Sailors Aboard The Aircraft Carrier Ronald Reagan Exposed To Radiation Off The Shores Of Japan

REAGAN UNDERWAY - The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan is underway in the 7th Fleet area of responsibility, March 12, 2011. Ronald Reagan has been directed to Japan following a 8.9 earthquake and tsunami to render humanitarian assistance and disaster relief as directed. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Dylan McCord

Military Crew Said to Be Exposed to Radiation, but Officials Call Risk in U.S. Slight -- New York 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.)

Read more ....

More News On the USS Ronald Reagan Being Contaminated With Radiation

Navy Says 17 Americans Were Treated for Contamination -- New York Times
USS Carrier Ronald Reagan Moved After Detecting Radioactive Plume Off Japan: Ship's Crew Was Exposed to Low Level of Radiation -- ABC News
US warships, planes move from Japan's nuclear-crisis coast -- Reuters

My Comment: If this story is accurate, it tells me that the radiation that is being released from these damaged reactors is far worse than what officials are acknowledging publicly. The crew on the USS Ronald Reagan were 60 miles away from the Fukushima nuclear plant .... but they were still dosed with a significant amount of radiation. This idea of having a 12 or 20 mile exclusion zone from the damaged reactors is clearly not going to work if the crew of the USS Ronald Reagan were still able to get a significant dose even at 60 miles away.