USS Ronald Reagan encounters radiation cloud at sea. First article that discusses US government taking action with respect to radioactive flume reaching U.S. mainland.

March 13, 2011 8:22 PM

US addresses contingency for potential radiactive flume reaching U.S. mainland. 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.
posted by Muirwylde (6 comments total)

This belongs in one of the two threads we've already go going on about the Japan disaster.
posted by dunkadunc at 8:24 PM on March 13, 2011

"....any radiation that reached the United States would be too weak to do any harm...."

so we need a plan why?
posted by tomswift at 8:27 PM on March 13, 2011

Japanese say, why oh why not the USS Harry S. Truman?
posted by orthogonality at 8:31 PM on March 13, 2011 [1 favorite]

We need a plan so if the worst happens (not real sure how any reasonable path for the reactors going forward can result in a dangerous to the US release of radioactive materials but...)people aren't on metafilter saying "why wasn't there a plan for this" kinda like why there wasn't a plan for how to deal with flooding in New Orleans....
posted by bartonlong at 8:33 PM on March 13, 2011

Yeah, regardless of source or levels, I don't think anyone from the US should be complaining about radiation released by Japan.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 8:34 PM on March 13, 2011 [2 favorites]

Because the truth and severity of these catastrophes is always released incrementally to allow for as much plausible deniability and to control a panic-prone population. Governments know better than their own people how close anarchy stands -- everybody a little edgy the last few days or is that just Hawai'i?
posted by Muirwylde at 8:36 PM on March 13, 2011