ASTM subcommittee to vote on NR latex technical standard

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania -- The full membership of a subcommittee of the American Society for Testing and Materials will vote May 13 on whether to approve a standard specification for concentrated, ammonia-preserved, creamed and centrifuged natural rubber latex.

Subcommittee members approved the testing standard in December, but an objection from one member company led the organisation to withdraw the document from its Web site in April and call for a full subcommittee vote.

The identity of the member company that objected to the standard´s approval without a full committee vote is confidential, according to Timothy Brooke, staff manager for ASTM Committee D11 on Rubber.

A spokeswoman for Carlsbad, California-based guayule latex maker Yulex Corp. said only Yulex could pass the tests in the standard, which was the reason for the objection, she added. She said she did not anticipate any problems with the full subcommittee membership approving the document.

The subcommittee has about 70 members representing approximately 40 companies, and each company, rather than each individual, has a vote, Brooke said.

From Rubber & Plastics News (A Crain publication)