Radiation Alert: US Ship Contaminated 100 Miles Offshore

SOMA, Japan  — The U.S. Seventh Fleet moved its ships and aircraft away from a quake-stricken Japanese nuclear plant Monday after discovering low-level radioactive contamination more than 100 miles offshore.

The fleet said that the radiation was from a plume of smoke and steam released from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, where there have been two hydrogen explosions since Friday's devastating earthquake and tsunami.

The aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan was about 100 miles offshore when its instruments detected the radiation. The fleet said the dose of radiation was about the same as one month's normal exposure to natural background radiation in the environment.

Citing experts, The New York Times reported that radioactive steam could be released from the stricken plants for weeks or possibly months.

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