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Concern rises over floating debris / Japan, U.S. govts discuss financial, ecological costs of clearing disaster waste
The Yomiuri Shimbun
The Japanese and U.S. governments are concerned about a large amount of Pacific Ocean debris, set afloat by last year's tsunami caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake, that is expected to reach the U.S. West Coast starting in autumn.
The trouble stems from the lack of an international agreement on who is responsible for disposing of debris released into the sea. Experts have also said harmful substances mixed with debris will likely damage the marine environment.
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About 4.8 million tons of additional debris is further believed to have been washed out to sea.
About 70 percent of drifting debris consists of such things as cars and cargo containers. Most debris is believed to have sunk off the coast of the Tohoku region. However, the remaining 30 percent, or about 1.54 million tons, became floating debris, including collapsed houses and wood from disaster-prevention forests. These articles have been drifting in the Pacific Ocean since the disaster.
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However, Tokai University Prof. Masahisa Kubota, an expert on marine physics, expressed concern, saying, "Plastic rubbish contained in debris will seriously damage the environment."
According to Kubota, plastic materials made from petroleum are prone to absorbing toxic chemicals in seawater. If birds and fish eat plastic broken into small pieces by waves, they will eventually carry the potentially contaminated substances into the bodies of other creatures throughout the food chain.
"The only way to prevent this is to collect as much debris as possible," he said.
(Aug. 19, 2012)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T120818002492.htm
Concern rises over floating debris / Japan, U.S. govts discuss financial, ecological costs of clearing disaster waste
The Yomiuri Shimbun
The Japanese and U.S. governments are concerned about a large amount of Pacific Ocean debris, set afloat by last year's tsunami caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake, that is expected to reach the U.S. West Coast starting in autumn.
The trouble stems from the lack of an international agreement on who is responsible for disposing of debris released into the sea. Experts have also said harmful substances mixed with debris will likely damage the marine environment.
snip
About 4.8 million tons of additional debris is further believed to have been washed out to sea.
About 70 percent of drifting debris consists of such things as cars and cargo containers. Most debris is believed to have sunk off the coast of the Tohoku region. However, the remaining 30 percent, or about 1.54 million tons, became floating debris, including collapsed houses and wood from disaster-prevention forests. These articles have been drifting in the Pacific Ocean since the disaster.
snip
However, Tokai University Prof. Masahisa Kubota, an expert on marine physics, expressed concern, saying, "Plastic rubbish contained in debris will seriously damage the environment."
According to Kubota, plastic materials made from petroleum are prone to absorbing toxic chemicals in seawater. If birds and fish eat plastic broken into small pieces by waves, they will eventually carry the potentially contaminated substances into the bodies of other creatures throughout the food chain.
"The only way to prevent this is to collect as much debris as possible," he said.
(Aug. 19, 2012)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T120818002492.htm