West Coast Preparing For Japan Tsunami Debris

"West Coast Preparing For Japan Tsunami Debris" by Reut Cohen for Neon Tommy, June 15, 2012:

The West Cost is bracing itself for debris from the devastating tsunami that hit Japan more than a year ago. Millions of tons of wreckage washed into the Pacific Ocean. Most of it sank, but roughly 1.5 million tons remains afloat.

Earlier this week Los Angeles Councilwoman Jan Perry filed a motion calling for a report on the Harbor Department's "protocol for responding to Tsunami debris washing up along the Los Angeles coastline, including such areas as Venice Beach, Hyperion Treatment Facility, and the Port of Los Angeles." The motion is scheduled for review by a city panel on June 22.

Some debris has already reached the U.S. and Canada. A soccer ball and even a piece of a large dock have washed ashore in the U.S. In Canada, a shipping crate containing a Harley-Davidson motorcycle was found in British Columbia.

A fishing vessel that had been washed away by the tsunami waves was spotted in Canadian waters in late March.

A month prior, the U.S. Coast Guard sunk a Japanese boat that had reached Alaska.

Communities are starting to prepare for debris. In Los Angeles, Heal the Bay plans to conduct surveys for rubble over the next two years. Farther south, San Diego County is monitoring the situation, with experts noting that, although it's unlikely much of it will travel that far south, debris could take between one to three years to reach the coast...

Read it all here.