Stop the maintenance of U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier at Yokosuka

Japan Press Weekly

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

Stop the maintenance of U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier at Yokosuka

Upon the news that the U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier George Washington is in the Naval shipyard at the U.S. Yokosuka Naval Base near Tokyo for maintenance and repair starting on January 5, a citizens' group in Yokosuka City demanded that the U.S. and Japanese governments immediately stop the dangerous work.

The Citizens' Coalition Opposing Homeporting of CVN in Yokosuka also called for the details of the maintenance work to be made public, including safety measures, storage of disposed nuclear wastes, and preventive measures for possible radioactive leakage.

According to the January 16 issue of the Kitsap Sun, a local newspaper published in Washington, the USA;

"About 550 Puget Sound Naval Shipyard workers are in Japan for the ground-breaking first maintenance period on a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in a foreign country."

"The four-month job on the USS George Washington began on Jan. 5 at Yokosuka Naval Base and is expected to be completed in May.

"Capt. Mark Whitney, commander of PSNS (Puget Sound Naval Shipyard) and the Intermediate Maintenance Facility, said the project is off to a good start.

"A large group will travel to Yokosuka for four months every year. The shipyard has also set up a permanent detachment there."

In reply to Akahata referring to this report, the Foreign Ministry North American Bureau National Security Division said that it will make an inquiry into the matter.

In advance of the George Washington's deployment to Yokosuka, the Japanese and U.S. governments asserted that partial, rudimentary, and ordinary maintenance work for U.S. nuclear-powered ships has been done at the repair facility at the U.S. Yokosuka Naval Base.

Strangely, however, the U.S. Navy set up a permanent detachment and deployed a large number of maintenance workers to Yokosuka for the implementation of such partial, rudimentary, and ordinary maintenance work.

The Seahawk, the organ paper of the Ship Repair Facility (SRF) Yokosuka on August 15, 2006 reported that in 2009 when the George Washington in Yokosuka reaches its first maintenance period, employees of the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard will be sent to Yokosuka's SRF.

Citing the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report and other documents that state that ground-breaking maintenance work of a nuclear carrier's reactors will be done for several months every two years at Yokosuka, the Citizens' Coalition points to the possibility that such maintenance could cause radioactive leaks while handling or changing primary coolants, filters, pipes, and other parts contaminated with radioactive wastes.

Also citing the many cases of radioactive leakage at the U.S. Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and other locations, the Yokosuka citizens' coalition also warns of the possibility that shipyard workers will be exposed to radiation and that the maintenance of radioactive waste will trigger serious health and safety issues.

The citizens' coalition points out that initiating such dangerous work goes against the U.S. government's firm commitments, including the aide-memoire of 1964, regarding the safety of NPWs (Nuclear Powered Warships) visiting Japanese ports, stating that reactor repairs will not be performed in foreign countries.

The coalition warns that the ongoing repair work constitutes a serious step toward taking the Yokosuka base into a dangerous site dealing with nuclear materials in Japan.

- Akahata, January 20, 2009