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 analysis of PFAS by EPA 1633A and ASTM D8421 is part of the U.S. EPA’s Methods Update Rule (MUR) Rule 22. The action will promulgate EPA into 40 CFR Part 136. Also part of this action, PFAS method ASTM D8421 is proposed to be codified.
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).
Merit Laboratories has received its latest certification as a Woman Owned Small Business (WOSB). The WOSB certification is based upon meeting the criteria outlined by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).
Merit Laboratories, one of the nation’s leading environmental testing laboratories, maintains DoD ELAP accreditation. Merit’s DoD ELAP accreditation includes aqueous and solid sample matrices for a diverse range of analytical methods for organics, wet chemistry, and metals.
Contact Merit Laboratories to learn more how about we can assist you in achieving your SBE and WBE subcontracting goals by partnering with us for environmental laboratory testing services.
Merit Laboratories will be attending the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) Federal Small Business Conference in Dallas, Texas. SAME’s SBC is scheduled for November 20-22, 2019. The SBC for the A/E/C industry brings together federal agencies and businesses servicing the federal marketplace. More than 3,500 attendees are expected to participate in the event, including 350 exhibitors.
The State of Michigan strengthened its lead and copper rules for drinking water in June 2018, making it the strictest in the United States. As a result, sample collection methodology underwent some significant changes that must be adhered to by Community and Non-Community Water Supplies for lead and copper in drinking water.
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.
