Antimicrobial Test Laboratories recently attended the 2015 ASTM E35 Committee meeting held in Tampa, Florida. Committee E35 (Pesticides, Antimicrobials and Alternate Control Agents) includes subcommittee E35.15, which has jurisdiction over Antimicrobial Agents and is responsible for sixty-five active ASTM standards. Topics discussed included:                                                                                                                                                                                                 

• Antimicrobial activity on porous surfaces – Standard development focused on making fungal testing more rigorous and realistic when compared to current methods such as ASTM G21.
• Hot air decontamination – Standard development focused on decontamination of bio-terrorism threats (e.g. Anthrax) where standard chemical decontamination may be impractical (e.g. aircraft and sensitive surfaces).
• EPA’s Quantitative Petri Plate Method (QPM) collaborative update – Inter-laboratory data consistency improved for high active concentrations.  Industry voiced concern over designated wipe substrate and ability to differentiate between efficacy and removal.

ASTM E35 Committee reconvenes April 11th-13th, 2016 in San Antonio with an ATL-sponsored workshop on The Role of Indoor Air as a Vehicle for Human Pathogens. Customers traveling to San Antonio are encouraged to make the short drive to the Austin area for a tour of our laboratory.