(US Carrier) Military Crew Said to Be Exposed to Radiation, but Officials Call Risk in U.S. Slight

[RamboLiberal]

Source: NY Times

The Pentagon was expected to announce that the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan, which is sailing in the Pacific, passed through a radioactive cloud from stricken nuclear reactors in Japan, causing crew members on deck to receive a month’s worth of radiation in about an hour, government officials said Sunday.

The officials added that American helicopters flying missions about 60 miles north of the damaged reactors became coated with particulate radiation that had to be washed off.

There was no indication that any of the military personnel had experienced ill effects from the exposure. (Everyone is exposed to a small amount of natural background radiation.)

But the episodes showed that the prevailing winds were picking up radioactive material from crippled reactors in northeastern Japan. Ever since an earthquake struck Japan on Friday, the authorities worldwide have been laying plans to map where radioactive plumes might blow and determine what, if any, danger they could pose to people.



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/14/world/asia/14plume.html

[truedelphi]

1. K & R for reading about radiation threat. n/t

[Tx4obama]

2. radioactive releases could last months

11:40am

The New York Times has reported that experts say radioactive releases could last months.

As the scale of Japan’s nuclear crisis begins to come to light, experts in Japan and the United States say the country is now facing a cascade of accumulating problems that suggest that radioactive releases of steam from the crippled plants could go on for weeks or even months.

From Al Jazeera Live Blog: http://blogs.aljazeera.net/live/asia/disaster-japan-live-blog

[elleng]

3. Irony: Wasn't it Reagan who persuaded Japan to get into nukes???

[caraher]

5. Not likely

The plant with the first explosion went critical in 1970. Unless Reagan was in Japan a lot as governor lobbying I doubt he had anything to do with it.

In any case, I don't think Japan needed nudging from anybody. Given their lack of fossil fuel resources, it's not surprising that they developed a significant reliance on nuclear energy.

[elleng]

8. Heard it from a friend; will check, but

due to their WWII experience, reluctance to get near the stuff to be expected.

[virgdem]

22. Japan has been in the nuclear business since the late 60's or early 70's...

my ex-father-in-law was a nuclear engineer for Westinghouse. He lived in Japan in the early 70's and was responsible for selling the plants to the Japanese and assisting in the planning and construction of several nuclear plants.

[Night Crawler]

4. I've seen this movie before

[Arrowhead2k1]

6. Why do I have a feeling the problem is much worse than what is being advertised? nt

[tavalon]

13. Always

The government must dissemble or risk a bigger disaster from widespread panic.

[No Elephants]

23. After Blizzard of 1978, Massachusetts' weather folk were briefly forbidden to predict another snow-

storm to avoid panic, and they complied. Governor then was Dukakis.

[sce56]

7. Navy Says 17 Americans Were Treated for Contamination

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/14/world/asia/14military.html?src=un&feedurl=http%3A%2F%2Fjson8.nytimes.com%2Fpages%2Fworld%2Fasia%2Findex.jsonp

WASHINGTON — American Navy officials in Japan said early Monday that 17 military personnel who had been aboard three helicopters assisting in the earthquake relief effort had been exposed to low levels of contamination. Cmdr. Jeff A. Davis, a spokesman for the American Seventh Fleet in Japan, said the Navy personnel — who apparently had flown through a radioactive plume from a damaged nuclear power plant — had been ordered to dispose of their uniforms and to undergo a decontamination scrub that had successfully removed radioactive particles.

“They received very, very low levels of contamination,” Commander Davis said in a telephone interview from Japan early Monday.

“It certainly is not cause for alarm,” he said. “It is something we have to watch very carefully and make sure we are able to monitor, and to mitigate against this environmental hazard.”

The Navy personnel aboard the three helicopters had received the equivalent of one month’s natural background radiation from the sun, rocks or soil, he said.

The helicopter crew members had landed aboard the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier whose on-board sensors had indicated that the warship, too, had been exposed to airborne contamination at very low levels. The helicopter crew members were tested individually with hand-held radiation monitors.

[jonthebru]

9. The last time this happened on a large scale was

Chernobyl in 1986. People were either freaked out or unconcerned, it was weird.
Expect a run on radiation detectors. Maybe this time around there will be an app for that!

[tavalon]

15. I'll admit to having ordered potassium iodide and some personal dosimeters

And, yes, the company I ordered from said they were being swamped. I ordered them after the first explosion. I suspect I might not be able to get either now. I only ordered enough for my family. I'm hoping that company sends the rest of their personal dosimeters to Japan and Hawaii.

[KT2000]

10. Isn't SS RR a nuclear powered craft?

That is what I heard on the news. They should have plenty of detection badges already if it is.
Checked it out - Yes - it is a nuclear powered craft.

[AtheistCrusader]

11. All of our supercarriers are.

They are well equipped to treat it.

[FBaggins]

19. Indeed... and they're all equipped to operate in a NBC warfare environment.

They're well equipped/trained to detect and remediate any potential exposure.

In theory, they were designed to fight in an environment where nuclear explosions were common.

[Bluebear]

12. Also, go shopping. And the Gulf seafood is safe to eat!!

[Rex]

14. Hey! I just realized something.

Instead of just pissing blood down here, we can now worry about all our hair falling out from radiation! Of course BP will then blame Japan for any and all new problems with...well...swimming or doing anything else in the Gulf.

Just kidding folks, try some of our bbq popcorn skrimp or chicken fried crab cakes...good stuff mmmmm....

[ElsewheresDaughter]

17. yup I just bought my last sony, honda and toyota...buy yourself a gieger counter

I haven't drank Frenchwine since 1986

[ElsewheresDaughter]

16. any and all of our military personel will be exposed if they are anywhere within a 100 mile radius

[Baclava]

18. A little soap and water and it'll clean right up

[snooper2]

20. When they get home won't they spread it to the rest of us?

...somebody had to say it :P

[No Elephants]

24. Didn't you read the headline? Risk of that is slight.

[Crowman1979]

21. Just wait until those sailors try to get some medical benefits from the VA.

Then the government will do a 180 on them and say: Radiation? What radiation?

[DeadEyeDyck]

25. Just wait until they try to impregnate their wives