“I found more debris in 10 minutes than I have in four years …
and it’s all Japanese in origin,” Perry Schmunk, Mayor of
Tofino, British Columbia, told the National Post. Tofino is a
community of 1,600 located on the west coast of Vancouver
Island. Beachcombers in Alaska are also on alert for the debris,
but are being cautioned to approach any found flotsam with
caution. Beyond demonstrating reverence and respect for victims
of the disaster, which the debris represents, people are being
warned that some of it could be radioactive if it came from
around the crippled Fukushima nuclear reactor. Items that may
drift ashore from California to Alaska over the next year or so
include parts of houses, furniture, ships, boats, vehicle parts
and just about anything else that floats. In September, a
Russian ship reported finding a large debris field about 2,000
miles from Japan. The entire area of floating debris is
estimated by some to be twice the size of Texas. Graphic Data:
NOAA