Source: ASTM International, West Conshohocken, Pa.; CP staff
ASTM will host an October 1 virtual meeting to potentially seed a technical committee tasked with developing standards for stormwater control measures. Standards could support efforts to reduce pollution from runoff; create uniform testing, verification, and certification programs; and, unify varied stakeholders.
Read MoreSource: ASTM International, West Conshohocken, Pa.
ASTM International staff will confer with C01 Committee on Cement and C09 Committee on Concrete and Concrete Aggregates leadership regarding alternatives to meetings scheduled June 28-July 2 in Boston, all of which have been canceled. ASTM announced the change in response to continued review of information and recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization, and other governmental bodies; input from ASTM International members whose organizations are increasingly concerned with travel; and, specific information on the projected city restrictions, with input from the hotels. Looking forward, ASTM will rely on these and other relevant criteria and input points to assess the status of future standards development meetings.
Read MoreSources: ASTM International, West Conshohocken, Pa.; CP staff
ASTM Committee D37 on Cannabis is eyeing development of standards to cover the use of hempcrete, a bio-composite mixture of hemp hurds and lime, in construction and insulation. Work on the proposed WK70549 and WK70550 standards entails, respectively: review of current ASTM International fire resistance and R-value measurement methods’ appropriateness for hempcrete, and establishing unbiased R-value and fire resistance properties for hempcrete insulation materials.
Read MoreSources: ASTM International, West Conshohocken, Pa.; CP staff
The inaugural gathering of stakeholders exploring non-hydraulic alternatives to portland cement is set for June 15 in Toronto, amid ASTM C01 Committee on Cement meetings. C01 has organized a subcommittee to develop standards for the materials, recognizing design, engineering and construction professionals’ interest in new concrete binders.
Read MoreSource: Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute, Chicago
PCI has been accredited as an American National Standards Institute standards developer. A first for an organization in manufactured concrete, the accreditation positions PCI’s voluntary consensus documents relating to the design, detailing, fabrication, transportation, and erection of precast and precast/prestressed concrete to be registered as American National Standards.
Read MoreSources: Portland Cement Association, Washington, D.C.; CP staff
Responding to the White House’s just-announced second phase of fuel economy standards for heavy-duty trucks, targeted for 2015-16 rulemaking and implementation, PCA CEO Gregory Scott notes, “We should expand the debate beyond making more efficient [vehicles] to making more efficient infrastructure.”
Read MoreThe fifth North American Conference on the Design and Use of Self-Consolidating Concrete, or SCC 2013, offered strong market and technical perspectives on one of the industry’s best value propositions to the architectural/engineering/construction community of the past two decades. Presenters at the mid-May event in Chicago demonstrated how stakeholders have compelled American Concrete Institute and ASTM International committees to develop guidelines and standards indicating self-consolidating mixes’ quality in plastic and hardened states.
Read MoreSources: Portland Cement Association, Washington, D.C.; CP staff
PCA and other concrete industry interests are urging enactment of H.R. 2241, the Disaster Savings and Resilient Construction Act of 2013, providing $25,000 and $3,000 tax credits, respectively, to business or home owners who rebuild in declared federal disaster areas.
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