OLYMPIA — The state Department of Ecology on Monday will begin its first efforts to locate and remove debris that has arrived on the coasts since the March 11, 2011, Japanese tsunami — but only on southern Washington beaches.
Ecology will deploy three six-member crews from the Washington Conservation Corps to some of the beaches where possible tsunami debris has been reported.
Those beaches include North Beach from Moclips to Ocean Shores, South Beach from Westport to Washaway Beach, and the Long Beach Peninsula.
“It’s the first volley,” said Linda Kent, spokeswoman for Ecology.
“We’re going to see what we can do and what we encounter.”
Once the results are in from the pilot program — and when the official report is approved from the interagency tsunami debris meeting held in May — decisions will be made on what happens next, she said.
Kent said she didn’t know when crews will begin evaluating or cleaning northern state beaches.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration confirmed that a 20-foot fiberglass boat that washed ashore at Cape Disappointment State Park near Ilwaco was from Japan and swept out to sea by the tsunami.
There also have been reported increases in other debris reported on Washington’s outer shores such as Styrofoam, plastic bottles and household appliances that also may be part of the estimated 1.5 million tons of debris washed into the Pacific Ocean by the tsunami, which devastated much of the western Japanese coastline.
The crews have been contracted for four days to assess the extent of the debris and need for further removal efforts.
The Conservation Corps’ AmeriCorps members and staff will work with community volunteers and staff from the state Parks and Recreation Commission to identify and remove debris.
The state Department of Health believes it is highly unlikely any tsunami debris is radioactive, but it is considered possible that containers with hazardous materials such as oil drums or fuel canisters will wash ashore.
In such cases, those who discover the items are urged to refrain from touching or trying to remove them.
Contact phone numbers
Instead, anyone encountering oil or hazardous materials on state beaches should phone 800-OILS-911 (800-645-7911).
Other numbers are the National Response Center at 800-424-8802 and the state Military Department Emergency Management Division at 800-258-5990.
If boaters encounter large debris items still in the water, phone the National Response Center at 800-424-8802.
Members of the public are requested to report debris sightings to NOAA at disasterdebris@noaa.gov.
Ecology’s guide for what to do when encountering tsunami debris is at http://tinyurl.com/debrisguide.
For details on marine debris, visit www.marinedebris.noaa.gov/tsunamidebris.
________
Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
