Collecting high-quality soil gas samples in the field for TO-15 analysis is essential for generating reliable data. Yet in the field, the process can be time-consuming and prone to error. With our clients’ sampling challenges in mind, Merit Laboratories designed a helium shroud that makes soil gas sampling more efficient, accurate, and reproducible — without the need for tools or field calibration.
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. Army is joining forces with the U.S. EPA to target a new enemy: PFAS contamination in drinking water. The joint EPA-Army program announced in July will be focused on the sample collection and laboratory testing of private drinking water wells near nine army installations for PFAS. The program will be focused on identifying the potential impact of PFAS migration from installations to contaminate drinking water wells of nearby residents.
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. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that the nation’s first ever PFAS National Primary Drinking Water Regulation (NPDWR) is now final. The final rule, announced on April 10, 2024, establishes legally enforceable maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) for PFAS in drinking water. The PFAS compounds that are part of the final rule and their associated MCLs include
Advancing laboratory testing capabilities by adopting and implementing the latest in scientific testing instrumentation is key to servicing clients with specialized project needs. One of Merit’s newest additions to its instrumentation roster is a Perkin Elmer FTIR. FTIR spectroscopy is used for a variety of testing procedures and objectives, including characterizing and identifying unknown samples and materials.
Merit Laboratories is now providing clients with the ERPIMS (ERPToolsX) EDD format as part of its federal services program after completing registration with the Air Force Civil Engineer Center (AFCEC). ERPIMS is the U.S. Air Force’s data system for validation and management for environmental projects at all Air Force bases.
Advancing an innovative approach to making sample collection activities more efficient for its clients, Merit Laboratories has filed a provisional patent application for an air sampling with syringe device. The patent application, filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, is for the invention of an Air Sampling with Syringe Device and Method.
The U.S. EPA recently finalized a rule that will provide the largest-ever dataset of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) manufactured and used in the United States. The finalized reporting rule under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) is a statutory requirement with the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA - FY2020).
