Local officials in WA state unprepared to test tsunami debris for radiation & other dangers

[Emily]

More suspected Japanese tsunami debris discovered near Long Beach

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More suspected Japanese tsunami debris discovered near Long Beach

By Barbara LaBoe / The Daily News | Posted: Wednesday, June 20, 2012 5:20 pm

As more Japanese tsunami debris continues to wash ashore near Long Beach, local officials are getting worried about how they should react.

"This isn't a crime, this is more of a PR nightmare," said Pat Matlock, chief criminal deputy with the Pacific County Sheriff's office. "But people call us because they don't know who else to call. ... And it's not like we have radiation wands to check if something is safe or not."

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Anyone who finds potentially hazardous material should leave it alone and call 1-800-OILS-911

Read more: http://tdn.com/news/local/more-susp...b37-11e1-85d3-001a4bcf887a.html#ixzz1yTlwdiy9

Japan tsunami debris: 'house' washes up in Washington state

Wednesday, June 20th 2012, 09:42 AM
Kayakers surveying the most remote beaches of the northwestern state of Washington for debris from last year's Japanese tsunami say they believe they have found part of a house.

Three kayakers with the Ikkatsu Project wrote in a report this week that they found the remnants June 12 as they worked their way up a beach near the northwestern tip of the Olympic Peninsula, about 120 miles west of Seattle on the Makah Indian Reservation.
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In the same area, they found other household items, including a glass bottle of cherry-flavoured cough syrup and a red container of kerosene with Japanese writing. Kerosene is widely used to heat homes in Japan...