Debris from Japanese tsunami a threat to NW jobs, Cantwell says

November 4, 2011

KPLU – Calling it an “emerging threat,” Sen. Maria Cantwell testified in congress yesterday that a floating debris field five-times the size of the state of Washington is heading for the West Coast and could disrupt the state’s economy when it lands in 2014.

“After the tragic tsunami that struck Japan, whole communities were swept out to sea in an unwieldy mass of toxic debris,” she testified in the Senate Commerce Committee. “We can’t wait until all of this tsunami trash washes ashore. We need to have an aggressive plan on how we’re going to deal with it.”

As result, the committee passed an amendment to address the threat the debris poses to industries along the Washington coastline. The amendment was attached to the Trash-free Seas Act introduced in May by Hawaii Senator Dan Inouye.

The March earthquake and tsunami was said by Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan to be the “toughest and most difficult crisis for Japan” since the end of World War II.

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