-20- 



priority to pre-medical and related courses 

 requiring access to a clinical laboratory. 



The head of the Department of Health and Environmental Sciences, 

 as well as his Laboratory and Environmental Sciences Division 

 administrators, have testified before the Council that, in their 

 opinion, a relocation of the Laboratory Division would greatly 

 impair the effectiveness of the entire department. The admin- 

 istrators felt that interchange between laboratory technicians 

 and related enforcement or regulatory officers is crucial to the 

 discharge of their statutory responsibilities. This "team" ap- 

 proach would be severely hampered if the Laboratory Division was 

 located in a city other than Helena. Other arguments made against 

 the proposed arrangement include: 



1. The Department has made plans to correct deficiencies 

 in organic analysis. A federal grant was obtained to 

 provide a program of breath-alcohol analysis required 

 under the implied consent law. A grant application 

 is currently being processed to fund analysis for 

 pesticide residues. Other equipment will be obtained 

 for organic analysis as its purchase is justified by 

 anticipated use. The need for some such equipment 



is minimized through the Department's ability to refer 

 analyses to federal laboratories at no charge to the 

 state. 



2. The versatility required for environmental control 

 laboratory support is being acquired as rapidly as 

 financing allows. The Department questions whether 

 Montana universities are in a position to furnish 

 services required without added expense. 



3. Universities specialize in basic rather than 

 applied sciences. Much information on spec- 

 ialized procedures using atomic absorption 

 and gas chromatography comes from companies 

 making these instr\aments . Some valuable infor- 

 mation is provided by universities, but this is 

 usually in published form and readily available 

 in Helena. 



4. The Laboratory Division is merely ancillary to the 

 administrative decision-making process and is not 

 a line function. The case for placing the lab 

 function apart from enforcement would better apply 

 to the Crime Control Laboratory, where test results 

 should be available to defense and prosecution 

 alike. The law enforcement activity of the Depart- 

 ment of Health and Environmental Sciences is not 

 this direct, as the Department serves as a quasi- 

 judicial body and conducts hearings of its own. 



5. The Department of Health and Environmental Sciences 

 presently employs laboratory technicians and other 



