Join Us for the OSAC Public Update Meeting

Please join us on September 30, 2020 for the OSAC Public Update Meeting. This virtual event 

will feature presentations from the chairs of OSAC’s Forensic Science Standards Board and five 

Scientific Area Committees. Each presenter will describe the standards their unit is working on 

and discuss research gaps, challenges, and priorities for the coming year. Attendees will have 

the opportunity to ask questions and provide feedback. See the agenda and register. 

OSAC, ASB and Promega Biology/DNA Standards and Best Practices Webinar 

Series

OSAC, ASB and Promega have developed a webinar series to provide information on

new/emerging standards and best practice recommendations applicable to forensic biology and

DNA testing laboratories.

The third webinar in this series, Training Standards Overview, will discuss several standards

written to address various areas of training in serology and DNA testing. This webinar will be

held Wednesday, September 9, 2020. Learn more and register here.

The other webinars in this series are available from the Promega website for on-demand

viewing:

• DNA Standards and Best Practices Developed by OSAC and ASB. Part 1: The Process

• Mixture Interpretation Validation and Protocol Development and Verification

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.