Current News Archive
Part 2: The ISO Standards Development and Review Process
Jim F. Herrold, CHP, RRPT1
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is the US representative of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Through ANSI, the US participates in technical committees (TC) and subcommittees (SC) that develop, reaffirm, and revise ISO standards. ISO Technical Committee 85 (TC 85) has the scope of nuclear energy, nuclear technologies, and radiological protection. ASTM International administers the technical advisory group (TAG) for TC 85. TC 85, Subcommittee 2 (SC 2) is responsible for standards relating to radiological protection. As the world's largest professional organization of radiation safety/protection specialists, the Health Physics Society (HPS) is the organizational sponsor for HPS membership in the ISO/TC 85/SC 2 TAG.
How are new ISO standards developed?
ISO standards are written according to established ISO directives and follow a requisite schedule of development and review. When a new standard is proposed, a new work proposal (NP) is distributed to participating (or P-member) countries for ballot. If approved, the new project is assigned to a working group (WG). Successive committee drafts (CD) can be circulated for ballot until consensus is reached. Evetually a draft international standard (DIS) is distributed to all ISO members, who have three months to vote and provide comments. The DIS is approved for publication by a two-thirds vote. However, if the draft was significantly revised at the DIS stage, a final draft ISO standard (FDIS) is circulated for another two-month vote. The total process from NP to publication must be completed in the shortest timeframe possible; items that have been on the work program for more than five years are cancelled.
For ISO standards to remain relevant, every five years they must undergo a systematic review in which national experts review the document and vote whether it should be updated or withdrawn. If five countries use the standard, but a simple majority of the P-members request revision, it goes back to a working group and the balloting process described above.
In 2018, TC 85/SC 2 distributed 54 ballots for review or revision of radiation protection standards. At every step in ISO standard development, participating countries must vote to approve, disapprove (with or without comments), or abstain. Every country gets one vote, but they can lose their P-member status if they fail to respond to even a single ballot.
Participating in ISO standard working groups and reviews has many benefits. Certified health physicists can get American Academy of Health Physics recertification points for ISO participation. As a reviewer or member of a working group, you can help ANSI advocate US policy and technical positions in international standards organizations and shape future international standardization.
If you are interested in learning more about ISO radiation protection standardization and working groups, contact US TAG Chair for ISO TC 85/SC 2 Jim Herrold or HPSSC Chairman Antonio Triventi.
