U.S. sub leaked radioactive water at 2 other Japan ports, Singapore

Friday 08th August, 07:10 AM JST

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roomtemperature at 08:52 AM JST - 8th August

USNinJapan2

I think rjd jr already knew what you were going to say. Giving it a spin. It amazes me that the so-called "defenders" think there's no problem because the leaked amount was not significant.
OssanULTRA at 08:57 AM JST - 8th August

"Not good at all. Now I can see the defenders here automatically pointing out that what the radioactive leaked was way less harmful than what is naturally occurring in nature. But that is totally irrelevant. The fact remains that the crew of this sub was absolutely careless and negligent."

The low level of radiation involved is very relevant to the issue. Port calls by USN nuclear vessels are monitored for radiation leaks and obviously the amounts in question, in both Japan and Singapore were of such low levels that no alarms were triggered. Accidents happen. Look at your Aegis destroyer cutting down a fishing boat. If the JMDSF had nuclear powered vessels it too would have it's share of unwanted accidents.
VoXman at 08:59 AM JST - 8th August

Ossan

good point
rjd_jr at 09:17 AM JST - 8th August

Sorry USN in Japan and Ossan, your explanations do not excuse this leak. Comparing an ordinary automobile oil leak to a multi million dollar high performance military submarine is not a valid one. Saying that it was only low level radiation leak is also not valid, considering that this leak was in place since June 2006 until the submarine went into dry dock last month.

Folks again this is not a simple "accident" and this is not a cheap automobile. This is a Los Angeles class submarine with a history of problems related to its peformance and operation. A nuclear powered submarine that leaks radioactive water for 2 years is not an accident, nor is it something to take lightly regardless of how small the levels of radiation was. Nuclear powered vessels are designed to contain the radioactive fluids within its self contained mechanical space. It's definitely not designed to have irradiated fluids having the potential to simply leak out of joints into the environment. The release of any amount of radioactive fluids is carefully monitored and recorded, there are distance limits as to fluid discharges from any seagoing vessel.

The bottom line is that the fact that such leakage occurred for 2 years without anyone catching it is not good. Again the Navy takes these things very seriously, all levels of radioactive fluids are accounted for and not something that harmlessly leaks from a submarine into the environment. This is negligence or substandard training at best. At worst who knows what kinds of other things this points out in terms of the stability of this submarine.

Nothing to do with bashing the U.S. or any of that nonsense, I am calling it like it is.
Nippon5 at 09:53 AM JST - 8th August

rjd jr what sub did you serve on? or are you an engineer of nuclear subs?

The leak from the USS Houston was discovered during routine maintenance of the submarine in Hawaii last month, Navy officials told CNN. A dripping valve from the Houston's power plant confirmed the leak to Navy investigators acting on an earlier report of the valve's cap popping up due to a build-up of leaking water.

The leak was negligible and extremely low level. The water had not been in direct contact with the nuclear reactor

From all the reports I have read it was a shut off valve for noncore cooling water, and based on the detected amount (which some of the water landed on a dock worker during dry dock) is so low it would have no effect on direct contact nor would it in a diluted contact. Should the sub have a leak of course not, but thats why we do dry docks and such in order to check out the system 100% which you can not do when its steaming along or in the water.

Dont do a chicken little THE SKY IS FALLING THE SKY IS FALLING!!!!!
OssanULTRA at 10:12 AM JST - 8th August

"Sorry USN in Japan and Ossan, your explanations do not excuse this leak."

Under no circumstances am I making any "excuses" for this leak or any other leak or malfunction onboard any USN vessel. But I do think that you're over reacting to this.You cite negligence and substandard training, but at this point in time it could eaily be a mechanical issue, or a combination of issues. And you can rest assured that nobody wants "no problems at all" than the Navy, so I really wish you would calm down and put this incident into perspective. No one, military or civilian in any country has been injured. Considering the level of radiation (which you call irrelevant) no one has been put at risk, and no environmental damage has ensued.
teaabe at 10:59 AM JST - 8th August

nuclear subs, what does this say about the us?
RascalFromKochi at 11:06 AM JST - 8th August

Whine!!! Don't you guys see the standard game being played here? The Japanese news moguls find the nuclear button so easy to push, and so they push it at every turn. Never mind that 1/3 of their electrical power comes from nuclear sources. Never mind that the US picks up 80 to 90 percent of their defense budget. And oh, by the way, a small leak is just that. Learn some physics, and notice that a small leak that is less than one hour's exposure to a red brick wall is exactly that--entirely irrelevant. It is, in fact, amazing that they even chose to report it...
javnation at 11:06 AM JST - 8th August

teaabe at 10:59 AM JST - 8th August

nuclear subs, what does this say about the us?

That they have nuclear subs! Oh and it's the US not us.
USNinJapan2 at 11:29 AM JST - 8th August

teaabe

nuclear subs, what does this say about the us?

And the Russians, the Brits, the French and the Chinese? What does this say about them? Enlighten us teaabe.
USNinJapan2 at 12:15 PM JST - 8th August

rjd jr, roomtemperature

A leak of any fluid from machinery is accidental and unintentional; sometimes the leak is large enough to be noticed or detected and sometimes it is too small. I'm not a submariner so I can't speak with any authority as to where the leaky valve was or how accessible it was, but from what actual submariners (bubbleheads) are blogging on line it's a non-issue. http://bubbleheads.blogspot.com/2008/08/uss-houston-radioactive-leak-reported.html Correct me if I'm wrong but are you any more familiar with nuclear submarines and reactors than I am? You're certainly acting like you are. Assuming you most likey aren't, I just don't see how you can summarily blame and condemn the US Navy and the Houston's crew of negligence, lack of training, or poor quality control. I for one would like to hear from anyone that has reactor experience on an SSN or SSBN and see what their take is on this story.

Radiation is the first and final issue with the Japanese regarding nuclear-powerd vessels, ostensibly because they are soooo inherantly dangerous. This is why the Government of Japan meticulously monitors radiation levels in the vicinity of American nuclear vessels while they are in Japanese ports at considerable expense. The radiation tests they conduct are designed to detect any harmful levels of radiation that may be emanating from these vessels and I think we can assume that the GOJ tests for the lowest level of radiation they can possibly detect. Despite this they never detected any radiation from the Houston during five port calls over two years. That's how negligible and non-hazardous the leaked amount was. We may as well be discussing a Sailor throwing a household smoke detector or a bag of fertilizer off the submarine into the harbor because that's the equivalent amount of leaked radiation involved here.
Zolt at 01:04 PM JST - 8th August

That's the problem with radioactivity: there's nothing in the know universe that can be detected, traced and measured with as much precision. Even just a dozen radioactive atoms in a cubic meter of water can not only be detected, but in the case of uranium you can even tell where they come from.

Therefore, you can get this kind of PR problem even from minuscule amounts. I'm not blaming the sumbariners or the navy for an accident that poses absolutely no threat for anyone, but the fact that the japanese are extra-sensitive about nukes is no secret to anyone - so I guess the country who nuked them twice could afford to be extra careful where nuclear matters are concerned. After all, if they did manage to leave no detectable emissions on their previous port calls, there's no reason they could not achieve the same level of cleanliness now if they really put their minds to it.
RepublicofTexas at 01:07 PM JST - 8th August

While i think the leak was unfortunate, I think the US handled the situation well. While i'm sure groups in both Japan and Singapore are going to scream and holler 'bout this, i think the govt's of the two countries have also handled the situation well by not sensationalizing a small accident.
Papawhale at 08:19 PM JST - 8th August

Most of you seem really happy that nuclear subs are in Japanese ports, leaking radiation. Gee, I'm happy for you, too...especially on the anniversary of the USA's dropping Atomic bombs in a certain southern Japan City 63 years ago...great progress.
USNinJapan2 at 08:45 PM JST - 8th August

Papawhale

So you somehow equate nuclear propulsion with nuclear weapons just like the mindless Japanese anti-nuke protesters. Care to explain that rationale? None of us are happy about this news as you claim. We're just making sure it's kept in perspective and not blown out of proportion. You evidently haven't seen the latest nuclear-related story in the National News section. You know, the one entitled, "Worker exposed to radiation at nuclear fuel company in Kanagawa Pref." If nuclear safety is truly your concern than your time is better spent posting under stories covering Japanese nuclear mishaps. You'd posting sooner and far more often than if you were to wait for the next US Navy nuclear incident...