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minnesota department of health <br />717 s.e. delaware st. minneapolis 55440 <br />~612 2965221 <br /> December 12, <br /> <br />1980 <br /> <br />Lloyd G. Schnelle <br />City Administrator/Clerk <br />City of Ramsey <br />15153 Nowthen Boulevard NW <br />Ramsey, MN 55303 <br /> <br />Dear Mr. Schnelle: <br />In response to your letter of December 2, 1980, I will try <br />to place the test results for chemical oxygen demand and <br />sodium into perspective. Also, the Department of Health <br />did analyze for the same pollutants as SERCO Labs; the <br />SERCO Labs test methods and the Department of Health test <br />methods are both approved by the Environmental Protection <br />Agency. Concentrations of pollutants have been established <br />to protect the public's health and these levels are called <br />the Drinking Water Standards. Unfortunately, standards <br />have not been established for all pollutants. In those <br />instances where a standard does not exist, measured concen- <br />trations can be compared to other water samples to determine <br />if contamination has occurred. The measured concentrations <br />can also be compared to pollutant levels that have been deter- <br />mined to result in or contribute to disease conditions in <br />man. <br /> When there is no standard determination of a harmful concen- <br /> tration requires scientific judgement based on available <br /> data. These are the ways of determining the dangerous rates <br /> the City Council has questioned. <br /> <br /> Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD~ <br /> This test is a measure of the amount of oxygen that would <br /> be consumed by organic matter that is susceptible to oxida- <br /> tion by a strong chemical oxidant. There is no standard <br /> for COD, however, results from the residences can be compared <br /> to values from other water samples. <br /> <br />an equalopportumty employer .~. -~ <br /> <br /> <br />