John Chapman, a research scientist at Oregon State University, said organisms
that hitchhiked across the ocean included invasive species that could
threaten local wildlife.
He said: “This is a very clear threat. It’s exactly like saying you threw
a bowling ball into a China shop. It’s incredibly difficult to predict what
will happen next.”
The dock has been checked to see if it was contaminated by radiation from the
Fukushima nuclear leak that followed the earthquake and tsunami in Japan,
and the tests came back negative.
The Japanese Consulate in Portland said the company that owned the dock had
been contacted and did not want it back, so it will be disposed of in Oregon.
Most of the debris from the tsunami is not expected to start arriving on the
west coast of North America until winter, but fast moving flotsam has
already made landfall.
Examples have included a football that washed up in Alaska, and a shipping
container holding a Harley-Davidson motorcycle that reached Canada.
In April the US Coast Guard sank a Japanese “ghost ship” that was
floating in shipping lanes off Alaska.
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