[ RadSafe ] Beyond Nuclear and Russia Today Claim Danger of Fukushima radiation kept secret, as US navymen were exposed

[Roger Helbig]

Now Beyond Nuclear, founded by Helen Caldicott and not known for
scupulously relating facts or science to the public has jumped into
the Navy sailors vs TEPCO manufactured controversy and chosen the new
Pravda, Russia Today, to release this information -
Danger of Fukushima radiation kept secret, as US navymen were exposed

by Christina MacPherson

US service members claim they were misled about Fukushima radiation
dangers RT, 9 April 14, US service members who took part in cleanup
efforts after the Fukushima nuclear disaster have since been diagnosed
with ailments like cancer. Now, in a class action lawsuit, they allege
they were misled about radiation risks, RT's Ameera David reports.

Dozens of US sailors and marines who provided humanitarian assistance
following the meltdown of three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi
nuclear plant in Japan in March 2011 have been diagnosed with
illnesses such as leukemia, testicular cancer, and thyroid disease.
The service members - many of whom were aboard the aircraft carrier
USS Reagan - are now part of a class action lawsuit against the
plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO). They allege
TEPCO provided false information to the US Navy about the extent of
radioactive contamination in the surrounding air and water.

While TEPCO is the main focus of suspicions, the service members are
also pressing the US Navy to reveal whether or not it knew about the
radiation, particularly considering the kind of equipment aboard the
USS Reagan, a nuclear-powered ship.

There are "lots of radiation detectors both fixed in position to
monitor the radioactivity from the reactor itself and also lots of
Geiger counters," said Paul Gunter, Director of the Reactor Oversight
Project with Beyond Nuclear, an anti-nuclear advocacy organization.

"So we're quite sure that the Navy was aware of the radioactivity but
that was not being communicated to the sailors that were in harm's
way."

The Navy denies the allegations, saying that the Pentagon and an
independent group analyzed available radioactive data of that period.

"The worst-case radiation exposure for a crew member on [the] USS
Ronald Reagan is less than 25 percent of the annual radiation exposure
to a member of the US public from natural sources of background
radiation, such as the sun, rocks, and soil," a spokesperson for the
Navy told RT.

But the Navy's claims do not make sense, says Michael Sebourn, a
former US Navy officer who was part of the Fukushima cleanup. In fact,
he was responsible for measuring radiation exposure to equipment and
US personnel.

"That was my job," Sebourn told RT. "So to say that it is normal
day-to-day radiation is 100-percent
bogus......http://rt.com/usa/navy-fukushima-nuclear-radiation-504/

Christina MacPherson | April 10, 2014 at 4:38 am | Categories: Legal,
USA | URL: http://wp.me/phgse-h1m

http://nuclear-news.net/2014/04/10/danger-of-fukushima-radiation-kept-secret-as-us-navymen-were-exposed/