A white substance has made its way to the shores of Barbers Point in West Oahu. And some people believe last year’s Japanese earthquake and tsunami might be the cause.
Kunia resident Xavier Sawa has been going to Barbers Point for 10 years. But he’s never seen anything like this.
"Just bad, just ugly, just doesn’t belong here," Sawa said.
Even his 3-year-old son Gabriel knows this is not good for the environment.
"Because it hurts the fishes’ habitat," Gabriel said.
And he’s right. Carroll Cox with EnviroWatch says this white substance, is old styrofoam made up of dangerous carcinogens.
"Imagine young fish eating it and it’s going to take 100 to 200 years for these beads to break down," said Carroll Cox with EnviroWatch.
Cox discovered the debris Friday. He said it covered at least a quarter mile of the beach. He said because cement is still attached to the styrofoam, it could be part of a floating dock.
"So I don’t know where this came from and I can’t say with certainty if it came from Keehi Lagoon due to that tsunami incident we have or if it’s from other places," Cox said.
"I don’t know I just thought maybe that stuff from Japan, I didn’t know," Sawa said.
One and half million tons of tsunami debris, moving across the Pacific Ocean just started to reach the West Coast of North America. Thousands of pieces of plastic, household goods, and styrofoam, are expected.
Although no one knows if this sytrofoam is from Japan, they do know of its dangers.
"They’ll eat it, it collects in their fatty tissue, a larger fish comes, eat it, eat them and eventually when the fisherman come, eat the fish, it poses a risk in that sense," Cox said.
Some beachgoers are cleaning the styrofoam up, to prevent it from spreading.
"This is the calm before the storm, it’s going to show up on some beach in one of those areas," he said.
A spokesperson for the Department of Land and Natural Resources believes the debris is likely on state property. DLNR officials will contact the Department of Health and the U.S. Coast Guard for a response.
See the original article at: KHON2 Local News
