( CNN ) -- First came the stuff that floats on the surface and is pushed by wind : Buoys , a soccer ball , flotation devices . And , most notably , a rust-stained unmanned fishing trawler in Alaskan waters . Communities in Alaska , Hawaii , the West Coast and Canada are preparing for the main event from debris pushed offshore by last year 's massive Japanese earthquake and tsunami . About 70 % of the debris sank , according to Japanese government estimates . No one knows how much of the remaining 1.5 million tons of debris is still floating in the Pacific Ocean . But U.S. and state officials say that some items washing ashore may be from the disaster , which took place 13 months ago and nearly 5,000 miles away . Thousands of people were killed . `` Our models show the outer edge of the debris is at the West Coast and Alaska now , '' Nancy Wallace , program director and division chief of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 's Marine Debris Program , said Wednesday . The bulk of the debris is north of Hawaii , slowly moving east . In Washington state , there have been reports of lumber , lightbulbs and fishing items reaching land . Their source has not been confirmed . Officials ca n't rule out they came from the tsunami , according to Curt Hart , communications manager at the the state 's Department of Ecology . A volunteer helping in a beach cleanup this weekend along the Washington coast said she found items that appeared to include Japanese writing , according to CNN Seattle affiliate KING . That does n't prove they were part of the tsunami debris , officials caution . NOAA said there is no current `` debris field . '' Rather , items , large and small , are scattered over a huge swath of the North Pacific and may make landfall intermittently . Residents are being told to expect reports of debris to increase and continue over the next couple of years . What might they see ? For starters , building materials , fishing nets and gear , plastic , barrels and hazardous materials . Federal , state and local officials held a workshop in Ocean Shores , Washington , on Wednesday , to discuss strategies for handling additional debris . The workshop followed a round of meetings in Washington communities . `` I think my folks have heard a little bit of everything at these meetings , '' said Tim Church , communications director for the Washington State Department of Health . `` The great majority who have come have been low-key about it . '' Some people have asked whether any bodies will come ashore . That 's not expected . The top concern is whether radioactive material from the Fukushima nuclear power plant will make landfall . NOAA has said that scenario is highly unlikely . `` We do not expect to see anything to wash up from Japan with elevated levels of radiation , '' said Church . `` At the same time , we fully appreciate the concern of people . If you spend a lot of time on the coast , if you see the news coverage , you want to see you are safe . '' A beach cleanup this past weekend along the Washington shore included checks with radiation-detecting equipment , according to Church . `` There just had not been anything so far . '' No single government agency is in charge of patrolling and cleaning beaches ; hence the planning and public information campaign . `` We are poised ... with a well-coordinated response , '' said Hart of the state ecology department . `` We are going to see items from the tsunami on our beaches . '' Of concern for his agency is the potential for oil or chemical drums or fuel cylinders to come ashore . That risk could increase as the region sees normal stormy weather kick up later this year , according to Hart . The U.S. Coast Guard is focusing on pollution threats and any impediments to navigation , according to Lt. Regina Caffrey , a public affairs officer in Washington state . Lynne Talley , a physical oceanographer with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego , said the debris was initially carried on the swift Kuroshio current , but slowed as it joined another current west of Hawaii . `` It is now scattered over 4,000 miles in one direction and 1,000 miles in another area , '' Talley said . `` The front edge of it has gotten here and the whole cloud should arrive at the end of another year . '' To better pinpoint the debris and update models , NOAA has turned to satellite images and reports from commercial shipping lines , according to Wallace of the marine debris program . `` It is extremely spread out , and if you were sailing through it you would not see much , '' said Talley . Earlier this month , the U.S. Coast Guard opened fire on the drifting 200-foot trawler 180 miles southwest of Sitka , Alaska , after it determined the `` unmanned , unlit , unmarked vessel '' posed a hazard to mariners and the marine environment . It was a dramatic end for the Japanese squid trawler . It was bound for a scrap yard before becoming part of the debris . The soccer ball that recently washed up on a remote Alaskan beach apparently belonged to a teenager from a Japanese city devastated by the earthquake and tsunami . Misaki Murakami , a 16-year-old high school student , said he has `` no doubt '' that the ball is his after hearing that his name was among the characters written on it , Japan 's Kyodo news agency reported . NOAA blogs about the soccer ball . Ocean debris is nothing new , but `` If you look at it over a long time , it is worse now than it has been , '' said Wallace . Plastic does not degrade , nor does fishing gear made of synthetic materials . `` Derelict fishing gear used to be made of ropes and would break down quicker , '' she said . Even with models and technology , predicting exactly where debris will come ashore is far from an exact science . `` We can only forecast a few days into the future , because of wind and current , '' Wallace said . `` We expect there to be an upswing in debris on the shore . The interesting thing is we do n't know where it 's going to be , and we think it is going to be spread out . '' She cautioned against overreaction . `` We do n't want people to cancel their beach vacation ( thinking ) it will be inundated with beach debris , '' said Wallace . Still , agencies want to be prepared , and officials understand concerns . `` This is a really human tragedy that happened in Japan , '' said Wallace . `` It captured the media and public 's sympathy . Afterward , you saw the videos of what was washed '' out into the sea . CNN 's Jethro Mullen and Chelsea J. Carter contributed to this report .
Last year 's earthquake and tsunami sent tons of debris into Pacific Ocean . A portion of that headed east for Alaska , Hawaii , West Coast . Officials are receiving reports of items coming ashore . Comment: