How are weights and measures laws made and implemented in the United States? How were these laws developed? This paper presents a brief overview of the: (1) legal metrology history of the United States; (2) current role of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Office of Weights and Measures (OWM); (3) development and current roles of the National Conference on Weights and Measures (NCWM); (4) financial impact of the legal metrology infrastructure; and (5) recent activities and future trends to link State and local legal metrology data in a national computer network. The National Conference on Weights and Measures was established in 1905. It is the primary organization in the United States that develops consensus standards that each State may adopt for regulating weighing and measuring devices and commodities; for ensuring motor fuel quality; and for administering regulatory weights and measures programs. Regulatory weights and measures activities are aimed at maintaining equity in the marketplace, permitting businesses to compete fairly and allowing buyers and sellers to make informed decisions in trade.
展开▼
