March 11, 2011 Japanese Tsunami

Transcription

1 John Fassell

2 March 11, 2011 Japanese Tsunami

3 An earthquake occurred 30 miles under ground which lifted the seafloor

4 Incoming wave as seen from shore

5 Tsunami up to 130 feet tall in Miyako, JA that averaged more than 30 feet tall

6 Tsunami averaging 23 feet tall coming into Ishinomaki, JA. Trees are 50 feet

7 Isinomaki tsunami at a different angle

8 Ishinomaki a few seconds later

9 Incoming wavefront slowly flooding

10 Tsunami wavefront paths in Pacific

11 Tsunami arriving in San Francisco Bay

12 Whirlpools in outflowing tidal surge

13 Tsunami surge and ebb of aftershocks

14 Tsunami aftershock surging

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16 Miyako shoreline road after tsunami

17 Ferryboat left behind on apartments

18 Fires in the aftermath

19 Many thousand were never found

20 Rescue efforts saved many animals

21 Types of Nuclear Power Plants Pressurized Water Reactor Graphite Moderated Core Chernobyl, Ukraine Boiling Water Reactor Fukushima Daiichi Pressurized Water Reactor Diablo Canyon, SONGS, Three Mile Island

22 Japan

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30 San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station San Clemente, CA

31 Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant Avila Beach, CA

32 Debris field on land

33 Major currents in Pacific Ocean

34 Estimated debris field in ocean

35 Estimated debris field in ocean

36 Observed debris field as of 4/2012

37 Observed debris field in ocean

38 Floating debris in ocean

39 Derelict fishing boat off British Columbia

40 Marine debris from the tsunami

41 Cargo containers in railyard near ocean

42 Harley Davidson found in cargo container that washed up in Alaska

43 Dock landed at Newport, Oregon

44 Remedial measures to minimize exotic species introduction

45 Response to the debris issue Federally the players are the EPA, NOAA, FEMA, USCG At the state level the agencies are CDPH, CALEPA, and CALEMA Locally the responders are fire and police

46 Federal Responders EPA Environmental Protection Agency is the lead agency for the whole effort They run the marine debris cleanup program at a national level NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration provides weather and oceanographic observation and forecasting services. They have models specific to tracking floating materials in the ocean. FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency helps coordinate federal emergency response efforts. In this case they are providing some support to marshaling federal resources in support of the effort USCG United States Coast Guard provides enforcement of maritime law and responds to water related hazards. They provide waterborne assistance specific to dealing with maritime hazards.

47 State and Local Responders CALEPA California Environmental Protection Agency is the lead agency for the California effort. They run the California marine debris cleanup program on a day to day basis along with controlling state storm water runoff CDPH California Department of Public Health includes the Radiologic Health Branch which provides manpower and technical support in dealing with radiological issues such as may be posed by Fukushima debris. CALEMA California Emergency Management Agency helps coordinate state emergency response efforts. In this case they are providing support to marshaling various resources in support of the effort. Local police and fire departments provide on scene disaster control and HAZMAT response by fully trained and equipped crews.

48 CDPH Response So far CDPH has appointed a liason to deal with the tsunami debris issue CDPH responded to the needs for public information during the Fukushima nuclear meltdown. The radioactive plume that resulted was tracked by RHB staff. Samples of many environmental media were analyzed and showed detectable results but nothing to raise any public health concerns. CDPH is coordinating the public messaging with CALEPA and CALEMA for consistency to public and emergency responders. CDPH has helped write procedures for the local HAZMAT responders for dealing with potentially radioactive debris.

49 CDPH HAZMAT Guidance Other hazards are far, far more likely to take precedence over the radioactive hazard, if any, so normal HAZMAT procedures should be followed If radioactive contamination is suspected based on markings on a package contact CALEMA for normal routing of a call to get to RHB Any contamination from Fukushima will have decayed away or washed off the objects by now Any powerful radioactive source is encased in a heavy lead or tungsten container. So unless it is floating around in a cargo container it s probably at the bottom of the ocean just off Japan.

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