ID :
14910
Tue, 08/05/2008 - 14:47
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/14910
The shortlink copeid
U.S. nuclear sub La Jolla calls at Sasebo+
NAGASAKI, Aug 5 Kyodo - The U.S. nuclear-powered submarine La Jolla called Monday at the U.S. naval base in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, after another U.S. nuclear-powered sub was found to have leaked a small amount of radioactivity at the port in March.
The 6,080-ton La Jolla with 138 crew members entered the base at around 10 a.m., apparently to give the crew rest time, and was met with protests against its arrival.
About 50 people from local civic groups held a rally near the base with members saying that a nuclear-powered submarine should not be admitted to port until safety is confirmed. They shouted in unison, ''La Jolla, go away.''In Nagasaki City, about 40 people including victims of the Aug. 9, 1945 atomic bombing by the U.S. military, held a sit-in in front of the peace memorial statue.
Koichi Kawano, vice chair of the Japan Congress Against A- and H-Bombs (Gensuikin), criticized the Japanese Foreign Ministry's announcement on Saturday of the radioactivity leak, which came after a media report about it and the U.S. Navy's confirmation of the report.
''The impact of radioactivity cannot be overestimated no matter what, even though the U.S. military and Japan's Foreign Ministry were just trying to hide it,'' Kawano, 68, said.
U.S. Navy officials said Friday that water with trace amounts of radioactivity began leaking from the Houston while it was making a port call in Sasebo in late March. The sub was traveling around the Pacific at the time.
The leak was found on the Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine after it went to Hawaii for routine maintenance last month, the officials said.
The La Jolla is also a Los Angeles-class fast attack sub. When the sub called at Sasebo in July 2004, there was a small fire onboard but there were no injuries reported.
The 6,080-ton La Jolla with 138 crew members entered the base at around 10 a.m., apparently to give the crew rest time, and was met with protests against its arrival.
About 50 people from local civic groups held a rally near the base with members saying that a nuclear-powered submarine should not be admitted to port until safety is confirmed. They shouted in unison, ''La Jolla, go away.''In Nagasaki City, about 40 people including victims of the Aug. 9, 1945 atomic bombing by the U.S. military, held a sit-in in front of the peace memorial statue.
Koichi Kawano, vice chair of the Japan Congress Against A- and H-Bombs (Gensuikin), criticized the Japanese Foreign Ministry's announcement on Saturday of the radioactivity leak, which came after a media report about it and the U.S. Navy's confirmation of the report.
''The impact of radioactivity cannot be overestimated no matter what, even though the U.S. military and Japan's Foreign Ministry were just trying to hide it,'' Kawano, 68, said.
U.S. Navy officials said Friday that water with trace amounts of radioactivity began leaking from the Houston while it was making a port call in Sasebo in late March. The sub was traveling around the Pacific at the time.
The leak was found on the Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine after it went to Hawaii for routine maintenance last month, the officials said.
The La Jolla is also a Los Angeles-class fast attack sub. When the sub called at Sasebo in July 2004, there was a small fire onboard but there were no injuries reported.
