Merit Laboratories plays an active role in advancing the development of analytical methods for the scientific testing industry. As testament to this active role, Michael Goergen of Merit Laboratories is the chair of ASTM D19.02, a subcommittee of ASTM D19 on Water that addresses Quality Systems, Specifications, and Statistics. In addition to his role as Chair of ASTM D19.02, Michael is also a member of ASTM D19.06, a subcommittee addressing Methods for Analysis for Organic Substances in Water.

He brings significant experience to his ASTM roles. Michael founded the laboratory in 1987 and is its current president, with over 45 years of experience in the environmental laboratory industry. Michael earned a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Michigan.

ASTM Committee D19 on Water was formed in 1932. The committee meets twice a year, usually in January and June over four days of technical meetings and a workshop. The Committee, with approximately 400 members, currently has jurisdiction of over 290 standards, published in the Annual book of ASTM Standards, Volumes 11.01 and 11.02.

The areas of interest of the ASTM Committee D19 are:

1. The development of standard methods for sampling, identification, and analysis of: a. Water and the materials dissolved or suspended in or formed from water, including physical, chemical, biochemical, radiochemical, and microbiological characteristics; and, b. Communities of indigenous and other aquatic organism.

2. The development of standard methods for hydraulic and hydrologic measurements of surface and ground waters.

3. The development of standard methods for evaluation of the performance of materials used to modify the characteristics of water, including selective, partial, or total removal of dissolved or suspended constituents and ion interchange.

4. The development of standard methods for determining the corrosivity or deposit-forming properties of water.

5. The designation of terminology, units of measurement, and precision and accuracy of tests pertaining to water.

Merit Laboratories is one of the nation’s leading environmental testing laboratories, analyzing soil, wastewater, groundwater, drinking water, and other sample matrices for a diverse range of analytical parameters. Please contact Merit Laboratories for assistance on your environmental testing needs.