Oh Dear…where are our Federal protectors when we need them? Does anyone in WA DC even care? Or how about our State Governor or Legislators?
Ikkatsu 2012 – Leg 1 Synopsis
The following is intended to be a short synopsis of the first leg of the Ikkatsu Project, the sea kayak-based survey of Olympic beaches, specifically documenting tsunami debris. This leg traveled from Neah Bay to Hobuck Beach, via Cape Flattery and Tatoosh Island. Dates were June 10-13.
Two Standing Stock Surveys, using established NOAA protocol, were accomplished: the first on Tatoosh Island on June 11th and the second on Cape B Beach (2 miles north of Hobuck), on June 12th. Although there was significant debris on Tatoosh, no hazardous material was located. On Cape B Beach, the debris was larger and more substantial, and several hazardous items (kerosene, acetone) were sampled. More details, including details of each random transect surveyed, will be available as PDFs and will be posted soon.
Notable debris included what we suspect is part of a house – including the bathroom – found on Cape B Beach. We found a large quantity of milled lumber, cut to metric dimensions, which was marked with a Japanese stamp and serial number – 5501128. (Preliminary research has suggested that the source of the lumber was originally the Daiwa Pallet Housou Company of Osaka.) The reason we think this was part of a residential bathroom is that we found items consistent with this hypothesis: cough syrup, iodine, a portion of a child’s potty seat, etc. The individual pieces of lumber were in relatively good condition, suggesting that the house, or portion thereof, washed ashore in one piece and then was shattered on the rocks.
In addition to the two surveys, we also conducted four separate I/C (Inspection and Collection) efforts on smaller, pocket beaches at various locations. We chose small areas where we could do an effective clean up with just the three of us. Debris was bagged and collected to a single location above the high tide line; lat/long of locations to follow. One example, a 25’x35’ beach on the west side of Tatoosh, yielded the following:
- – 33 plastic liquid containers, mostly water or soda, mostly Asian in origin
- – 12 fishing floats/buoys (or fragments), including one Type 6 black buoy
- – 2 metal canisters
- – 1 food can
- – 1 foam shoe insole (Japan)
- – 3 foam webbing fragments
- – 15 styrofoam fragments > 6” diameter
- – 44 styrofoam fragments > 3” diameter
Over the course of the surveys, a half-dozen lighters were collected. Radiation testing revealed no hazards.
The second segment of the Ikkatsu Project (Hobuck Beach to La Push), will run from July 2-11. More information will be available following that leg. If there are any questions or comments, please feel free to contact us at any time.
Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: Puget Sound |
