1. 1 1/3 YEAR AFTER THE MARCH 11, 2011 EARTHQUAKE- TSUNAMI DISASTER IN JAPAN THE PROBLEM CONTINUES TO GROW Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, University of North Carolina, USA

2. The March 11, 2011 tsunami swept as much debris into the ocean in one day as is usually dumped in a year

3. TSUNAMI TRASH DUMP IN JAPAN : MARCH 11, 2012

4. TRASH FROM MARCH 11, 2011 JAPANESE TSUNAMI : (US NAVY PHOTO)

5. WHAT HAPPENED? Immediately after the tsunami waves dissipated, heavy items sank to the ocean floor close to shore, - - -. But, at least 1.5m tons of debris were carried off by currents and began making the 4,500-mile journey across the Pacific

6. INITIAL PATH OF TSUNAMI TRASH

7. TSUNAMI DEBRIS REACHING HAWAII

8. WHAT HAPPENED? But, at least 1.5m tons of debris were carried off by currents and began making the 4,500-mile journey across the Pacific

9. WHAT HAPPENED? Within a month after the tsunami, the debris had dispersed and was stretched across 6666 nautical km (4,000 nautical miles) of the north Pacific.

10. NATURE OF THE TRASH The tsunami trash contains refrigerators, boats, houses, cars, trees, Harley Davidson motorcycles, golf clubs, and many kinds of debris. IT MAY also CONTAIN RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS, although not expected to constitute a significant risk.

11. ONE YEAR LATER

12. THE PROBLEM MORE THAN 20 MILLION TONS OF TRASH CREATED BY THE MARCH 11, 2011 TSUNAMI ARE BEGINNING TO REACH THE USA

13. LOCATION OF TRASH: MARCH 11, 2012 About 3333 km (2,000 miles) south of Japan and 4333 km (2,600 miles) southwest of Cook Inlet, Alaska.

14. SIZE OF FLOATING TRASH More than three times the size of the contiguous United States.

15. ALTHOUGH RADIATION AND DEAD BODIES ARE NOT EXPECTED, THE TRASH REPRESENTS A HUGE ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEM, FOR WHICH THERE IS LITTLE EXPERIENCE

16. ESTIMATED TIME OF ARRIVAL The floating trash is headed towards the beaches of Hawaii first in April, 2012, and then on to Alaska The trash is estimated to reach the Pacific Northwest states in 2014 and head back to the central Pacific

17. INITIAL CONSIDERATIONS THE USA IS NOT PREPARED TO DEAL WITH THIS PROBLEM

18. PREDICTIONS OF ARRIVAL Most of the debris is predicted to reach various parts of North America (Oregon, Washington, Canada, Alaska) in a trickle, not an avalanche, beginning in July 2012 and continuing into 2014.

19. A 70 FT FLOATING DOCK REACHES OREGON: JUNE 6

20. SOME TSUNAMI TRASH REACHES BRITISH COLUMBIA: JULY 12

22. MANY SCIENTISTS BELIEVE THE TRASH WILL EVENTUALLY END UP IN “THE GREAT PACIFIC GARBAGE PATCH” 1660 KM (1000 MILES) NORTH OF HAWAII

23. THE GREAT PACIFIC GARBAGE PATH Discovered in 1997 Contains millions of tons of the world’s trash kept in slow perpetual motion by rotating oceanic currents Hundreds of km (miles) across A DEAD ZONE FOR MARINE LIFE A threat to navigation and ecosystems

24. No one seems to know how the debris field will affect fishing, a multi-billion dollar industry in the Pacific Northwest.

25. THE TSUNAMI TRASH CHANGES CLEAN-UP PLANS 2009’s tentative plans to clean-up and recycle the trash in the Pacific Garbage Patch are on hold now, waiting for the tsunami trash to be added to the mix. Intense monitoring is planned to determine the levels of radioactivity in the trash and how they change over time.

26. No one seems to know how much it will cost to clean up the Garbage Patch, especially now.