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.
Merit Laboratories was just one of four national laboratories acknowledged in the newest approved method, EPA 533, for PFAS testing in drinking water that just released by the U.S. EPA. Merit was acknowledged in the approved method for completing a validation study using EPA 533 and was recognized for providing valuable feedback on the method procedures and reviewing the draft method manuscript.
The implementation of the the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s PFAS Action Plan is one step closer. In the December 4, 2019 Federal Register the EPA published an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM).
Four new compounds have been added to the State of Michigan’s minimum laboratory PFAS analyte list, bringing the total to 28. The list is maintained by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) for the testing of drinking water, groundwater, surface water, wastewater, soil, and landfill leachate.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) is the recipient of a $1-million grant to investigate the relationship between drinking water contaminated with PFAS and health outcomes. The grant was awarded by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR).
The Michigan PFAS Action Response Team (MPART) formally recommended to move forward with establishing draft maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) for PFAS compounds in drinking water. The recommendation was made by unanimous vote by MPART’s board on September 27, 2019 in Lansing. The MPART board is recommending the following health-based MCLs for seven PFAS compounds.
As the nation’s PFAS contamination problem continues to grow, a report recently released by the Environmental Working Group states that PFAS manufacturers have known about the risks associated with these chemicals for more than 60 years. The report documents studies and internal memos with a timeline that begins in 1950. PFAS manufacturers 3M and DuPont are the focus of the report.
The Michigan Department of Environment Great Lakes & Energy (EGLE) has released its report detailing a massive state-wide PFAS drinking water sampling program that began in April 2018. The report, PFAS Sampling of Drinking Water Supplies, presents findings of EGLE’s sampling efforts from more than 1,700 facilities.
Groundwater contaminated with PFAS in Marinette, Wisconsin is slated for environmental remediation. Marinette, a small town located in northeastern Wisconsin, is home to the headquarters of the Tyco Fire Products unit of Johnson Controls, Inc. (JCI). According to the Wisconsin DNR, the Marinette PFAS remediation will be the most expensive PFAS cleanup in the state. Some estimates place the cleanup effort at more than $140-million.
Moving Michigan forward on PFAS drinking water regulations, the Science Advisory Workgroup recently provided its health-based values to the Michigan PFAS Action Response Team (MPART). These PFAS health-based values will be used by the State of Michigan to develop regulatory drinking water standards.
