Aftermath

Japan Debris to Reach U.S.

In three years.

The earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan on March 11, devastating the country and triggering a nuclear meltdown on par with Chernobyl, has sent piles of debris into the Pacific Ocean that are expected to hit the United States, according to researchers at the University of Hawaii. The scientists estimate that the first wave of debris will hit Hawaii’s Midway Islands up to a year from now thanks to powerful currents, and in two years will hit Hawaii’s main islands. In three years, the debris is projected to arrive on the West Coast of the United States, according to Jan Hafner, a scientific programmer at the International Pacific Research Center in Honolulu. “We don’t know how much of the stuff could be potentially toxic, and there’s also a concern about radioactivity,” said Hafner.