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by sanitarians, law enforcement officials and private citizens. 



In fulfilling its statutory responsibilities to certify private 

 laboratories and lab personnel for participation in Medicare pro- 

 grams, officials of the Laboratory Division visit laboratories 

 for inspection and consultation. The Division also conducts pro- 

 ficiency testing programs and lectures at professional meetings. 



The goal of the Laboratory Division' s research and development 

 activity is to shorten the latent period from basic research to 

 practical application of proven laboratory techniques. An example 

 of a current program in this area is throat-culturing for strep- 

 tococci as a means to eradicate rheumatic fever which causes rheu- 

 matic heart disease. 



The work load of the Laboratory Division fluctuates seasonally in 

 that water sampling activity increases 50% during the summer 

 months. Disease control has similar cyclinical activity as venr- 

 ereal disease is most active in the early fall, strep throat in 

 early fall and spring, and serology tests for marriage increase in 

 May, June and December. 



The Chemistry Bureau of the Laboratory Division analyzes about 

 5,0 00 samples annually in conducting inorganic testing of air and 

 water for pollution, qualitative tests for illegal drugs and bar- 

 bituates, and a limited examination of pesticides. The Micro- 

 biology Bureau handles about 100,000 samples annually in the areas 

 of disease control, phenylketonuria testing, and water or food 

 microbiology. The bureau chiefs review all test results before 

 returning them to submitter ' s. Highly specialized tests are referred 

 to out-of-state federal labs such as the Atomic Energy Commission 

 lab in Nevada, the Disease Control Center in Atlanta, the Food and 

 Drug Lab in Denver or the Occupational Health Lab in Salt Lake City. 



After reviewing the operations of the Laboratory Division of the 

 Department of Health and Environmental Sciences, the Council con- 

 cluded that the Laboratory Division could and should be physically 

 separated from the other administrative programs of the Department. 

 In the Council's opinion, a more suitable location for the Depart- 

 ment's laboratory activities would be on the campus of one of the 

 units of the Montana University System. The Council does not, how- 

 ever, contemplate any change in organizational structure, as control 

 over laboratory operations should continue to be vested in the 

 Board of Health and its administrative officers under the proposed 

 relocation. 



The major benefits of relocating the Laboratory Division on a 

 university campus are as follows: 



1. The scientific community is experiencing a sig- 

 nificant increase in the importance of organic 

 analysis as it concerns public health laboratory 

 work. The Laboratory Division presently has 

 equipment for running organic analysis on drugs 

 and alcohol; however, the fiscal effort given 



