Title: CEN/TC 189, July 2006 Review
By: Fred Foubert, Secretary

Never say never…

The title of last year’s review on the activities of CEN/TC 189 was “work programme nearly completed.” After the 2006 meeting in Trondheim (Norway) on 18th and 19th of May, the tune is different. The need to revise and improve the standards of the first generation has given a new impulse to the work programme.

As usual there were working group meetings on the first day and a plenary meeting on the second day. On the evening between the two sessions, all delegates were invited by the Norwegian hosts for a guided tour of the city, a visit to the Norwegian Museum of Music and a dinner.

After the approval of an impressive number of standards in 2004–2005, the series of 10 product standards for geotextiles and 5 product standards for geosynthetic barriers was updated with a set of amendments to make them more consistent. However, it becomes more and more clear that this is not the end.

France submitted a request to start an immediate revision of the 5 geosynthetic barrier standards. No decision was reached at the meeting, but the request will be addressed by a postal resolution.

Finland requested and obtained from the European Commission a change to the Mandate, which is the link between the European regulations and the standards. Such a change – it will make “elongation” a mandatory property – will very probably make a revision of the 10 geotextile standards necessary. This was a very controversial issue because the modification to the Mandate was made without proper discussion between the technical experts of TC 189. There was a large consensus between delegations to communicate this discontentment to higher CEN instances in a resolution. Further discussion will probably take place in a few months.

Further developments:

• A product standard on geotextiles used to reinforce asphalt overlays is under development. The text will probably be finalized later this year. A similar situation exists for geosynthetic barriers used in transportation infrastructures.
• The CBR test (EN ISO 12236) and the cone drop test (EN ISO 13433) were revised under Vienna Agreement CEN lead. The publication of the revised standards will follow later this year.
• EN 14150 Geosynthetic barriers – Permeability to liquids was approved and will be published by CEN. It is based on a French standard.
• A technical guidance document on the assessment of geotextiles with a lifetime of over 25 years is being prepared. The final version can be expected within a few months.
  

previous review (June 2005)