Summer has finally arrived and the spring rains subsided. People are taking vacation and work seems to be slowing down. While the summer months are slow, plans are still being made for the future and at our June ASTM Committee F-23 meeting in Denver, Colorado we were busy making arrangements for our Eighth International Symposium on The Performance of Protective Clothing, “Global Needs and Emerging Markets”. This symposium will be held in Tampa, Florida January 14 -16, 2004. Over twenty-five abstracts have been received for technical podium presentations, ten poster papers and plans for a round table discussion on “Have Standards Made a Difference?” If you have the time and want to know more about ASTM Committee F-23 and what the latest research and markets are in protective clothing this symposium is the place to be, particularly in Florida in the winter. More details on this symposium will follow in my next article. Other activities at the Denver meeting included new standards activity in radiation protective clothing and a proposal for developing performance specifications for clothing worn by agricultural pesticide workers. With the formation of a new subcommittee on protective clothing for radiological hazards Committee F-23 will have clothing standards development in chemical, biological and now radiological hazards. All three of these hazards are particularly important to our homeland security and acts of terrorism. The scope of the radiological sub-committee will be to develop and promulgate standards for materials and clothing designed and constructed to protect the body from radiological hazards. Additional activities at the meeting also included an update on international standards development and a report from the chemotherapy glove task force. Chemotherapy drugs are very potent and are used in the healthcare profession by doctors, pharmacists and nurses, therefore it is very important that gloves provide protection to these professionals. Currently there is very little information about drug permeation through gloves, so the task group is working on test methods very similar to the ASTM F-739 permeation test method. Finally, for you safety professionals I have just been informed that the second edition of “The Occupational Environment- Its Evaluation and Control” edited by Salvatore DiNardo and published by AIHA Press will be available in August. I am a co-author of Chapter 35 in this book on protective clothing. It is a valuable reference book for safety personnel. Well that is about it for now, but I do want to wish you a happy and safe summer.