Dock With Japanese Writing Washes Ashore In Oregon - Spokane, North Idaho News & Weather KHQ.com

Dock With Japanese Writing Washes Ashore In Oregon

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KHQ.COM - Evidence is mounting that nearly 70-foot floating dock that washed ashore on an Oregon beach came from an area of Japan devastated by last year's tsunami.

Oregon parks spokesman Chris Havel said Wednesday that a scientist from the Hatfield Marine Science Center found a starfish native to Japan among the marine life clinging to the dock.

And a metal plaque attached to the dock indicates in Japanese that the dock was intended for use in the port of Misawa, in Aomori Prefecture, a coastal area of Japan hit hard by the March 2011 tsunami. The plaque is dated June 2008.

Havel says a check found no radiation contaminating the dock.
The dock washed ashore Tuesday on Agate Beach, a mile north of Newport in central Oregon. It's made of concrete with a metal pontoon and measures 66 feet long, 19 feet wide and 7 feet high.

Associated Press writer Ryan Nakashima in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

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