D07.08 - Forests

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
4.1 This practice covers procedures of sampling for obtaining small, clear wood specimens which, when tested in accordance with Test Methods D143 and, in conjunction with full-size product tests, will provide mechanical properties for use in deriving design properties for lumber, panels, poles, house logs, and other products.  
4.2 Data obtained by testing specimens sampled in accordance with these methods also provide information on the influence on mechanical properties of such factors as density, locality of growth, position in cross section, height in the tree, and moisture content.  
4.3 Cruciform sampling is of principal value when information is desired on the influence on mechanical properties of height in the tree; of age or radial position in the tree; of rate of growth; the change from sapwood to heartwood; the relationships between mechanical properties and factors such as specific gravity; and making general comparisons between species for purposes of rating or selecting species for specific end-use products. Cruciform sampling does not provide unbiased estimates of mean values, percentile or other descriptive statistics, or a means of associating statistical confidence with estimates of descriptive statistics.  
4.4 Double sampling is used when it is desired to improve or update existing estimates of mechanical property values that are the basis for establishing allowable design stresses for stress-graded lumber, plywood, poles and piling, and other wood products. The method involves predicting one property by carefully observing a well-correlated auxiliary property that is presumably easier or cheaper to measure. A sample estimate of the auxiliary property is obtained with a high degree of precision by representatively sampling the population. A smaller independent sample or a subsample of the large sample is used to establish a relationship between the auxiliary property and the property for which an estimate is desired. As applied to sampling a f...
SCOPE
1.1 This practice offers two alternative physical sampling procedures: cruciform sampling and random sampling. The choice of procedure will depend upon the intended use for the test results, the resources available for sampling and testing, and the availability of existing data on the mechanical properties and specific gravity of the species of interest.  
1.2 A third procedure, double sampling, is included primarily by reference. This procedure applies the results of cruciform or random samples through correlation to improve or update property values.  
1.3 Units—The values stated in inch-pound units are to be regarded as standard. The values given in parentheses are mathematical conversions to SI units that are provided for information only and are not considered standard.  
1.4 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety, health, and environmental practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.  
1.5 This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
5.1 This guide is intended to be used by developers of standards and other documents in the field of renewable resources and green building to evaluate whether the attributes of a specific forest management system meet the intent of sustainable forest management.  
5.2 In addition to the attributes addressed by this document, some users may wish to impose other evaluation criteria intended to satisfy goals beyond maintaining sustained-yield and sustainable forest management. While these issues are not specifically addressed in this guide, some are discussed in Appendix X1, Commentary.
SCOPE
1.1 This guide provides a list of criteria and indicators that have been shown to be useful in achieving the goals of a sustainable forest management plan. This guide lists a set of criteria considered to be important for the following tasks:  
1.1.1 To describe, assess, and evaluate progress toward sustainability of forest management at the national, regional, or individual forest level.  
1.1.2 To inform the policy debate at regional, national, and international levels.  
1.1.3 To evaluate the attributes of a forest management certification or evaluation system with a specific combination of forest management principles, practices, or adaptations, where such practices are evaluated against a set of prescribed standards. Although this guide provides a qualitative list of criteria for evaluation of forest conditions, it does not purport to recommend any specific forest management certification or evaluation system or subset of overall attributes. The guide does not replace forest certification or verification standards.  
1.2 This guide will require compilation of information from multiple sources across various governmental and nongovernmental agencies. For this guide to be useful, it is recommended that the information collected is in alignment with that which is already collected for other purposes; otherwise these indicators may be too great an effort to combine in a timely fashion.
Note 1: Although this document provides general guidance applicable to forests and forest products from many countries, its initial application is expected to focus on North America.  
1.3 This guide cannot replace education or experience and should be used in conjunction with professional judgment such as that provided by foresters, forest scientists, and wood technologists.  
1.4 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety, health, and environmental practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.  
1.5 This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
5.1 Voluntary forest certification systems have become an important factor in promoting sustainable forest management. The standards in use are highly variable, however. Even within a family of standards with a common label there is the potential for wide variations in practices. This prevents producers and consumers from using a certification label to characterize products according to a specific set of qualities or values. This practice creates a framework to differentiate products based on a set of qualities and values identified as important in the market for wood products. (A) See Appendix X3 for discussion of additional concepts related to sub-categorization of certified sources.(B) For the purposes of categorizing products under this practice, distributors and retailers can rely on “on-product” labels for chain of custody or a certified procurement system if they are not engaged in significant value-added processing or remanufacture. In lieu of an on‐product label, a certificate of compliance indicating conformance with the applicable chain of custody or certified procurement system is permitted.  
5.2 This practice is intended to be used by producers, distributors, retailers, or consumers who wish to understand where a product fits within three categories. At a minimum, the user will need to know the geographic origin of the wood going into a product and whether it is labeled or otherwise certified to a procurement system or chain of custody based on a voluntary forest management or certification standard. Producers who want to use this practice must be able to identify the geographic origin of the wood to at least the level needed to support the claims to consumers associated with a given category and described in 6.1.
SCOPE
1.1 This practice sets forth minimum criteria and evaluation requirements for products employing the use of different systems to trace wood fiber to sources operating under different forest management or forest certification systems.  
1.2 The purpose of this practice is to provide wood products manufacturers, distributors, and retailers with a system to provide clear, objective information to communicate to consumers regarding product conformance to different wood fiber tracing systems within specific forest management or forest certification programs. It provides a structure that segregates the different types of labels and tracing systems in use among major forest certification standards and other voluntary and regulatory standards governing the production of forest products.
Note 1: The principles in this practice apply internationally, provided that the required information is available to support categorization. For example, products certified to the globally recognized forest certification standards will meet the “Certified Sources” category regardless of their origin, and documented risk assessments (noted in Appendix X5) provide the basis upon which raw materials sourced from Canada and the United States can be deemed to meet the “Legal Sources” category. To categorize raw materials sourced outside of Canada and the United States as “Legal Sources,” it is recommended that the adopting entity develop supplemental provisions to address country-specific issues as needed.  
1.2.1 This practice provides an objective basis to differentiate among:
1.2.1.1 Non-controversial (that is, legal) sources of forest products,
1.2.1.2 Responsible sources of forest products (that is, non-controversial sources together with certified procurement systems or from forests managed using responsible practices), and
1.2.1.3 Certified sources of forest products (that is, non-controversial sources together with certified chain of custody).  
1.2.2 This practice is intended to provide a framework to help wood product vendors identify the competent and reliable evidence needed to substantiate product claims as required by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s Guides for ...

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
4.1 This practice covers procedures of sampling for obtaining small, clear wood specimens which, when tested in accordance with Test Methods D143 and, in conjunction with full-size product tests, will provide mechanical properties for use in deriving design properties for lumber, panels, poles, house logs, and other products.  
4.2 Data obtained by testing specimens sampled in accordance with these methods also provide information on the influence on mechanical properties of such factors as density, locality of growth, position in cross section, height in the tree, and moisture content.  
4.3 Cruciform sampling is of principal value when information is desired on the influence on mechanical properties of height in the tree; of age or radial position in the tree; of rate of growth; the change from sapwood to heartwood; the relationships between mechanical properties and factors such as specific gravity; and making general comparisons between species for purposes of rating or selecting species for specific end-use products. Cruciform sampling does not provide unbiased estimates of mean values, percentile or other descriptive statistics, or a means of associating statistical confidence with estimates of descriptive statistics.  
4.4 Double sampling is used when it is desired to improve or update existing estimates of mechanical property values that are the basis for establishing allowable design stresses for stress-graded lumber, plywood, poles and piling, and other wood products. The method involves predicting one property by carefully observing a well-correlated auxiliary property that is presumably easier or cheaper to measure. A sample estimate of the auxiliary property is obtained with a high degree of precision by representatively sampling the population. A smaller independent sample or a subsample of the large sample is used to establish a relationship between the auxiliary property and the property for which an estimate is desired. As applied to sampling a f...
SCOPE
1.1 This practice offers two alternative physical sampling procedures: cruciform sampling and random sampling. The choice of procedure will depend upon the intended use for the test results, the resources available for sampling and testing, and the availability of existing data on the mechanical properties and specific gravity of the species of interest.  
1.2 A third procedure, double sampling, is included primarily by reference. This procedure applies the results of cruciform or random samples through correlation to improve or update property values.  
1.3 Units—The values stated in inch-pound units are to be regarded as standard. The values given in parentheses are mathematical conversions to SI units that are provided for information only and are not considered standard.  
1.4 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety, health and environmental practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.  
1.5 This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
3.1 This practice covers procedures of sampling for obtaining small clear wood specimens which, when tested in accordance with Methods D143 and, in conjunction with full-size product tests, will provide mechanical properties for use in deriving design properties for lumber, panels, poles, house logs, and other products.  
3.2 Data obtained by testing specimens sampled in accordance with these methods also provide information on the influence on mechanical properties of such factors as density, locality of growth, position in cross section, height in the tree, and moisture content.  
3.3 Cruciform sampling is of principal value when information is desired on the influence on mechanical properties of height in the tree; of age or radial position in the tree; of rate of growth; the change from sapwood to heartwood; the relationships between mechanical properties and factors such as specific gravity; and making general comparisons between species for purposes of rating or selecting species for specific end-use products. Cruciform sampling does not provide unbiased estimates of mean values, percentile or other descriptive statistics, or a means of associating statistical confidence with estimates of descriptive statistics.  
3.4 Double sampling is used when it is desired to improve or update existing estimates of mechanical property values that are the basis for establishing allowable design stresses for stress-graded lumber, plywood, poles and piling, and other wood products. The method involves predicting one property by carefully observing a well-correlated auxiliary property that is presumably easier or cheaper to measure. A sample estimate of the auxiliary property is obtained with a high degree of precision by representatively sampling the population. A smaller independent sample or a subsample of the large sample is used to establish a relationship between the auxiliary property and the property for which an estimate is desired. As applied to sampling a forest,...
SCOPE
1.1 This practice offers two alternative physical sampling procedures: cruciform sampling and random sampling. The choice of procedure will depend upon the intended use for the test results, the resources available for sampling and testing, and the availability of existing data on the mechanical properties and specific gravity of the species of interest.  
1.2 A third procedure, double sampling, is included primarily by reference. This procedure applies the results of cruciform or random samples through correlation to improve or update property values.  
1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
5.1 Voluntary forest certification systems have become an important factor in promoting sustainable forest management. The standards in use are highly variable, however. Even within a family of standards with a common label there is the potential for wide variations in practices. This prevents producers and consumers from using a certification label to characterize products according to a specific set of qualities or values. This practice creates a framework to differentiate products based on a set of qualities and values identified as important in the market for wood products. (A) See Appendix X3 for discussion of additional concepts related to sub-categorization of certified sources.(B) For the purposes of categorizing products under this practice, distributors and retailers can rely on “on-product” labels for chain of custody or a certified procurement system if they are not engaged in significant value-added processing or remanufacture. In lieu of an on‐product label, a certificate of compliance indicating conformance with the applicable chain of custody or certified procurement system is permitted.  
5.2 This practice is intended to be used by producers, distributors, retailers, or consumers who wish to understand where a product fits within three categories. At a minimum, the user will need to know the geographic origin of the wood going into a product and whether it is labeled or otherwise certified to a procurement system or chain of custody based on a voluntary forest management or certification standard. Producers who want to use this practice must be able to identify the geographic origin of the wood to at least the level needed to support the claims to consumers associated with a given category and described in 6.1.
SCOPE
1.1 This practice sets forth minimum criteria and evaluation requirements for products employing the use of different systems to trace wood fiber to sources operating under different forest management or forest certification systems.  
1.2 The purpose of this practice is to provide wood products manufacturers, distributors, and retailers with a system to provide clear, objective information to communicate to consumers regarding product conformance to different wood fiber tracing systems within specific forest management or forest certification programs. It provides a structure that segregates the different types of labels and tracing systems in use among major forest certification standards and other voluntary and regulatory standards governing the production of forest products.
Note 1: The principles in this practice apply internationally, provided that the required information is available to support categorization. For example, products certified to the globally recognized forest certification standards will meet the “Certified Sources” category regardless of their origin, and documented risk assessments (noted in Appendix X5) provide the basis upon which raw materials sourced from Canada and the United States can be deemed to meet the “Legal Sources” category. To categorize raw materials sourced outside of Canada and the United States as “Legal Sources,” it is recommended that the adopting entity develop supplemental provisions to address country-specific issues as needed.  
1.2.1 This practice provides an objective basis to differentiate among:
1.2.1.1 Non-controversial (that is, legal) sources of forest products,
1.2.1.2 Responsible sources of forest products (that is, non-controversial sources together with certified procurement systems or from forests managed using responsible practices), and
1.2.1.3 Certified sources of forest products (that is, non-controversial sources together with certified chain of custody).  
1.2.2 This practice is intended to provide a framework to help wood product vendors identify the competent and reliable evidence needed to substantiate product claims as required by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s Guides for ...

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
5.1 This guide is intended to be used by developers of standards and other documents in the field of renewable resources and green building to evaluate whether the attributes of a specific forest management system meet the intent of sustainable forest management.  
5.2 In addition to the attributes addressed by this document, some users may wish to impose other evaluation criteria intended to satisfy goals beyond maintaining sustained-yield and sustainable forest management. While these issues are not specifically addressed in this guide, some are discussed in Appendix X1, Commentary.
SCOPE
1.1 This guide provides a list of criteria and indicators that have been shown to be useful in achieving the goals of a sustainable forest management plan. This guide lists a set of criteria considered to be important for the following tasks:TABLE 1 Criteria 1–6    
Criterion  
Element  
Indicator  
1. Conservation of biological diversity  
1.1 Ecosystem diversity  
1.1a Area and percent of forest by forest ecosystem type, successional stage, age class, and forest ownership or tenure
1.1b Area and percent of forest in protected areas by forest ecosystem type and by age class or successional stage
1.1c Fragmentation of forests  
1.2 Species diversity  
1.2a Number of native forest associated species
1.2b Number and status of native forest associated species at risk, as determined by legislation or scientific assessment
1.2c Status of on site and off site efforts focused on conservation of species diversity  
1.3 Genetic diversity  
1.3a Number and geographic distribution of forest associated species at risk of losing genetic variation and locally adapted genotypes
1.3b Population levels of selected representative forest associated species to describe genetic diversity
1.3c Status of on site and off site efforts focused on conservation of genetic diversity  
2. Maintenance of productive capacity of forest ecosystems  
2.a Area and percent of forest land and net area of forest land available for wood production
2.b Total growing stock and annual increment of both merchantable and non-merchantable tree species in forests available for wood production
2.c Area, percent, and growing stock of plantations of native and exotic species
2.d Annual harvest of wood products by volume and as a percentage of net growth or sustained yield
2.e Annual harvest of non-wood forest products  
3. Maintenance of forest ecosystem health and vitality  
3.a Area and percent of forest affected by biotic processes and agents (for example, disease, insects, invasive species) beyond reference conditions
3.b Area and percent of forest affected by abiotic agents (for example, fire, storm, land clearance) beyond reference conditions  
4. Conservation and maintenance of soil and water resources  
4.1 Protective Function  
4.1a Area and percent of forest whose designation or land management focus is the protection of soil or water resources  
4.2 Soil  
4.2a Proportion of forest management activities that meet best management practices or other relevant legislation to protect soil resources
4.2b Area and percent of forest land with significant soil degradation  
4.3 Water  
4.3a Proportion of forest management activities that meet best management practices, or other relevant legislation, to protect water related resources
4.3b Area and percent of water bodies, or stream length, in forest areas with significant change in physical, chemical, or biological properties from reference conditions  
5. Maintenance of forest contribution to global carbon cycles  
5.a Total forest ecosystem carbon pools and fluxes
5.b Total forest product carbon pools and fluxes
5.c Avoided fossil fuel carbon emissions by using forest bioma...

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
Voluntary forest certification systems have become an important factor in promoting sustainable forest management. The standards in use are highly variable, however. Even within a family of standards with a common label there is the potential for wide variations in practices. This prevents producers and consumers from using a certification label to characterize products according to a specific set of qualities or values. This practice creates a framework to differentiate products based on a set of qualities and values identified as important in the market for wood products.
This practice is intended to be used by producers, distributors, retailers, or consumers who wish to understand where a product fits within three categories. At a minimum, the user will need to know the geographic origin of the wood going into a product and whether it is labeled or otherwise certified to a procurement system or chain of custody based on a voluntary forest management or certification standard. Producers who want to use this practice must be able to identify the geographic origin of the wood to at least the level needed to support the claims to consumers associated with a given category and described in 6.1.
SCOPE
1.1 This practice sets forth minimum criteria and evaluation requirements for products employing the use of different systems to trace wood fiber to sources operating under different forest management or forest certification systems.
1.2 The purpose of this practice is to provide wood products manufacturers, distributors, and retailers with a system to provide clear, objective information to communicate to consumers regarding product conformance to different wood fiber tracing systems within specific forest management or forest certification programs. It provides a structure that segregates the different types of labels and tracing systems in use among major forest certification standards and other voluntary and regulatory standards governing the production of forest products.
Note 1—The principles in this practice apply internationally, provided that the required information is available to support categorization. For example, products certified to the globally recognized forest certification standards will meet the “Certified Sources” category regardless of their origin, and documented risk assessments (noted in Appendix X5) provide the basis upon which raw materials sourced from Canada and the United States can be deemed to meet the “Legal Sources” category. To categorize raw materials sourced outside of Canada and the United States as “Legal Sources,” it is recommended that the adopting entity develop supplemental provisions to address country-specific issues as needed.
1.2.1 This practice provides an objective basis to differentiate among:
1.2.1.1 Non-controversial (that is, legal) sources of forest products,
1.2.1.2 Responsible sources of forest products (that is, non-controversial sources together with certified procurement systems or from forests managed using responsible practices), and
1.2.1.3 Certified sources of forest products (that is, non-controversial sources together with certified chain of custody).
1.2.2 This practice is intended to provide a framework to help wood product vendors identify the competent and reliable evidence needed to substantiate product claims as required by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims (also known as “The Green Guides”).
1.2.3 Products from unknown sources are not covered by this practice.
1.2.4 This practice is intended for voluntary use by manufacturers, distributors, retailers, consumers, and standards developers in the wood products sector.
1.3 The category structure of this practice is derived from publicly available sources or based on the provisions of various forest management or forest certification standards. Documentation of compliance with specific category requirem...

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
This practice covers procedures of sampling for obtaining small clear wood specimens which, when tested in accordance with Methods D143 and, in conjunction with full-size product tests, will provide mechanical properties for use in deriving design properties for lumber, panels, poles, house logs, and other products.
Data obtained by testing specimens sampled in accordance with these methods also provide information on the influence on mechanical properties of such factors as density, locality of growth, position in cross section, height in the tree, and moisture content.
Cruciform sampling is of principal value when information is desired on the influence on mechanical properties of height in the tree; of age or radial position in the tree; of rate of growth; the change from sapwood to heartwood; the relationships between mechanical properties and factors such as specific gravity; and making general comparisons between species for purposes of rating or selecting species for specific end-use products. Cruciform sampling does not provide unbiased estimates of mean values, percentile or other descriptive statistics, or a means of associating statistical confidence with estimates of descriptive statistics.
Double sampling is used when it is desired to improve or update existing estimates of mechanical property values that are the basis for establishing allowable design stresses for stress-graded lumber, plywood, poles and piling, and other wood products. The method involves predicting one property by carefully observing a well-correlated auxiliary property that is presumably easier or cheaper to measure. A sample estimate of the auxiliary property is obtained with a high degree of precision by representatively sampling the population. A smaller independent sample or a subsample of the large sample is used to establish a relationship between the auxiliary property and the property for which an estimate is desired. As applied to sampling a forest, double sampling ha...
SCOPE
1.1 This practice offers two alternative physical sampling procedures: cruciform sampling and random sampling. The choice of procedure will depend upon the intended use for the test results, the resources available for sampling and testing, and the availability of existing data on the mechanical properties and specific gravity of the species of interest.
1.2 A third procedure, double sampling, is included primarily by reference. This procedure applies the results of cruciform or random samples through correlation to improve or update property values.
1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
This guide is intended to be used by developers of standards and other documents in the field of renewable resources and green building to evaluate whether the attributes of a specific forest management system meet the intent of sustainable forest management.
In addition to the attributes addressed by this document, some users may wish to impose other evaluation criteria intended to satisfy goals beyond maintaining sustained-yield and sustainable forest management. While these issues are not specifically addressed in this guide, some are discussed in Appendix X1, Commentary.
SCOPE
1.1 This guide provides a list of criteria and indicators that have been shown to be useful in achieving the goals of a sustainable forest management plan. This guide lists a set of criteria considered to be important for the following tasks:
1.1.1 To describe, assess, and evaluate progress toward sustainability of forest management at the national, regional, or individual forest level.
1.1.2 To inform the policy debate at regional, national, and international levels.
1.1.3 To evaluate the attributes of a forest management certification or evaluation system with a specific combination of forest management principles, practices, or adaptations, where such practices are evaluated against a set of prescribed standards. Although this guide provides a qualitative list of criteria for evaluation of forest conditions, it does not purport to recommend any specific forest management certification or evaluation system or subset of overall attributes. The guide does not replace forest certification or verification standards.
1.2 This guide will require compilation of information from multiple sources across various governmental and nongovernmental agencies. For this guide to be useful, it is recommended that the information collected is in alignment with that which is already collected for other purposes; otherwise these indicators may be too great an effort to combine in a timely fashion.
Note 1—Although this document provides general guidance applicable to forests and forest products from many countries, its initial application is expected to focus on North America.
1.3 This guide cannot replace education or experience and should be used in conjunction with professional judgment such as that provided by foresters, forest scientists, and wood technologists.
1.4 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

SCOPE
1.1 This practice offers two alternative physical sampling procedures:cruciform sampling and random sampling. The choice of procedure will depend upon the intended use for the test results, the resources available for sampling and testing, and the availability of existing data on the mechanical properties and specific gravity of the species of interest.  
1.2 A third procedure, double sampling, is included primarily by reference. This procedure applies the results of cruciform or random samples through correlation to improve or update property values.  
1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

SCOPE
1.1 This practice offers two alternative physical sampling procedures: cruciform sampling and random sampling. The choice of procedure will depend upon the intended use for the test results, the resources available for sampling and testing, and the availability of existing data on the mechanical properties and specific gravity of the species of interest.
1.2 A third procedure, double sampling, is included primarily by reference. This procedure applies the results of cruciform or random samples through correlation to improve or update property values.
This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.