Standardization News

A proposed ASTM International test method will help manufacturers and others determine the presence of silver in consumer textiles. The organization’s nanotechnology committee (E56) is developing the proposed standard (WK52417).

According to ASTM International member Aleks Stefaniak, the test method represents a structured approach to determine whether a textile contains any silver, regardless of size or form. The test method incorporates two techniques: inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. 

In addition to textiles producers, the standard could be useful to researchers, regulators, and others investigating the presence of silver in textiles, he says.

According to Stefaniak, this new standard supports the committee’s existing guide for detecting and characterizing silver nanomaterials in textiles (E3025). Furthermore, the committee intends to develop additional standards, including one on using electron microscopy to determine morphology and size of silver in a textile to determine if it is a nanomaterial.

The committee welcomes participation in standards development. Become a member at www.astm.org/JOIN. Their next meeting is May 13-14 in Denver, Colorado, USA.