According to a U.S. report, an American nuclear-powered submarine leaked radiation for more than two years and may have affected three Japanese ports where it stopped more extensively than initially thought.

The Houston Chronicle reports that, “on Aug. 1, the U.S. Navy notified Japan that the USS Houston had leaked water containing small amounts of radiation during three calls to the southern Japanese ports of Sasebo and Okinawa in March and April this year but caused no threat to people or the environment. The submarine also made stops in Guam and Pearl Harbor.”

The Japanese Foreign Ministry released the new U.S. Embassy report today. It said the submarine was already leaking during nine earlier port calls in Japan and the amount of radiation leaked was larger than initially reported, but the total leakage was still negligible.

In Japan, the radiation leak has caused a stir where the continued presence of the U.S. military and its nuclear vessels draw complaints from residents about crime, noise and pollution linked to some 50,000 American service personnel based in the country.

According to the Chronicle, “news of the incident also comes just weeks ahead of the arrival of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington to be based in Yokosuka, just south of Tokyo.”

To read the entire article from the Houston Chronicle, link here:

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