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1995 Washington Attorney General Reports and Opinions 1 (1995)

handle is hein.sag/sagwa0105 and id is 1 raw text is: !'W Christine 0. Gregoire .J Attorney General of Washingto DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH - AGRICULTURE - HEALTH - AUTHORITY TO EMBARGO FOOD GROWN IN A FOOD CONTROL AREA Neither the Department of Agriculture nor the Department of Health has authority to administratively designate a food control area (such as the area surrounding the site of a chemical or nuclear accident) and embargo all food grown within the area without some particularized determination of the products which are contaminated or are likely to pose a threat to human health. January 18, 1995 James Jesernig Director Department of Agriculture P.O. Box 42560 Olympia, WA 98504-2560 Bruce A. Miyahara Secretary Cite as: Department of Health AGO 1995 No. 1 P.O. Box 47890 Olympia, WA 98504-7890 Dear Messrs. Jesernig and Miyahara: By letters previously acknowledged, you jointly have asked whether the Department of Agriculture or the Department of Health may establish food control areas, embargo all agricultural products produced within such areas, and take certain steps to monitor and enforce such embargoes. You also ask under what circumstances the state may face liability for engaging these actions. Your correspondence provides background information that we note at the outset. You ask these questions as part of emergency preparedness planning. You are concerned with the power of your respective agencies to embargo food and enforce its embargo in the event of an accident at a nuclear power plant or radioactive waste storage facility. You explain that food control areas would be areas identified by field measurements and computer modeling to have Attorney General of Washington Post Office Box 40100 Olympia WA 98504-0100 Phone: (206) 753-6200