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The tsunami that hit Japan last year sent about five million tons of debris into the Pacific Ocean. Much of it sank, but much of it -- some 1.5 million tons -- is floating toward the U.S.

Congress is coming to the realization that America is not yet prepared for a massive cleanup.

From a Harley Davidson motorcycle to barrels of chemicals, the debris is already washing ashore on the West Coast.

In March, the U.S. Coast Guard had to sink a 160-foot fishing vessel that had floated all the way from Japan.

"Many people said we wouldn't see any of this impact until 2013 or 2014," Sen. Maria Cantwell (D, Wash.) said at a hearing Thursday.

What we're hearing is, 'It's here. How do we deal with it?"' observed Sen. Mark Begich (D, Alaska).

At the session, senators from western states grilled a top U.S. environmental official. They wanted to know how his agency is planning to deal with the field of trash - roughly three times the size of the contiguous United States - that's headed to the U.S. more quickly than expected.

"We do not have the funds to mount a cleanup, especially in areas as remote as Alaska," David Kennedy, of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration told the panel.

Kennedy said it's not clear whether all 1.5 million tons of debris will make it across the Pacific.

"How much of that is still going to be floating and available to come ashore? We don't have a clue," he admitted. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505263_162-57436890/u.s-not-ready-for-japa
n-tsunami-debris/?tag=stack biggest question is toxicity and radio-active contamination:

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The earthquake-spurred tsunami resulted in an emergency at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, which sent untold amounts of radioactivity into the air.

But a leading scientist says the U.S. needn't be too concerned about radioactivity, as far as the floating debris is concerned.

Toxicity is the major worry, says M. Sanjayan, the lead scientist at the Nature Conservancy and now a CBS News science and environmental contributor.

He told "CBS This Morning" co-hosts Charlie Rose and Erica Hill that comparisons being made by some observers between the Exxon Valdez disaster and the approaching debris field are off-base.

The earthquake-spurred tsunami resulted in an emergency at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, which sent untold amounts of radioactivity into the air.

But a leading scientist says the U.S. needn't be too concerned about radioactivity, as far as the floating debris is concerned.

Toxicity is the major worry, says M. Sanjayan, the lead scientist at the Nature Conservancy and now a CBS News science and environmental contributor.

He told "CBS This Morning" co-hosts Charlie Rose and Erica Hill that comparisons being made by some observers between the Exxon Valdez disaster and the approaching debris field are off-base.

U.S. not ready for debris from Japanese tsunami

"The people who are saying that," Sanjayan observed, "are really talking about the geographic extent of it and the tonnage of it. Of course, oil floats, so it's not that hard to imagine that this 1.5 million tons of debris is really heavier than (oil).

"So, is it a serious issue? It's a serious issue. But Exxon (Valdez) was concentrated in a small area, and so the impacts of Exxon in that small area were very much greater."

Asked if it's correct to say the danger comes from toxicity, not from radioactivity, Sanjayan responded, "That's right. The fishing boat that was just sunk - scientists got on that boat, they looked at radioactivity, and it was essentially background level. It was normal. So, I'm not particularly worried about radioactivity."

But toxicity - from gas, oil or chemicals and other elements washing ashore - is a real issue.

"Think about everything in your garage and imagine that dumping in the ocean," Sanjayan said. "Some of it is going to make it out here intact, so a barrel might contain something. If it's punctured, it would have been diluted by now. That's what I think people are worried about -- it showing up on a beach."

Sanjayan pointed out that, "It's great that people are concerned about this one particular issue, but, to put it in perspective, there's probably over 100 million tons of garbage, basically, floating in the Pacific Ocean alone. So, this represents one, one-and-a-half percent of what's out there."
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505263_162-57436969/japan-tsunami-debris-t
oxicity-main-u.s-concern/?tag=contentMain;contentBody

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So, I guess, we shall see what we shall see...scary to think of our ovely beaches contaminated by this stuff, tho'.