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Japan Press Service Co., Ltd. is the only news agency providing information of progressive, democratic movements in Japan

Can U.S. nuclear-powered warship safety be assured?

U.S. Ambassador to Japan J. Thomas Schieffer on April 17delivered to Japanese Foreign Minister Aso Taro a document entitled, "Fact Sheet on U.S. Nuclear Powered Warship Safety," as part of the U.S. effort to deploy the U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier George Washington to the U.S. Navy Yokosuka Base in Kanagawa Prefecture in 2008.

Contrary to Aso's assurance that the U.S. aircraft carrier's safety was further confirmed, the "fact sheet" raises many questions.

Two reactors suspended operations

The "fact sheet" states, "U.S. Nuclear Powered Warships (NPWs) have safely operated for more than 50 years without experiencing any reactor accident or any release of radioactivity that hurt human health or had an adverse effect on marine life."

Contrary to this statement, materials released by U.S. media and civic organizations show that there have been many nuclear-related accidents involving U.S. nuclear-powered warships.

According to a report on nuclear accidents caused by U.S. nuclear-powered ships during port-calls in Japan, which a U.S. researcher published in 1988 based on declassified U.S. documents, the U.S. Navy had more than 300 nuclear-related accidents/incidents.

During the 1960s, two U.S. nuclear submarines, the Thresher and Scorpion actually sank in the sea.

On November 30, 1999, two reactors of the U.S. carrier Stennis suddenly broke down, and the carrier was later towed to shore by tugboats.

The U.S. Navy, which kept this accident a secret, later issued a statement confirming that a coolant system using sea water absorbed mud, and stopped running one reactor and then another, automatically.

Data fabricated

The U.S. "fact sheet" says, "Since 1964 U.S. NPWs have visited Japanese ports (i.e., Yokosuka, Sasebo and White Beach) more than 1,200 times. The results of monitoring in these ports conducted by the Government of Japan and the U.S. Government, respectively, demonstrate that the operation of U.S. NPWs does not result in any increase in the general background radioactivity of the environment."

However, then Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Fuwa Tetsuzo in 1974 in parliament revealed that 36-40 percent of data on radioactive contamination compiled by a firm under contract with the government after examining ports visited by U.S. nuclear-powered warships had been fabricated.

In 1990 in the United States, a crewmember of the U.S. aircraft carrier Nimitz revealed that the data concerning the Nimitz's reactor safety test results had been falsified.

All countermeasures against possible accidents are left to local governments

If a major radioactive accident occurs on U.S. nuclear-powered warships at ports, major metropolitan areas will face radioactive contamination.

Notwithstanding this, the "fact sheet" maintains that "the U.S. Government considers that existing Japanese emergency plans for responding to natural and industrial disasters such as earthquakes and chemical transportation accidents are sufficient to deal with any highly unlikely event on a U.S. NPW."

The U.S. forces have kept nuclear-powered warship-related data in secret. Since no Japanese domestic law is applicable to these ships, it is impossible for Japan to independently check their safety. The only thing Japan can do is to deal with the adverse effects of such accidents after they occur.

What is worse, the U.S. forces maintain that they have no responsibility for possible radioactive accidents. All urgent measures will be left in the hands of local governments. If Japan accepts the homeporting of the USS George Washington at Yokosuka, Japan will have to cope with any accidents by itself, though it can't make an independent survey.

Goto Masahiko, Citizens' Coalition Opposing Homeporting of CVN in Yokosuka representative, pointed out that if the U.S. government insists on the nuclear-powered ships' safety, it must disclose all information concerned to the Japanese public.
- Akahata, April 20, 2006