Who monitors the safety of the agricultural products produced along the Columbia River and in nearby communities?
In Washington State the crops grown closest to Hanford are irrigated with water from the Yakima River, or the Columbia above Grand Coulee Dam (Banks Lake). As part of the Annual Hanford Site Environmental Report, samples of alfalfa, asparagus, cherries, honey, leafy vegetables, milk, potatoes, tomatoes, and wine were collected from sites both up and down wind of Hanford. The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, on behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy, regularly sample those products to ensure consumer safety. The Washington State Department of Health takes ‘split samples’ to verify the results are correct. Radionuclide concentrations in samples of food and farm products were at normal environmental levels.
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- Who monitors the safety of the agricultural products produced along the Columbia River and in nearby communities?
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