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Tsunami Debris: 'We're going to be dealing with this for a long time' - KVAL.com, July 01, 2012

NEWPORT, Ore. — Waves of tsunami debris washing ashore on the Oregon coast prompted U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden and Rep. Kurt Schrader to meet with fishermen and federal officials Saturday to discuss the potential dangers in the tides.

Wyden and Schrader met Agate Beach Saturday to take a look at the Japanese dock that washed ashore a few weeks ago. Since that time more debris have been popping up all along the coastline, including a large piece of what is believed to be another Japanese dock.

With the large scale of the debris, and the size of some items heading across the pacific, Wyden and Schrader are concerned with the potential threat that confronts local fishermen and those who work off of the Oregon coastline.

The duo met with local fishermen, Coast Guard officials and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Saturday to talk about the best way to monitor debris.

"We're going to be dealing with this for years to come," said Schrader. "That's the way the oceanic currents work. The stuff is just going to cycle around and around out there."

In an effort to remove the potentially hazardous flotsam from the coast, Oregon has mobilized a tsunami debris hotline as well as a network of disposal sites along the coastline.

As for the infamous dock at Agate Beach, a contracted disposal company should be removing it sometime in mid-July.

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