U.S. Shores Brace Themselves for Up to 20 Million Tons of Tsunami Debris

Hawaii is bracing themselves for 20 million tons of debris floating to hit their shores this winter, according to a University of Hawaii research team who says the remains are traveling faster than originally anticipated. 

Although the huge garbage mass is not set to hit mainland U.S. west coasts of Oregon and Washington until 2014, researchers think trash can be seen washing up on the Midway Islands of HI (located halfway in between HI and Japan) early as this winter.  The debris will most likely hit mainland HI shores by spring 2013. 

The floating tsunami wreckage was spotted by a Russian crew last month on the STS Pallada as it was floating around 2,000 miles from Japan.  The Pallada crew reported the finding to AFP, citing that among the floating masses was a fishing vessel with “Fukushima” painted across the side, TVs, refrigerators, drums, boots, and many home appliances.  The discovery debunked original computer models of the driftage that projected it not reaching the Midway Islands until spring 2012. 

Jan Hafner of University of Hawaii reported to The Times that some of the debris will eventually sink as it travels across the Pacific, but not enough to reduce a sizeable portion of it.  Hafner said they do not want to create a panic, but it is beneficial to know that it is coming.  They estimate that lighter objects such as styrofoam will reach coasts first in the winter, and heavier items like appliances won’t hit until early 2013. 

Environmentalists remain concerned because any type of ocean debris will endanger not only marine life, but possibly humans.  Coordinator of the NOAA Marine Debris Program, Carey Morishige, told Discovery News that their biggest concern as of now is fishing nets and fishing gear that can entangle Hawaiian monk seals, as well as disturb coral environments.  They don’t believe the debris is radioactive, but Morishige says that they don’t have a full understanding or knowledge of truly what type of situation they are dealing with the debris. 

The NOAA and Univ. of Hawaii’s team urges anyone sailing in the western Pacfic to keep tabs of the potentially dangerous tsunami debris by reporting to NOAA at [email protected] and to the IPRC at [email protected].

The mega-quake hit Japan on March 11, 2011 and was hit thereafter by a tsunami that left 20,000 people dead or missing.  The quake and tsunami also caused a nuclear crisis at the Fukushima atomic plant, making it the worst atomic disaster since Chernobyl.