Officers from WHA International participated in the June 2026 ASTM G04 Committee Meeting, hosted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

The ASTM G04 committee plays a central role in advancing oxygen safety standards, testing methods, and risk analysis practices across aerospace, industrial gas, medical, energy, and many other industries.

Welcoming Committee Chair Gwenael Chiffoleau, Ph.D.

This year’s meeting was especially significant for WHA as CEO Gwenael Chiffoleau, Ph.D., recently assumed the role of Chair of ASTM Committee G04, reinforcing WHA’s longstanding involvement in the development and advancement of oxygen safety standards.

For decades, WHA engineers have actively contributed to ASTM working groups and technical discussions focused on oxygen compatibility, ignition hazards, system design, and operational safety.

Most recently, WHA supported updates related to ASTM G93, the widely used standard guide for cleaning methods and cleanliness levels for oxygen-enriched environments.

“A lot of oxygen fire incidents are caused by a lack of hazard awareness. ASTM G04 and WHA share a commitment to developing and providing key information and guidance to help avoid oxygen fires from happening.” – Gwenael Chiffoleau, Ph.D.

Three Key Discussions from the ASTM G04 Committee Meeting

According to Gwenael, several major technical themes shaped discussions during this year’s meeting. 

1. Ongoing standards development, which covered a range of topics related to oxygen system design, including:
    
   • ASTM G88 oxygen system design standard revisions
   • New standards related to oxygen fire risk analysis
   • ASTM G124 Promoted Combustion/Ignition Testing revisions
   • Oxygen safety training requirements
     
2. Particle Impact Ignition remained an area of focus at the meeting, as an important ignition mechanism in high-pressure oxygen systems. Researchers at MIT presented their latest testing and modeling studies.
   
3. An investigation on an oxygen compressor fire presented by Air Liquide.
   
4. A interesting ignition mechanism was presented by Linde on copper reaction from reduction/oxidation. 
   
5. Presentations from MIT researchers on ignition and flammability of materials for oxygen turbomachinery. These provided new insights into frictional heating ignition, and flammability of alloys in rotating equipment. 
   
6. Results of an industry survey were shared by WHA to evaluate the interest with assessing and testing composite materials in oxygen. 

This meeting’s location presented a unique opportunity for committee members to engage directly with faculty and researchers supporting the event. MIT provided tours of its related testing and research facilities, along with multiple technical presentations on work associated with oxygen and other combustion science fields. 

“ASTM G04 Committee is already working on the next meeting and is working with NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) to host the next meetings in November, 2026. The committee is looking forward to the opportunity of some amazing tours and more insightful presentations at KSC.
” – Gwenael Chiffoleau, Ph.D.

Advancing Oxygen Safety — Together

ASTM G04 continues to serve as an important forum for collaboration between industry, government, and research institutions working toward the shared goal of improving oxygen safety. 

WHA is proud to support that mission through ongoing technical participation, standards development, and practical engineering experience.