air separation unit

Making Safety the Global Standard

CGA is involved in a number of international activities, including participation in the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), International Harmonization Council (IHC), and the United Nations (UN). Participation in these activities allows CGA to promote effective, consistent safety requirements in a global arena, provide industry-specific expertise to broader technical groups, develop consensus support for safety and technical requirements, extend cooperative relationships with other organizations, and proactively address regulatory concepts as they are being developed.

CGA participates in the U.S. Technical Advisory Groups (TAGs) for the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and serves as an ANSI-accredited U.S. TAG Administrator.

U.S. positions developed by ANSI-Accredited U.S. TAGs shall be developed in accordance with applicable antitrust and competition laws, and meetings amongst competitors to develop U.S. positions are to be conducted in accordance with these laws.

U.S. TAG Membership

“Membership shall be open to all U.S. national interested parties who indicate that they are directly and materially affected by the activity of the U.S. TAG, after being informed concerning U.S. TAG working procedures and scope of activities.” U.S. TAG member responsibilities include providing comments and input to formulate a consensus U.S. position on draft standards, agenda items, and work items.

As an American National Standards Institute, ANSI-accredited U.S. TAG Administrator, CGA adheres to the following:

CGA Administered U.S. TAGs

ISO/TC 58, Gas cylinders
SCOPE: Standardization of gas cylinders and other pressure receptacles, their fittings and requirements relating to their manufacture and use. The scope includes all types of transportable pressure receptacles for gas, provided they are not tanks, cryogenic containers (covered by ISO/TC 220, Cryogenic vessels), or aerosol containers. (The primary responsibility of TC 58 is administrative oversight for the subcommittees).

Secretariat: BSI (Chairman: Warren Hepples; Committee Manager: Stephen Read)
U.S. TAG Chair: Norman Newhouse, Hexagon Group, ASA
U.S. TAG Administrator: Kristy Mastromichalis, CGA
Next meeting ISO/TC 58: 24-28 October 2022; location and format to be announced (following ISO/TC 58/SC 3 2022 plenary)

ISO/TC 58/SC 2, Cylinder fittings
SCOPE: Under the direction of ISO/TC 58, developing International Standards and other ISO deliverables on design and testing of valves, fittings, and accessories (including flexible hoses), valve protection guards and caps, connection threads for gas cylinders and other transportable pressure receptacles (e.g., bundles of cylinders) used for industrial, microelectronic, LPG, and medical applications. Developing International Standards and other ISO deliverables for test and calculation methods for fire potential (including oxidizing ability), toxicity, and tissue corrosiveness of gases and gas mixtures.

Secretariat: AFNOR (Chair: César Jubert; Committee Manager: Laurie Jardel)
U.S. TAG Chair: Daniel Bartel, Airgas Specialty Gases, an Air Liquide company
U.S. TAG Administrator: Kristy Mastromichalis, CGA
Next meeting ISO/TC 58/SC 2: Date, location, and format to be announced

ISO/TC 58/SC 3, Cylinder design
SCOPE: Developing international design standards for transportable pressurized gas cylinders of seamless and welded metallic materials, and composite materials.

Secretariat: BSI (Chair: Simon Davies; Committee Manager: Stephen Read)
U.S. TAG Chair: Norman Newhouse, Hexagon Group, ASA
U.S. TAG Administrator: Kristy Mastromichalis, CGA
Next meeting ISO/TC 58/SC 3: 24-27 October 2022; location and format to be announced

ISO/TC 58/SC 4, Operational requirements for gas cylinders
SCOPE: Under the direction of ISO/TC 58, developing International Standards and other ISO deliverables on requirements for the safe operation of gas cylinders and other pressure receptacles, including filling conditions, inspections at time of fill, periodic inspections, identification, and specific applications. These International Standards and other ISO deliverables address the marking, inspection, maintenance, filling, safe handling, and evaluation of gas cylinders and other pressure receptacles.

Secretariat: ANSI/CGA (Chair: Rob Early, CGA; Committee Manager: Kristy Mastromichalis, CGA)
U.S. TAG Chair: Sally Mitchell, Norris Cylinder Company
U.S. TAG Administrator: Kristy Mastromichalis, CGA
Next meeting ISO/TC 58/SC 4: Week of 13 February 2023; in-person; Berlin, Germany

ISO/TC 158, Analysis of gases
SCOPE
: Standardization in the field of analysis of gases, including terminology, preparation of gas mixtures, sampling, transfer lines, and analytical methods including evaluation of characteristics of the analysers.

Secretariat: NEN (Chair: A.M.H. van der Veen; Committee Manager: S.K. Wan)
U.S. TAG Chair: Rob Riedel, Linde PLC
U.S. TAG Administrator: Tom Deary, CGA
Next meeting ISO/TC 158: 17 November 2022; location and format to be announced

ISO/TC 197, Hydrogen technologies
SCOPE: Standardization in the field of systems and devices for the production, storage, transport, measurement, and use of hydrogen.

Secretariat: Standards Council of Canada (Chairman: Andrei Tchouvelev; Committee Manager: Anne-Louise Fortin)
U.S. TAG Chair: Glenn Scheffler, Consultant, GWS Solutions
U.S. TAG Administrator: Tom Deary, CGA
Next meeting ISO/TC 197: December 2022; specific date, location, and format to be announced

ISO/TC 220, Cryogenic vessels
SCOPE: Standardization in the field of insulated vessels (vacuum or non-vacuum) for the storage and transport of refrigerated liquefied gases of class 2 of “Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods–Model regulations,” in particular concerning the design of the vessels and their safety accessories, gas/materials compatibility, insulation performance, the operational requirements of the equipment, and accessories.

Secretariat: AFNOR (Chair: Lucien Varrassi; Committee Manager: Laurie Jardel)
U.S. TAG Chair: Brian Bostrom, Chart Industries, Inc.
U.S. TAG Administrator: Kristy Mastromichalis, CGA
Next meeting ISO/TC 220: 7-8 June 2022; virtual

Open U.S. TAG Ballot Items

A list of open U.S. TAG Ballot Items can be downloaded here.

For More Information

For more information, contact U.S. TAG Administrators Tom Deary at +1-703-788-2716 or Kristy Mastromichalis at +1-703-788-2728.

CGA participates as a non-governmental organization (NGO) on the UN Sub-Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods (SCETDG) and the UN Sub-Committee of Experts on the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (SCEGHS). In this capacity, CGA represents industry positions, submits papers for consideration, makes comments regarding other submitted papers, and acts as technical advisors to participating regulatory agencies.

The UN SCETDG and SCEGHS operate on a 2-year (biennium) cycle, and meet 4 times during the biennium. Requirements agreed to by the UN Sub-Committees may be adopted into modal and domestic regulations such as the IMDG Code, ICAO Technical Instructions, U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, Canadian TDG Regulations, and other occupational safety and health regulations.

The International Harmonization Council (IHC) was established to develop international standards for industrial and medical gases. The actions of the IHC are endorsed by leading industrial gas companies and the International Oxygen Manufacturers Association (IOMA).

The IHC’s work to develop globally harmonized standards is supported by four regional Associations:

  • Asia Industrial Gases Association (AIGA);
  • Compressed Gas Association (CGA);
  • European Industrial Gases Association (EIGA); and
  • Japan Industrial and Medical Gases Association (JIMGA).

The IHC associations work cooperatively to manage joint working groups populated by industry experts from member companies. CGA provides technical, editorial, and administrative support for the joint working groups working to create and revise harmonized publications.