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Although positioned more than 100 miles off the coast, the U.S. 7th Fleet has repositioned its ships after discovering very low levels of radiation on helicopters and flight crews returning to the USS Ronald Reagan.
The United States Navy, including assets from the 7th Fleet, are involved in humanitarian and disaster relief operations in the wake of the devastating 9.0 Honshu earthquake on March 11th.
Updates on those operations can be found on the 7th Fleet’s webpage.
Here is the press release on the repositioning of the ships, and decontamination of the flight crews, from the U.S. 7th Fleet Public Affairs office.
Seventh Fleet repositions ships after contamination detected
By U.S. 7th Fleet Public Affairs
Posted: March 14, 2011
USS BLUE RIDGE, At Sea - The U.S. 7th Fleet has temporarily repositioned its ships and aircraft away from the Fukushima Dai-Ichi Nuclear Power Plant after detecting low level contamination in the air and on its aircraft operating in the area. The source of this airborne radioactivity is a radioactive plume released from the Fukushima Dai-Ichi Nuclear Power Plant.
PACIFIC OCEAN (March 12, 2011) -- USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) is currently underway in the 7th Fleet area of responsibility in the Pacific Ocean. Ronald Reagan is enroute toward Japan to render humanitarian assistance and disaster relief as directed. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Dylan McCord)
For perspective, the maximum potential radiation dose received by any ship’s force personnel aboard the ship when it passed through the area was less than the radiation exposure received from about one month of exposure to natural background radiation from sources such as rocks, soil, and the sun.
The ship was operating at sea about 100 miles northeast of the power plant at the time.
Using sensitive instruments, precautionary measurements of three helicopter aircrews returning to USS Ronald Reagan after conducting disaster relief missions near Sendai identified low levels of radioactivity on 17 air crew members. The low level radioactivity was easily removed from affected personnel by washing with soap and water. They were subsequently surveyed, and no further contamination was detected.
As a precautionary measure, USS Ronald Reagan and other U.S. 7th Fleet ships conducting disaster response operations in the area have moved out of the downwind direction from the site to assess the situation and determine what appropriate mitigating actions are necessary.
We remain committed to our mission of providing assistance to the people of Japan
