Japan Tsunami Debris: Toxicity Main U.S. Concern

(CBS NEWS) NEW YORK -- Japan's tsunami last year sent an estimated five tons of debris into the Pacific Ocean. Experts say roughly a ton-and-a-half of debris is still afloat, heading toward Western U.S. shores. Some has already washed up in Alaska.
The earthquake-spurred tsunami resulted in an emergency at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, which sent untold amounts of radioactivity into the air.

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Radiation Detected 400 Miles off Japanese Coast

Radiation Detected 400 Miles off Japanese Coast

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Radioactive contamination from the Fukushima power plant disaster has been detected as far as almost 400 miles off Japan in the Pacific Ocean, with water showing readings of up to 1,000 times more than prior levels, scientists reported Tuesday.

But those results for the substance cesium-137 are far below the levels that are generally considered harmful, either to marine animals or people who eat seafood, said Ken Buesseler of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts.

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