The draft revision of ASTM Standard E2458-06 (also approved by AOAC as Official Method^SM 2006.04) and an operational guidance, which were posted on the AOAC Web site in early March 2010 for an open 30-day public comment period, have generated much valuable feedback from the community. In addition, on June 3, 2010, the AOAC Stakeholder Panel on Agent Detection Assays (SPADA) approved to recommend the revisions to ASTM E2458-06 as supported by the operational guidance document.

“For the biothreat community, the value of a sample collection standard for responding to suspicious powders is significant,” said Jayne Morrow of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). “Prior to this effort, there was no validated and approved standard for collecting, packaging, and transporting suspected biothreat agents from the incident to the public health laboratory. Furthermore, as a result of the revision, a draft operational guidance document for initial response to suspicious powders was developed to communicate current best practices for the response community.”

In implementing the original standard, which was supported by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), it was determined that an additional review of the sample collection standard was needed to better address current best practices and facilitate integration of feedback from the first responders, public health, and law enforcement agencies. Thus, the standard was revised to be more consistent with the needs of the responder and public health communities and includes procedures for response coordination, field screening, bulk powder sample collection, and transportation and packaging.

During the revision of the sampling standard, the community suggested the development of an operational guidance for sample collection and coordination for sample submission to the laboratory. The Operational Guidelines for Initial Response to a Suspected Biothreat Agent focuses on coordinating the initial response to suspected biothreats with the initial responders, receiving public health laboratories, and law enforcement.

To ensure that stakeholders and those affected by the revision of the standard had the opportunity to provide feedback prior to submission of the documents to ASTM, a draft revision of ASTM E2458-06 and the operational guidance for sampling suspicious powders were posted on the AOAC Web site on March 3, 2010, for a 30-day public comment period. Comments received were carefully reviewed and considered. In general, feedback focused on decontamination procedures, training, evidence collection versus public safety procedures, and field screening.

With SPADA’s endorsement in June 2010, the revised standard and operational guidance will be reviewed by the AOAC Methods Committee on Biological Threat Agents for consideration as Final Action Method 2006.04. Additionally, the operational guidance has been submitted to ASTM for official ballot.

For more information, contact Arlene Fox, senior director of proficiency testing, at afox@aoac.org. Full coverage is scheduled for the July/August issue of Inside Laboratory Management.

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