U.S. carrier leaves Japanese port to dodge radiation

The aircraft carrier USS George Washington has left the naval facility at Yokosuka -- where it was undergoing repairs -- amid concerns that a change in the wind will bring increased radiation to two U.S. military facilities south of Tokyo, CBS News correspondent David Martin reports.

The Navy distributed potassium iodide pills to sailors and families remaining at the Yokosuka naval base and the Atsugi Naval Air Facility. The pills protect the thyroid in the event of acute exposure to radiation.

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Both actions are a response to weather reports predicting that radiation could be moving toward the U.S. bases.

A Navy press release said that the George Washington got underway to maintain its long term readiness -- a euphemism, Martin reports, for saying that if it remained in Yokosuka it would become contaminated and take forever to be decontaminated.