Association Française de Normalisation (AFNOR), France's member body to the
International Organization for Standardization (ISO), has submitted a proposal to ISO for a new field of technical activity on sludge recovery, treatment, recycling, and disposal. As the U.S. member body to ISO, the
American National Standards Institute (ANSI) invites all interested stakeholders to submit comments on the proposal by
Friday, September 21, 2012. According to the proposal, sludge management is emerging as an important issue around the world, including in the U.S. and Europe. Effective sludge management, overseen by well-designed international standards, has the potential to bolster sustainable development worldwide, creating positive economic and health impacts in both developed and developing nations. The proposed new field would exclude hazardous dredged and industrial-related sludge, currently covered by ISO Technical Committee (TC) 190,
Soil quality, but would oversee standardization for methods of categorizing, preparing, treating, and recycling sludge, night soil, and wastewater. International standards would be developed for sampling methods, microbiological parameters analysis, physical behavior of sludge, and other related aspects of sludge management. Interested parties are invited to review the proposal, and to submit relevant comments to Steven Cornish, ANSI director of international policy (
[email protected]) by the close of business on Friday, September 21, 2012. All input received by ANSI will be compiled and presented to the ANSI ISO Council (AIC) along with a recommended ANSI position on the proposal. Relevant documents will be submitted to ISO before the proposal deadline of Thursday, October 25, 2012. Read the
AFNOR proposal.
ANSI has published an explanatory information document outlining the process used to develop U.S. positions on issues and activities under consideration by ISO and IEC.
Click here to download the document.
