After the earthquake and tsunami struck Japan last March, an enormous amount of debris was washed out to the Pacific Ocean. Currently, the trash field stretches 1,300 miles wide and is 360 miles long, measuring five times the size of the state of Washington.

Here's where it gets scary: The debris is expected to reach Hawaii’s shores next winter and Washington's in late 2013.

Last Tuesday, Sen. Maria Cantwell introduced and secured passage of an amendment to address the threat approaching tsunami debris poses to up and down Washington’s coastline.

Cantwell’s provision, included in the Trash Free Seas Act of 2011, directs the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to come up with a contingency plan for what will be the biggest wave of marine garbage ever to hit North America.

They will coordinate with the Environmental Protection Agency and other groups to brace for everything from clogged waterways to hazards to fish.

Back in September, a Russian sail-training ship heading home to Vladivostok from Honolulu made the first significant sighting of the debris since it drifted away from Japan. In the wreckage, they found a link to the tsunami: a small fishing boat marked marked Fukushima, wiped out by tidal waves.

The NOAA concluded the debris is not contanimated because the debris was swept out before the damaged nuclear reactors began to leak radiation. So we have that going for us. Stay tuned.

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