We’re excited to announce that Merit Laboratories will be participating in the conference, taking place August 4th - 7th, 2025, in St. Louis, Missouri. This year’s conference theme, “Building a Quality Culture as the Foundation for Reliable Data,” underscores the importance of quality assurance and continuous improvement in environmental monitoring and measurement.
Have you ever reviewed a laboratory report and felt overwhelmed by acronyms like MDL, RL, LOQ, or IDL? You’re not alone. These terms are critical to understanding the sensitivity, precision, and reliability of laboratory results in environmental testing—but they can also be confusing, especially when used interchangeably or inconsistently across different labs or agencies.
The U.S. EPA released a Draft Sewage Sludge Risk Assessment for PFOA and PFOS, open for public comment. The public comment for the draft, released in January 2025, has been extended until August 14, 2025. This draft risk assessment reflects the EPA's latest scientific understanding of the potential risks to human health
To all of our friends and partners in California impacted by the devastating wildfires, Merit Laboratories is here to support you. When wildfires ravage communities, natural landscape, and places we call home, the impact is major. Lives are interrupted while homes, schools, and businesses are destroyed. Another significant impact of wildfires is environmental contamination.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continues to address the growing concerns over PFAS by adding nine new compounds to the Toxics Release Inventory. This move aims to improve transparency and provide better data on the presence and release of these persistent chemicals in the environment.
The U.S. EPA released a Draft Sewage Sludge Risk Assessment for PFOA and PFOS, open for public comment. The public comment for the draft, released in January 2025, has been extended until August 14, 2025. This draft risk assessment reflects the EPA's latest scientific understanding of the potential risks to human health
The enforcement date is now active for the two PFAS chemicals designated as hazardous substances by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under Superfund (CERCLA/SARA). Enforcement went into effect on July 8, 2024, following the EPA’s final rule announcement in April that perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic (PFOS) are hazardous substances.
The U.S. EPA officially approved Merit Laboratories to perform analytical laboratory testing for PFAS compounds as part of the fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UMCR5). As part of UCMR5, Merit Laboratories is approved for analytical methods EPA 533 and EPA 537.1. UCMR 5 includes all 29 PFAS compounds that are within the scope of EPA Methods 533 and 537.1.
The Wisconsin PFAS Action Council published its 2022 PFAS Action Plan Progress Report in August. The progress report presented progress in the eight themes that are covered in the states PFAS Action Plan to address statewide PFAS contamination. A few of the highlights presented as accomplishments in the report include the implementation of new surface water and drinking water standards for PFOA and PFOS
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has filed administrated rules to create the first groundwater quality standards for PFAS chemicals in the state. According to the IEPA in a recent announcement, it has submitted amendments to 35 Illinois Administrative Code (Ill. Admin. Code) Part 620 to the Illinois Pollution Control Board (Board).
Advocates for the health of Wisconsinites are hopeful that the state’s Natural Resources Board (NRB) will vote on establishing PFAS regulatory limits for both surface water and drinking water at its next meeting. The NRB, which sets policy for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR), has scheduled its next meeting for February 22-23 in Madison.
