A team from Washington Fish and Wildlife is trying to figure out whether the newest rusty visitor to the Northwest coast came from the 2011 tsunami in Japan. The 19-foot-long metal pipe landed at Cape Disappointment near Ilwaco, Wash.
State Parks spokeswoman Sandy Mealing says the metal tourist will reside in a storage area until it can pass a few more tests.
“It will stay there for now until Fish and Wildlife can have their staff come out and check it out to remove any sea life and then it will be tested for radiation," she says. "Then once everything is cleared, it will be disposed of.”
Any sea-faring passengers of the huge pipe will be removed in case they are invasive species.
The origin of this particular debris is still a mystery because it has no special markings. If the cylinder can be traced back to Japan, it will be the fourth confirmed piece of tsunami debris to land on the Northwest coast.
On the Web:
Long Beach steel pipe photos (Washington State Parks/Flickr)