ASTM International’s water committee (D19) has approved a new standard that provides an easy and accurate culture method for detecting Legionella pneumophila, the primary bacteria responsible for Legionnaires’ disease.

Legionnaires’ disease is a potentially lethal pneumonia contracted from the inhalation of L. pneumophila bacteria that has been aerosolized by contaminated water sources such as showers, pools and spas, or cooling towers.

A new ASTM International standard will aid in the recycling or safe disposal of solar photovoltaic modules that have reached their end-of-life due to failure, underperformance, or breakage resulting from extreme weather. ASTM International’s committee on solar, geothermal, and other alternative energy sources (E44) developed the new standard, soon to be published as E3325.

ASTM International’s committee on rubber and rubber-like materials (D11) has approved a new standard for evaluating anesthesia reservoir bags.

Anesthesia reservoir bags are used while performing inhalation sedation to provide a reservoir from which additional gas may be drawn should the respiratory demands of a patient exceed the gas flow delivered from the breathing system.

ASTM International’s additive manufacturing (AM) technologies committee (F42) approved a new standard guide for the use of layer-based material extrusion (MEX) processes in additive manufacturing.

MEX processes are used to fabricate polymer, or polymer composite, parts by depositing a filament or bead of material from an extrusion head.

ASTM International’s water committee (D19) has approved a new standard that will help address global concerns about the concentration of polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in water supplies.

According to ASTM International member William Lipps, the new standard required testing of nine complex wastewater matrices, each spiked in triplicate at three concentrations spanning the analytical range of the method.

ASTM International’s soil and rock committee (D18) has approved a new standard that will help engineers find the depth of inaccessible foundations supporting existing structures.

A new ASTM International standard covers welded carbon steel tubes that will help to enhance the efficiency of heat transfer in industrial plants and heating vacuum and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems. ASTM International’s committee on steel, stainless steel, and related alloys (A01) developed the new standard, which will soon be published as A1120/A1120M.

ASTM International member David Kukulka notes that heat transfer enhancement methods are efficient ways to conserve energy.

A new ASTM International standard examines how the process of ebullition can cause the movement of contaminants at sediment sites.

ASTM International member Tripp Fischer explains that ebullition is the process of gas (primarily methane) generation in sediments where the quantity of gas generated is sufficient for gas bubbles to nucleate, grow, fracture the sediment, and then escape into the overlying water body.

ASTM International’s forensic sciences committee (E30) has approved three new standards that will aid the study of explosives in forensic investigations. The suite of standards, which cover terminology, intact explosives, and explosive residues, were developed by E30’s subcommittee on criminalistics (E30.01).

ASTM International’s consumer products committee (F15) has approved a new standard that will help evaluate the potential safety of market umbrellas. Such umbrellas are commonly used as protection against rain, sun, or other potential weather in many commercial settings, including theme and water parks, hotels, restaurants, and bars, and are also found in the backyards of many private homes.