Tsunami Debris Headed East
The tsunami that devastated Japan
in March also swept massive amounts of
debris into the Pacific. The initial debris
field, photographed by the U.S. Navy shortly after the earthquake that triggered the
devastating waves, spread out over 70 miles
of ocean and began a slow drift eastward on
the North Pacific Current.
Some items will sink or break up as
they drift, but NOAA, which created a
website of frequently asked questions about
the debris, says some of the material that
remains afloat will reach Hawaii and some
could even wash up on the West Coast of
the U.S. Exactly when and where it will
make landfall, and how great a hazard it
will pose to boaters, depends on winds and
currents. According to the website, “It will
be a matter of years, not days or weeks.”
As the island of debris drifted east,
it began to scatter and NOAA’s National
Environmental Satellite, Data, and
Information Service reported that as of
April 14, the debris field was no longer vis-
ible from space. The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency is monitoring the debris
field for radioactivity, but NOAA called
contamination “improbable.” The U.S.
Coast Guard will monitor Pacific waters to
determine whether the debris creates any
hazards to navigation. For updated tracking
information, check NOAA’s tsunami debris
website, www.marinedebris.noaa.gov
Should The Coast Guard
Mandate Engine
Cut-Off Switches?
The majority of boats built today have
engine cut-off switches as standard equipment, but now the Coast Guard is asking
whether the devices should be required
for all boats less than 26 feet, and whether
the agency should mandate that all boaters
use them.
In a notice published June 8, the
Coast Guard states that boats less than
26 feet make up about 95 percent of
all motorized recreational vessels and it
is considering whether requiring the use
of lanyard-style switches tethered to the
operator would reduce accidents. Though
usually seen on personal watercraft, and
voluntarily installed by manufacturers of
many other types of boats, most devices
of this type cut electrical power to the
engine should the operator fall overboard,
or otherwise leave the helm while the boat
is underway.
PHO TO: U.S. NAVY
Comments to the Coast Guard are
due by September 6, and should address
the public-safety aspects as well as cost
factors, regulatory burden, or enforcement
implications of any new rule.
For background and instructions on
how to submit comments online, visit
www.BoatUS.com/gov/comment.asp — R.L.
In August of 1978, the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) announced it would be making rules to govern the labeling of sunscreen, writing
in the Federal Register that “the issue is important
and requires careful study.” That study took 33
years; new rules were announced this June. Among
the new labeling requirements, as of next summer
(2012) manufacturers may no longer claim their
sunscreen is “waterproof” or “sweatproof,” or call
their wares “sunblock.” Water-resistance claims
must be backed by testing, and any product alleging to provide instant or extended protection from
the sun must submit data to back those claims. All
sunscreens will need a “drug facts” label on the container. Sunscreens claiming to be “broad-spectrum,”
that is, blocking both UVA and UVB types of ultraviolet light, will need to pass an FDA test to verify
it, and only those that pass will be able to claim to
reduce the risk of skin cancer.
The American Academy of Dermatology recommends using broad-spectrum sunscreen of at least
SPF 30, even on cloudy days, and (no matter what
it says on the label) reapplying it every two hours, or
after swimming. — C.L.
Sunscreen Changes For Boaters
