ASTM committee recommends new latex category for guayule

Toronto, Ontario - Committee D11.22 of the American Standards institure (ASTM) has recommended that the ASTM D1076 be revised to include a new category of natural rubber latex, derived from guayule.

A statement from Yulex, which is the world's only commercial-scale producer of guayule-derived latex, claims the ASTM has formally adopted the new standard, ASTM D1076-06 to replace the existing standard, ASTM D1076-02 Standard Specification for Rubber. However, the ASTM website still lists the 2002 standard as active, and records only that the relevant committee: D11.22 is currently meeting in Toronto. The group was due to vote on the amendment yesterday (Monday).

The Yulex statement continues, "The ASTM D1076-06 standard defines a new Category 4 natural rubber latex that includes guayule or other natural rubber latex containing less than 200 micrograms total protein per gram dry weight of latex and no detectable protein by the ASTM D 6499 standard method for quantifying Hevea antigenic protein. At the present time Yulex natural rubber latex is the only natural rubber latex that meets the new Category 4 standard, and, therefore, provides a new level of materials safety for medical product manufacturers.

"ASTM International also coined a new term for guayule natural rubber latex -- natural rubber Guayule latex or NRGL -- because it recognised that natural rubber latex (NRL) is not adequate for describing latex made from Guayule. This new category positions Yulex as a viable and leading alternative to traditional NRL sources for the medical device industry.

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Website of Yulex

D1076-02 Standard at ASTM

Press release from Yulex