Mar 17 6:06 PM

US sailors exposed to Fukushima radiation levels beyond Japan’s estimates

by The Stream Team @ajamstream

U.S. sailors scrub a flight deck as a radiation countermeasure after Operation Tomodachi in 2011. — American Sailors scrub the USS Ronald Reagan's flight deck as a radiation countermeasure after Operation Tomodachi, a relief effort for victims of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami in 2011.

Crew members on the USS Ronald Reagan during Operation Tomodachi, a 2011 Fukushima relief mission, encountered radiation levels that far exceeded the Japanese government's estimates, according to a report in The Asia-Pacific Journal.

The revelations contained in the report could have a bearing on the lawsuit against Tokyo Electric Power Company by more than 70 U.S. service members who say they suffer from long-term health effects from their participation in the U.S. Navy's response to the nuclear disaster.

Kyle Cleveland, a Temple University professor based in Japan, obtained documents showing military officials aboard the carrier detected radiation levels that were 30 times greater than normal and significantly higher than what the Japanese government told them to expect.

Navy officials have maintained that the radiation levels service members were exposed to during Operation Tomodachi were not enough to cause health effects.

Below are excerpts from a telephone conversation about the crisis — among federal government and embassy officials, nuclear authorities and military staff in the Pacific Command — a transcript of which Cleveland obtained through the Freedom of Information Act:

View the story "Report: US sailors encountered Fukushima radiation levels far exceeding Japanese government estimates" on StorifyReport: US sailors encountered Fukushima radiation levels far exceeding Japanese government estimatesPolitical and diplomatic considerations came into play in US Navy's Fukushima response. Storified by AJAMStream· Mon, Mar 17 2014 15:09:12MR. MUELLER: So — this is Mueller — the sample that was taken and then what we detected, we were 100 nautical miles away and it's — in our terms it's — compared to just normal background it's about 30 times what you would detect just on a normal air sample out at sea. And so we thought — we thought based on what we had heard on the reactors that we wouldn't detect that level even at 25 miles. So it's much greater than what we had thought. We didn't think we would detect anything at 100 miles.japanfocus.orgCleveland's report also sheds light on political considerations that prevented the U.S. military and other government agencies from more directly challenging TEPCO's assessments of the disaster.This was an extremely sensitive diplomatic moment in the history of U.S.-Japan relations. As an autonomous state, Japan could not be compelled to heed the U.S. government's desires, even if they were scientifically grounded and pragmatically necessary. From the beginning of the crisis, the NRC, as a U.S. government federal agency whose scientific expertise is always modulated against its political influence, took pains to remain neutral and only offer advice when called upon, serving as a resource to the Japanese government.japanfocus.orgDespite concerns that TEPCO was misleading the public about the seriousness of the situation in Fukushima, the U.S. government actively pressured TEPCO to remain at the site rather than having the U.S. military take the technical lead.By convincing TEPCO to remain, the U.S. and Japanese governments were able to have it both ways, with the U.S. providing crucial technical consultation but at an appropriately delicate diplomatic distance that allowed Japan to save face while taking the appropriate mitigating actions without the U.S. appearing to be puppet-master over a dependent client state.japanfocus.orgThe lawsuit against TEPCO alleges that the company did not adequately warn the USS Ronald Reagan service members of the risks associated with Operation Tomodachi. The plaintiffs also challenge many aspects of the Navy's account of the operation, but have not filed suit against the U.S. government.

More than 100 additional service members from the USS Ronald Reagan have asked to join the lawsuit since it was first filed. Whether or not TEPCO will be held liable will depend on the ability of crew members to prove that their disparate symptoms are all linked to their exposure to radiation.

Participants in the lawsuit have experienced a variety of severe ailments in the three years since the operation, including cancers, tumors, chronic headaches and internal bleeding. One servicewoman involved in the suit alleges that the radiation she was exposed to on the USS Ronald Reagan caused her child to be born with multiple birth defects seven months after her participation in the disaster relief efforts.