Oregon Beach Metal Boxes? No Evidence.
© 2012 by Linda Moulton Howe
“I sent some assistants this weekend to the beach area that is supposed
to have the ‘unmovable’ metal boxes and there is nothing there.”
– William Hanshumaker, Ph.D., Hatfield Marine Science Center, Newport, Oregon
February 14, 2012 Stonefield and Bray’s Point, Oregon, beach region: Two recent internet “news” stories have been circulated by a Dave Masko claiming 5-foot by 5-foot by nearly 1-foot-high metal boxes that made odd sounds had washed up on southern Oregon beaches such as Stonefield and Bray’s Point. The second Masko story referenced William Hanshumaker, Ph.D., who is a Senior Instructor at the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport, Oregon. On Friday morning, February 10, 2012, I talked with Prof. Hanshumaker about the Masko article. Prof. Hanshumaker said he did not know anything about the metal boxes until Masko called his office around 5 PM on Thursday, February 9, 2012. Prof. Hanshumaker said he would make no comment until he saw the metal boxes for himself.
Today, February 14, 2012, Prof. Hanshumaker phoned me to say that assistants he asked to search this past weekend for the alleged metal boxes could find nothing. Further, half a dozen State Police, Coast Guard and police offices I contacted that have jurisdictions along the Oregon beaches do not have any report about metal boxes washed up on Oregon beaches to date.
KVAL CBS 13 in Eugene, Oregon, east of the beaches, has never had a report of such metal boxes either. I also contacted the NOAA Marine Debris Program and talked with the West Coast Regional Coordinator, Nir Barnea, who is unaware of any metal box debris. Mr. Barnea did confirm that computer models indicate Japan’s tsunami debris will start washing up on North American west coast beaches in 2013, and NOAA is holding public meetings with beach communities to answer questions. So far, scientists do not think the Japanese debris will have much radioactivity if and when it washes up on west coast beaches.
If anyone else has any hard evidence about metal boxes that authorities can investigate, please email: [email protected]. Or call the Western Regional Oregon State Police dispatch office in, Oregon, at 541-265-5353. Also see: NOAA Marine Debris Program.
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