Flotsam from Japanese quake reaches U.S. coast

Most debris not expected till 2013; isn’t radioactive

The first piece of Japanese debris from the March tsunami recently reached the West Coast — much earlier than expected.

A large, black float was found on the shores of Neah Bay, on the northwest tip of Washington two weeks ago.

After the tsunami destroyed cities and villages in Japan, the water receded, washing millions of tons of debris in the inundation zone out to sea.

Heavy materials sank close to Japanese shores, but buoyant objects are moving across the Pacific, expected to land on shores from California to Southern Alaska, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Models of ocean currents predicted Japanese tsunami debris wouldn’t reach the West Coast until 2013, but objects that float high on the water’s surface are more affected by wind, according to NOAA.

The black float about the size of a 55-gallon drum that was found in Washington fits the bill for wind-affected debris. Most of the debris is still predicted not to make West Coast landfall until 2013.

Flotsam, floating wreckage, travels an average of  seven miles an hour with currents, but can travel as fast as 20 mph if floating high enough to be pushed by wind.

Seattle oceanographers Curtis Ebbesmeyer and Jim Ingraham found the black float in Washington, and said that shoes with human feet still in them could possibly wash on U.S. shores in the next couple years. Shoes make great flotation devices, Ebbesmeyer said. There are thousands of people still missing from the Japanese disaster.

“All debris should be treated with great reverence and respect,” Ebbesmeyer said, since many Japanese families want to hear about items connected to missing loved ones.

In September a Russian research vessel spotted a small boat  marked with the word “Fukushima” about 500 miles northwest of Midway Atoll, a U.S. territory northwest of Hawaii, said NOAA communications specialist Dianna Parker.

The Coast Guard saw a Fukushima fishing vessel in August about 1,400 miles northwest of Midway, Parker said.

If you find debris with Japanese writing or other indicators that it might be from the March tsunami, NOAA requests you report the find to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Since debris from Asia washes onto West Coast shores frequently,   it should not be assumed it is tied to the tsunami until investigated, Parker said.

Some Americans have voiced concerns about radioactive flotsam, considering the nuclear reactor leak that occurred in Fukushima.  The nuclear disaster, however, developed after flotsam washed out to sea, Parker said.

“NOAA, EPA and FEMA all said that it’s highly unlikely that any debris would be radioactive,” Parker said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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