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(NIST: Gaithersburg, Maryland) -- Recommendations for new requirements to make future voting systems in the United States more “secure, reliable, and easier for all voters to use” have been submitted by an advisory panel to the Election Assistance Commission.The recommendations are a rewrite of…
(TIA: New York) -- The U.S. Toy Industry Association has announced plans to implement new systems to bolster the safety testing and inspection of toys sold in the United States. “The safety of children is our primary concern, and the safety record of our 500 manufacturer members is exemplary”…
(Galactic Suite: Barcelona, Spain) -- Earthlings seeking adventure beyond the stars may not have much longer to wait. The Galactic Suite—the first hotel in outer space—is expected to open its airlocks in 2012. Resembling a kind of molecular model structure, the three-bedroom hotel will consist…
(ISO: Geneva) -- With international trade largely dependent on freight containers, a new International Organization for Standardization standard on the technology used to track their movement has the potential to minimize handling costs, improve inventory tracking and availability of accurate…
(ISO: Geneva) -- From shampoo to toothpaste to make-up and skin cream, hundreds of thousands of cosmetic products will now benefit from improved quality and safety, thanks to a new standard published by the International Organization for Standardization.Cosmetics are articles intended to be rubbed…
(TÜV SÜD America: Danvers, Massachusetts) -- TÜV SÜD America Inc., a testing- and certification-services firm, was recently recognized as a notified body, able to perform all related services for EMC Directive 2004/108/EC. The European Commission acknowledged TÜV SÜD America as a valid organization…
(ANSI: New York) -- Seven of the world’s leading retailers, including U.S.-based Wal-Mart, have agreed to rely upon food safety and quality management systems that have been certified as meeting rigorous standards for production, preparation, transport, storage, and handling. Agreed at a recent…
(NIST: Gaithersburg, Maryland) -- Officials from the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute recently signed a memorandum of understanding designed to expand significantly the scope of joint research and educational activities in…
(NEMA: Rosslyn, Virginia) -- The National Electrical Manufacturers Association, on behalf of the American National Standard Lighting Group, has published ANSI_ANSLG C78.45-2007, “American National Standard for Electric Lamps—Self-Ballasted Mercury Lamps.”Part I of this standard covers general…
(ANSI: New York) --The American National Standards Institute has announced the relaunch of its electronic Standards Store (eSS), a Web site for the purchase and download of U.S. and other national, regional or international standards. The eSS boasts a new technological infrastructure, a…
(IEC: Geneva, Switzerland) -- The leading experts in the field of ultra high voltage (UHV), are to begin defining the technical and safety specifications for this promising new technology that is set to help deliver the world’s increased electrical energy demands. UHV could offer a solution to…
(FAO: Rome/Geneva) -- The Codex Alimentarius Commission has adopted 44 new and amended food standards and set up a comprehensive set of risk analysis principles to help governments establish their own standards, especially for food items that are not covered by Codex standards, the U.N. Food…
(ISO: Geneva) -- Using computers and the Internet can be a challenge for anyone, let alone the elderly or people with disabilities. The International Organization for Standardization and the International Electrotechnical Commission are contributing to a technical report on accessibility icons…
(ANSI: New York) -- The increasing number of liquid biofuels standards initiatives and the growing market demand for alternative energy sources are fueling the need for the harmonization of standards and test methods to support the commoditization of liquid biofuels throughout the supply chain.To…
(ASQ: Milwaukee) -- Public attention has been focused as perhaps never before on the safety of the food supply as a result of recent high-profile outbreaks of illness linked to various foods.According to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a rare strain of Salmonella in…
(ISO: Geneva) -- The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) recently took another step toward ensuring the safety of food products for consumers with its ISO 22005 standard on traceability in the feed and food chain, the latest addition to the ISO 22000 series on food-management…
(IEC: Geneva) – The International Electrotechnical Commission, the global body for electrical energy standards, is recruiting experts from around the world to develop international standards for wave and tidal energy technology that will help establish this promising source of renewable energy…
The new European chemicals legislation—registration, evaluation, authorization, and restrictions of chemicals (REACH)—has started and with it the new European Chemicals Agency has begun operations in Helsinki. The REACH regulation will significantly improve protection of human health and the…
NIST experiment to replicate an office fire in the World Trade Center. Tests such as this helped validate computer models of the spread rate and intensity of the fires initiated by jet fuel and fed by the office furnishings and other combustibles. NIST (…
(ISO: Geneva) -- The International Organization for Standardization recently issued an updated CD-ROM collection of its ISO 14000 family of environmental management standards. The disc includes new or updated standards for use in climate-change programs, environmental labeling, life-…
(A2LA: Frederick, Maryland) -- The American Association for Laboratory Accreditation began adding medical laboratories to its accreditation offerings on June 1, 2007. “We see strong demand for an internationally recognized accreditation program in the medical laboratory industry,” says…
(ASQ: Milwaukee) Eliminating outbreaks of food-borne illness is possible but it won’t happen by increasing inspections alone, say food safety experts in the latest Quarterly Quality Report from the American Society for Quality. The answer, the report finds, is in prevention. “The…
(ISO: Geneva) -- ISO has launched a new self-assessment tool on CD to help organizations ensure an effective and smooth-running IT environment through implementation of the ISO/IEC 19770-1 standard on software asset management.The CD “ISO/IEC 19770-1 Software Asset Management: Are You…
(Lattice Technology Inc.: San Francisco) -- Lattice Technology Inc., developers of the extensible virtual world description language (XVL) ultra-compressed 3-D data format, will release its newest software application, XVLstaff aimed to prevent leaking of confidential 3-D data in July.…
(ASSE: Des Plaines, Illinois) -- The American Society of Safety Engineers recently approved of the new American National Standard Institute/ASSE A10.4-2007 standard “Safety Requirements for Personal Hoists and Employee Elevators in Construction and Demolition Operations” that sets…